March 13, 2008

Point Lookout, Mo. - #11 Oregon Tech, inspired by the gutty performance of Cascade Collegiate Conference Player of the Year Ryan Fiegi, advanced to the second round of the 2008 NAIA Division II men's basketball tournament with a 77-74 victory over Mount Vernon Nazarene (Ohio) Thursday night. The championship is being held at the Keeter Gymnasium on the campus of the College of the Ozarks (Mo.). 

Fiegi scored a team-high 18 points despite suffering a partial dislocation of his right kneecap in a collision going to the basket in the first half. The injury sent Fiegi to the locker room for the remainder of the period, but he returned to the court with the knee taped to play the entire second half and propel the Hustlin' Owls to the victory.

In the second half, with OIT trailing 55-54, Fiegi's twisting layup with 11:07 remaining gave the Hustlin' Owls a lead they would not relinquish. The field goal sparked an 11-0 run by OIT, which later led by as many as 13, 73-60.

Mount Vernon Nazarene made a comeback of its own, slicing into OIT's 75-65 lead by scoring seven unanswered points, including back-to-back baskets by All-American Ben Falkenberg, who finished with a game-high 22 points. Falkenberg's driving layup with 56 seconds left pulled the Cougars to within three, 77-74, but his off-balance 3-point attempt in the waning seconds and another last-gasp 3-point attempt by the Cougars just before the buzzer were off the mark, preserving OIT's win and sending the Hustlin' Owls to their 10^th appearance in the Sweet 16.

Fiegi led three Hustlin' Owls in double figures, with Jguwon Hogges scoring 14 points and Myles Daley adding 12. OIT shot 57 percent from the field despite hitting just 4 of 19 attempts from beyond the arc.

Dan Borcherdt added 15 points for Mount Vernon Nazarene, including five three pointers. Connor Gregg chipped in 10 points and five rebounds. The Cougars finish the season with a 24-7 overall record.

The Hustlin' Owls, who remain unbeaten (10-0) in first-round NAIA tournament games, improved to 27-6 with the win and will face sixth-seeded Evangel (Mo.) Friday at 9:15 pm in a Sweet 16 matchup.