#1 IU East tops #8 Voorhees (S.C.) in NAIA DII MBB national tournament first round
#1 IU East tops #8 Voorhees (S.C.) in NAIA DII MBB national tournament first round
By IU East Sports Information
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (Box Score) -- The Indiana University East men's basketball team moved on to the Round of 16 at the NAIA Division II Men's Basketball National Championship with a 91-79 victory against a scrappy Voorhees College team on March 7 in the tournament's first round.
NAIA Division II No. 1 IU East (32-2), the No. 1 seed in the tournament's "Naismith Bracket," won its 26th game in a row and reached the Sweet 16 at the national tournament for the third consecutive year. Voorhees, the No. 8 seed in the "Naismith Bracket," finishes 18-11.
IU East will face No. 4 seed Oklahoma Wesleyan University on March 9 at 9:30 a.m. (IU East time) in the Round of 16.
KEY MOMENTS
* Charles Peterson's 3-pointer capped a 7-0 spurt that put IU East ahead 30-14 midway through the first half.
* The Red Wolves scored the first six points of the second half to jump ahead 50-32.
* Nate Niehoff had four of the points as IU East scored six in a row to take its biggest lead at 69-43.
NUMBERS OF NOTE
* IU East led for the last 37 minutes, the last 30 of them by double digits.
* The teams combined for 53 fouls, which resulted in 61 total free throws and a game that lasted more than two hours.
* Lucas Huffman led IU East with 18 points.
* Alex Brooks scored 21 points off of the bench for Voorhees.
NOTABLE QUOTABLE
"We handled their pressure really well to start the game and also really controlled the boards in the second half and locked in on defense.
"(The key to the second half) was just energy. We finally started having fun. We were taking it a little too seriously - we were a little nervous coming out - but we started having fun and the bench started getting us fired up." - Charles Peterson
"I believe our guards are the best in the country, and they really handled the pressure well. (Voorhees) was a run and jump team, and our guards handled it really well and got us going.
"Like Charles said, we came out with lot of energy (to start the second half). We went in at halftime and made adjustments and executed them like the coaches wanted us to." - Nate Niehoff
UP NEXT
IU East faces Oklahoma Wesleyan in the NAIA Division II Men's Basketball National Championship second round on March 9 at 9:30 a.m. (IU East time).