The second round of the 2011 NAIA Division II Men’s Basketball National Championship is complete and two teams, #12 Davenport (Mich.) and unseeded McPherson (Kan.), are a final eight team for the first time in their program’s history. College of the Ozarks (Mo.) also knocked out the tournament’s top seed, Walsh (Ohio), and defending champion Saint Francis (Ind.) continued its title defense.
The first contest featured the second overtime game of the tournament as Davenport edged #5 Black Hills State (S.D.) 78-74. The Panthers have won 11 of their last 12 games and will head to their first quarterfinals on Saturday where they will try to knock off the defending champions, Saint Francis (Ind.), who came out with another close win on Friday, defeating #4 Bellevue (Neb.) 76-74.
The Cougars are making their third trip to the quarterfinal round.
#3 Cornerstone (Mich.) picked up an 82-70 win over #14 Iowa Wesleyan and will make its fifth quarterfinal appearance.
The Golden Eagles will play unseeded McPherson (Kan.), who continued its Cinderella run with an impressive win over Warner Pacific (Ore.), 77-58.
Indiana Wesleyan stayed perfect (4-0) in the second round with a convincing 84-63 win over #8 Oregon Tech.
The Wildcats will play College of the Ozarks in the quarterfinals, who recorded the biggest upset of the tournament in knocking off top seed Walsh (Ohio), 71-66.
The final quarterfinal bracket will pit #2 Northwood (Fla.), making its second appearance in the round of eight, as they defeated Dakota Wesleyan (S.D.) 65-58 to advance.
The Seahawks will play Oklahoma Wesleyan, who eliminated #10 Eastern Oregon in the final game of the night, 78-63.
Action gets underway at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday with the Davenport vs Saint Francis contest. The 32-team, single elimination tournament concludes March 15, 2011.
courtesy of NAIA.org
