IU East advances past St. Francis (Ill.) into NAIA DII MBB final 8
IU East advances past St. Francis (Ill.) into NAIA DII MBB final 8
By IU East Sports Information
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. - The Indiana University East men's basketball team used a game-ending 21-5 run to beat the University of Saint Francis (Ill.) by a 77-61 score in a Round of 16 game March 8 at the NAIA Division II Men's Basketball National Championship in the Sanford Pentagon on Friday.
The Red Wolves earned a spot in the national tournament's Round of 8 for the fourth consecutive season.
The Red Wolves, the No. 4 seed in the tournament's "Liston Bracket," will face No. 2 seed Spring Arbor University (27-7) in the quarterfinal round on March 9. Tipoff time is 3 p.m. (IU East time).
UPDATING THE RECORDS
IU East (26-8) is now 4-0 all-time in Round of 16 games at the national tournament. Saint Francis (Ill.) finishes 20-15.
KEY MOMENTS
* The teams entered the final eight minutes tied at 52. Aaron Thomas scored on a third-chance putback on the next IU East possession to put the Red Wolves ahead to stay and start the game-ending 21-5 run for IU East.
* Jaylen McKay converted an old-fashioned three-point play, a field goal and a 3-pointer in a two-minute span to push the IU East lead to 68-58 with 4:42 remaining.
* Jaylen McKay scored on a drive down the left baseline at the first-half buzzer to send IU East to halftime tied at 38. The Red Wolves have been tied at halftime in both of their games at the national tournament this year.
TRENDING
* IU East's four-year seniors - Aaron Thomas and Nate Niehoff – now have been a part of 110 wins during their Red Wolf careers. Thomas and Niehoff tied the four-year seniors in the Class of 2018 - Jacoby Claypool, Lucas Huffman and Brad Hunt - for most career victories in program history.
* IU East and Indiana Wesleyan are the only teams to reach the quarterfinals at the national tournament in each of the past four years.
* IU East outscored Saint Francis 24-4 in the paint in the second half.
* Jaylen McKay finished with a game-high 25 points. He is averaging 19.2 points in five national tournament games over two seasons in the Sanford Pentagon.
* Aaron Thomas recorded his 14th double-double of the season and second in a row at the national tournament with 10 points and 13 rebounds.
* Nate Niehoff was productive with 13 points, three assists and a charge taken in 17 minutes.
* Mitch Kwasigroch led Saint Francis with 13 points.
QUOTABLE
"I knew (IU East) was a great program coming in as a freshman, and it's nice to keep the tradition rolling. … I was trying to get to the basket, and once I started getting to the basket a few times, things opened up a bit. I feel like I have the best finishers with my bigs, so I have no problem getting the ball to them, and they always do a great job." - Jaylen McKay
"We just did what we were supposed to do (in the last eight minutes). Guard the ball screen, not let them shoot the three and keep them out of the middle, and they really stopped scoring. Then we got out in transition, which is something we really wanted to do. We did a nice job of both of those things in that last stretch." - Aaron Thomas
UP NEXT
IU East will face Spring Arbor on March 9 at 3 p.m. (IU East time) for a spot in the tournament semifinals.