IU East's Championship Trek Continues with win over #1 seed Briar Cliff

3/13/2016 12:00:00 AM

By Matt Bos, NAIA DII Men's Basketball Media Coordinator

Point Lookout, Mo.- Box Score | Bracket A floater in the lane by Lucas Huffman with six seconds left put IU East into the national semifinals with an 83-81 win over No. 1 Briar Cliff in the quarterfinals of the 2016 NAIA Division II Men's Basketball National Championship.

The Cinderella run by IU East will continue as the Red Wolves will match-up against No. 1 Saint Francis (Ind.) in the first semifinal game on Monday, March 14 at 6pm. IU East improves to 22-13 on the year.

A close game throughout that featured nine ties and 15 lead changes, a three-pointer by Huffman gave IU East the lead (78-77) with two minutes left, its first lead since late in the first half. The lead traded hands two more times over the final two minutes and a Huffman free throw tied the game at 81 with 44 seconds left.

Briar Cliff missed on its offensive end and following a timeout, head coach Mark Hester dialed up a play for his star sophomore, who led all scorers with 31 points, none bigger than the final two with six seconds left that put the Red Wolves' into the semifinals for the first time in school history.

Huffman's heroics were not alone as senior Vasha Davis was steady if not spectacular with 15 points and a 2016 championship-high seven assists before fouling out late. Nate Niehoff scored 13 points off the Red Wolves' bench and Domonique Williams patrolled the middle with 12 points and six boards.

The Chargers were led by sharp-shooter Clay Harreld, who put down eight three-pointers en route to a 28-point effort, matching the third most three-pointers made in a game at the championship. Erich Erdman continued his strong play off the bench, scoring 12 points and leading the team with seven rebounds. Austin Homan provided the force inside with 17 points, going 7-for-11 from the field.

The first half featured back-and-forth, fast-paced action that ended with a 6-2 Briar Cliff run that put the higher seed in front 43-40 at the break. The Chargers were on the verge of breaking the game open, going up by as many as 10 (58-48) after a basket by Homan at the 15-minute mark.
IU East did not panic and began to slowly chip away, cutting the lead down to two with eight minutes left before eventually tying the game on a three-pointer by Huffman at the 5:24 mark.
Briar Cliff's record-breaking season comes to and end with a 32-4 record.

IU East and Saint Francis will be paired against one another for the second time this season in Monday's semifinal. USF defeated the Red Wolves 69-60 in a match-up played on a neutral court on Dec. 23.