#2 IU East advances past #3 Northwest Christian, reaches Elite 8 at #NAIADIIMBB

3/10/2017 12:00:00 AM

By IU East Sports Information Box Score

POINT LOOKOUT, Mo. - The Red Wolves maintained elite status at the national tournament. The Indiana University East men's basketball team moved on to the Elite Eight at the NAIA Division II Men's Basketball National Championship for the second consecutive year with a 73-68 win against Northwest Christian University on March 10 at the College of the Ozarks' Keeter Gym.

The Red Wolves, the No. 2 seed in the tournament's "Liston Bracket," improved to 28-7. The Beacons, the No. 3 seed in the "Liston Bracket," finished 25-6.

KEY MOMENTS

* IU East jumped ahead 22-5 after 10 minutes and took a 35-30 lead into halftime.

* The Red Wolves built another double-digit lead in the second half, only to see Northwest Christian go on a 20-7 surge to take its only lead of the game at 58-57 with six minutes remaining.

* Jaylen McKay immediately answered with a basket for IU East to put the Red Wolves back in front. Aaron Thomas converted an old-fashioned three-point play on the next possession to boost the IU East lead back to 62-58. The Red Wolves led by at least two points the rest of the way.

* Jaylen McKay made two baskets and blocked a shot in the last 46 seconds to help preserve IU East's advantage. Kyle Pipenger also made two free throws with 16 seconds left to keep the Red Wolf lead at two possessions.

SIGNIFICANT STATS

* IU East is in the quarterfinal round at the national tournament for the second consecutive year.

* IU East limited Northwest Christian to a .367 overall field goal percentage.

* The Red Wolves made 18 of 20 from the line (.900 percentage). The Beacons made 16 of 28 from the stripe (.571 percentage).

* IU East had a 30-14 edge in points off of the bench.

* IU East beat a team from the Cascade Collegiate Conference for the first time in four tries.

* Jacoby Claypool led three IU East players in double digits with 14 points. Nate Niehoff added 13, and Jaylen McKay scored 11 off of the bench.

* Brendyn Taylor scored a game-high 19 points for Northwest Christian. Jay Mayernik, the nation's leading rebounder, added 17 points and 11 rebounds.

NOTABLE QUOTABLE

"We came out locked in from the jump and executed our game plan. The rest took care of itself. We've just got to keep trusting our coaches and just play ball." - IU East's Nate Niehoff

"Coming into the game, we had the mindset of outworking Northwest Christian, and our toughness down the stretch won us the game! We played a complete game as a team." - IU East's Bishop Smith

"A tough game, and that's what we showed most - toughness. We stuck with it. Didn't change our plans. Did what we've been doing all year. Persevered and fought throught it." - IU East's Jacoby Claypool

UP NEXT

IU East faces "Liston Bracket" No. 1 seed Cornerstone University for a spot in the "Fab Four" on March 11 at 2 p.m. ET.