Midwestern State and Tarleton State each won their first-round
contests to advance to the semifinals of the NCAA Division II South
Central Regional.
MSU defeated Incarnate Word, 91-74, and Tarleton topped
Nebraska-Omaha, 75-71. The Mustangs will play the Texans on
Sunday at 7 p.m. Central Oklahoma fell to Fort Hays State,
80-64, in the first round.
Tarleton State 75, Nebraska-Omaha 71
Effran Bryant sealed an NCAA Division II South Central Region
quarterfinal win for Tarleton State with a clean swipe of
Nebraska-Omaha's Matt Newman as the Texans held off the Mavericks
75-71 Saturday night at D.L. Ligon Coliseum.
Tarleton State (24-7) moves on to face top-seeded Midwestern
State, a 91-74 winner over Incarnate Word earlier Saturday night.
The semifinal matchup tips off at 7 p.m.
The Texans used a slow-down game to inch away from UNO and
stretched the lead to 45-33 on a Corin Henry-to-Jeremiah Wilson
alley-oop dunk almost 3 minutes into the second half.
That's when the Mavericks began to chip away.
After hitting seven 3-pointers in the first half, UNO used the
drive to get to the charity stripe midway through the second half.
The Mavericks were a perfect 5-for-5 from the free-throw line which
included a traditional three-point play from Dion Curry as Tyler
Bullock canned a pair of free throws to pull within 47-44 with
12:20 to go.
The Texans pushed the lead back to 12 before the Mavericks made
another run in the closing minutes to take a 69-68 lead with 1:28
to go.
But Tarleton's Corin Henry converted a layup and the Texans
recorded blocked shots on consecutive possessions as well as
hitting on 5-of-6 free throws in the game's final 47 seconds to
seal the win.
Jeremiah Wilson delivered his ninth double-double of the season
with 17 points and 12 rebounds to lead the Texans, while Andrew
Bridger and Jeff Martin dropped in 15 each to pace UNO.
Nebraska-Omaha closes the season at 22-9.
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Tarleton Sports Information
Midwestern State 91, Incarnate Word 74
Midwestern State senior Jason Ebie's all-around performance
lifted the No. 3-ranked Mustangs to a 91-74 win over Incarnate Word
in the NCAA Division II South Central Regional Saturday night at
D.L. Ligon Coliseum.
The point guard poured in a game-high 23 points, dished out nine
assists and pulled in six rebounds to propel MSU to its
27th-straight home win.
The Mustangs face Tarleton State for the fourth time this season
Sunday night at 5 p.m.
The Mustangs raced out to a 16-4 lead when Ebie culminated a
13-0 run with a 3-pointer with 13:59 to go until halftime.
Incarnate Word faced a double-digit deficit the rest of the way.
Charlie Logan and Chris Hagan added 17 points each, while Craig
Green added 10 more.
Incarnate Word was led by senior Pierce Caldwell who fired in
each of his six 3-pointers in the second half to finish with 22
points, while Tracy Robinson added 19 points and five rebounds.
The Cardinals end the season at 23-7.
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for complete release courtesy of MSU Sports Information
Fort Hays State 80, Central Oklahoma 64
Willie Hassell and Dijon Smith combined for 41 points off of the
bench as No. 14 Fort Hays State advanced with an 80-64 win over
Central Oklahoma Saturday afternoon in the NCAA Division II South
Central Regionals at D.L. Ligon Coliseum.
Fort Hays (24-6) advances to face Central Missouri in the
regional semifinal Sunday afternoon. Tipoff is set for 4:30 p.m.
Corbin Kuentzsch highlighted an 11-2 run midway through the
second half as the Tigers extended a one-point edge to a commanding
53-42 advantage when Smith converted a layup on the block with
11:39 to play.
Central Oklahoma could get no closer than eight the rest of the
way.
The Bronchos closed the season at 22-7.
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here for complete release courtesy of UCO Sports Information