#1 IU East dispatches #3 Briar Cliff, advances to NAIA DII MBB national semifinals

3/11/2018 12:00:00 AM

By IU East Sports Information

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (Box Score) -- The top-ranked Indiana University East men's basketball team is back in the Fab Four at the NAIA Division II Men's Basketball National Championship after a 76-68 quarterfinal win against Briar Cliff University (Iowa) on March 10 at the Sanford Pentagon.

IU East will face Indiana Wesleyan University in the national semifinals on March 12 at 7 p.m. (IU East time).

KEY MOMENTS

* IU East struggled to contain Briar Cliff's high-octane offense in the early stages, falling behind 24-15. The Red Wolves then ran off 13 points in a row to go ahead for the first time at 28-24. Nate Niehoff was dominant inside with seven points during the spurt.

* IU East outscored Briar Cliff 9-4 in the last two minutes of the first half to push its halftime lead to 41-33. Jaylen McKay capped the half with a buzzer-beating jumper from about the same distance as his game-saving basket in overtime of the Red Wolves' Round of 16 win against Oklahoma Wesleyan on March 9.

* Briar Cliff also started strong on offense to start the second half, scoring 13 points in the first six minutes to go ahead 46-45. Datrion Harper answered for IU East with a putback basket on the ensuing possession, and the Red Wolves would not trail again.

* Bishop Smith scored 12 of his 18 points in the final 14 minutes to help the Red Wolves keep Briar Cliff at arm's length. Jaylen McKay tallied eight of his 19 points in the last 10 minutes.

* Briar Cliff missed its last 12 3-pointers, including six misses in the last minute.

* Both of IU East's Round of 8 wins at the national tournament have come against Briar Cliff. The Red Wolves also eliminated the Chargers in the quarterfinals at the 2016 national tournament.

NUMBERS OF NOTE

* Briar Cliff had not been held below 70 points all year.

* The Red Wolves held the Chargers to season-lows in 3-point field goals made (four) and 3-point field goal percentage (.138). Briar Cliff entered the game ranked third in the nation in 3-pointers per game.

* Nate Niehoff finished with a double-double of 15 points and 11 rebounds, with 13 points and seven rebounds in the first half.

* IU East finished with a 10-point advantage in points in the paint (42-32), a 12-point margin in points off of turnovers (25-13) and a 38-7 advantage in bench scoring.

* Erich Erdman, Briar Cliff's outstanding point guard, played all 40 minutes and scored 29 points.

NOTABLE QUOTABLE

"It feels great. We always heard stories from the upperclassmen about two years ago when they made it to the last four and how great it was, so it feels good to get back there again. … We're very happy, very happy. It's hard to say it topped the atmosphere from yesterday (in the locker room after the game), but this was a very tough game, and they have some great shooters, so to come out with a win, we are very excited."

"It was like a home game for Briar Cliff (just 80 miles from Sioux Falls). Their fans did a great job, and it was very loud, but we have a great way of turning the other team's energy into our energy. We are the type of team where if they get going, we're going to get going, so it was more fun than anything." - Jaylen McKay

"We've been working for this all year, all summer - really since we were there (in the national semifinals) my freshman year, and now we've got another shot."

"It was just 'next man up.' That's how it always is on our team, and it was just my day. My teammates put me in good positions. They needed us to rebound, so we rebounded and got out and ran."

"We've always been talking about adversity, how we want to attack adversity and go at it. The coaches, they've been preparing us for that every day at practice, so we're ready for it." - Nate Niehoff

UP NEXT

IU East will face the winner of the "Cramer Backet" - No. 1 seed Indiana Wesleyan University - in the national semifinals on March 12. Tipoff is at 7 p.m. (IU East time).