Six of Kentucky’s nine teams in NAIA basketball championships survive to play another day
Three of Kentucky’s four men’s teams and three of its five women’s teams survived and advanced in the opening round of their NAIA basketball national championship tournaments on Friday.
The Georgetown, Cumberlands and Union men moved on to Saturday’s second round as did the Campbellsville, Georgetown and Cumberlands women.
The Pikeville men and women saw their seasons end along with the Lindsey Wilson women.
Both 64-team tournaments got underway Friday and Saturday with first- and second-round games at campus sites. The 16 remaining women’s teams will compete for the title March 21-26 at Sioux City, Iowa, while the men’s final 16 square off on the same dates in Kansas City, Missouri.
Men
Georgetown 97, Olivet Nazarene (Ill.) 79: Georgetown, the No. 6 seed in the Liston Quadrant, overpowered No. 11 Olivet Nazarene (22-9) behind 18 points each from Jabrion Spikes (Caldwell County) and Seth Johnson (South Oldham) at Sioux City, Iowa.
The Tigers (24-7) advanced to a second-round game Saturday against host and No. 3 seed Morningside (22-9).
Rashad Bishop (Ballard) added 15 points and Tommy Thomas 14 for Georgetown, which made 11 3-pointers and forced 18 turnovers.
Cumberlands 97, Philander Smith (Ark.) 96: Anthony Johnson came off the bench to score 24 points and Jonathan Brown had 23 as Cumberlands, the No. 2 seed in the Liston Quadrant held off the upset bid by No. 15 Philander Smith (21-9).
The Patriots (27-4) advanced to a second-round matchup at home Saturday night against No. 7 Florida College (28-4).
Cumberlands made 25 of 35 free throw attempts but it was a miss that helped them seal the outcome.
Leading 97-96 with less than a second left in the game, Patriots coach Matt Daniel called timeout and instructed Harry Morrice to miss the second of his two free throws intentionally. Philander Smith grabbed the rebound but only had time for a full-court heave that missed the mark.
D.J. Jones added 16 points for Cumberlands. Morrice finished with 14 points and 12 rebounds.
Union 88, OUAZ (Ariz.) 85 (OT): Former Scott County standout Terrin Hamilton was fouled as he made a floater with six seconds remaining then cashed in the subsequent free throw to provide the difference in overtime for Union, the No. 8 seed in the Naismith Quadrant at Winona Lake, Indiana.
Union (26-6) advanced to a second-round matchup Saturday against No. 1 seed Grace of Indiana (31-1).
Markelle Turner (Knox County Central) led Union with 23 points. Markelo Sullivan (Fairdale) stuffed the stat sheet with 20 points, 10 rebounds, four assists, four steals, two blocks and no turnovers. Hamilton had 16 points and seven boards, and Deonte Douglas (Owensboro) played all 45 minutes and produced 14 points, five rebounds and five assists.
St. Thomas (Fla.) 73, Pikeville 70: No. 4 seed St. Thomas (22-8) broke a 54-54 tie with 9:23 remaining and never trailed again in defeating the No. 13 Bears (23-8) in the Cramer Quadrant at Miami Gardens, Fla.
St. Thomas’ 9-0 run built a 63-54 lead with 6:37 to play. Pikeville chipped away the rest of the game but never drew closer than the final margin.
Jeremy Dillon led Pikeville with 21 points. Issac Stanback had 18 and Bradley Bunch added 13.
Women
Campbellsville 80, Governors State (Ill.) 57: Campbellsville is a No. 1 seed in the 16-team Duer Quadrant, and the Tigers came out of the gate looking like one.
Campbellsville (29-1) raced to a 23-14 first quarter lead and never trailed in advancing to a second-round matchup Saturday at home against No. 8 seed William Carey of Mississippi (22-4).
Lauren Lee (Casey County) led a balanced attack for Campbellsville with 13 points. Kaitlynn Wilks (Lincoln County) and Elizabeth Bertram (Barren County) had 12 each. Bailey Pedigo (Barren County) scored 11 and Kayla Luebbe added 10.
Georgetown 87, Milligan (Tenn.) 61: Georgetown, the No. 3 seed in the Cramer Quadrant, made quick work of its first-round foe in New Orleans.
The Tigers (25-6) advanced to a second-round matchup Saturday with host and No. 6 seed Loyola of Louisiana (25-4).
Georgetown led 22-10 after one quarter and 42-20 at the half against Milligan (23-8).
Trinity Klock came off the bench to lead the Tigers with 16 points and seven rebounds. University of Kentucky transfer Erin Toller (Sacred Heart) and Izzy Lamparty scored 14 each. Ellie Wilkerson added 11.
Cumberlands 73, Siena Heights (Mich.) 56: The Patriots took command quickly and coasted to an opening-round victory on their home court in Williamsburg.
Cumberlands, the No. 3 seed in the Duer Quadrant, earned a second-round matchup Saturday against either No. 6 Bryan (Tenn.) or No. 11 Mobile (Ala.), with the winner moving on to next week’s national round of 16 in Sioux City, Iowa.
Kaylie Monday led three Patriots in double figures with 15 points and also contributed eight rebounds, three assists and five steals. Destiny Haworth added 13 points, Joy Kendrick had 12 and Channing Lewis (Mercer County) delivered nine points and 12 rebounds.
Cumberlands (23-9) led 23-10 after one quarter and 43-24 at halftime.
Stephens (Mo.) 84, Pikeville 69: The No. 8 seed Bears (24-8) suffered a first-round knockout against No. 9 Stephens (23-7) in the Naismith Quadrant in Indianapolis.
Senior Morgan Stamper (Simon Kenton) led Pikeville with a season-high 25 points to go along with 13 rebounds. Allie Stone (West Carter) added 21 points.
Menlo (Calif.) 74, Lindsey Wilson 67: Menlo shot a sizzling 54.5 percent from the field and crushed the Blue Raiders on the boards to pull out a first-round win at Ashland, Oregon.
Lindsey Wilson, the No. 12 seed in the Duer Quadrant, finishes its season 19-12. Sydnie Hall (South Laurel) led the Blue Raiders with 20 points. Taylor Guess (Crittenden County) scored 18. Lindsey Wilson was outrebounded 41-28.
