March 11, 2006

10th-seed Morningside College (Iowa) pulled off a minor upset over seventh-seed Warner Pacific (Ore.) 71-68 in the final game of the second round of the 15th Annual NAIA Division II Men's Basketball National Championship. The 2006 event is being held at the Keeter Gymnasium on the campus of College of the Ozarks (Mo.).

Trailing 28-33 after the first period, Morningside scored the first five points of the second half to tie the game at 33. The game would see two ties and five lead changes over the next seven minutes as neither team could go on a big run. Warner Pacific changed that, however, as they turned a 46-46 tie into a 58-51 lead with 6:38 to go in the game. The Knights still led by seven, 62-55, when the Mustangs scored six unanswered points to cut the lead to 62-61 with just over two minutes to go. After a Warner Pacific three pointer, senior Brad Schmit scored five straight points to give Morningside the lead for good, 66-65. The Mustangs made five of their six free throws in the last minute to ice the win, and outscored the Knights 20-4 from the foul line on the night.

Morningside was led in scoring by Brad Schmit who tallied a game-high 19 points. Senior Tom Regan netted 11 points and pulled down nine rebounds and sophomore Jack Rother scored 11 off the bench for the Mustangs. In contrast to their previous match-up, Morningside struggled from the field, shooting 37% from the field. They did make 7 of 19 three point attempts and have made 19 in the tournament. The Mustangs bench outscored the Knights bench 27-12. Morningside advances to the Elite Eight in their first ever appearance at the NAIA national tournament.

Warner Pacific was led in scoring by senior forward Donny Woods who was one rebound shy of his straight double-double with 17 points and nine rebounds. The sophomore guard tandem of Scott Gallagher and Josh Jackson scored 13 and 12 points respectively. Senior Garland Perry, who scored 20 points in their opening round win, was held to seven before fouling out. The Knights shot 40% from the field, 30% from beyond the arc. Warner Pacific was making their first ever national tournament appearance and ends their season with a 24-9 overall record.

Morningside improves to 28-6 on the season with the win and advances to the quarterfinal round on Saturday. They will face second-seed Huntington College in Saturday's quarterfinal game scheduled for 8:00 pm. The 32-team, single elimination tournament concludes Tuesday, March 14.

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