KANSAS CITY, Mo. – In a stark contrast to the first two days of play, high seeds ruled on Saturday and all advanced in the quarterfinal round of the 2021 NAIA Men’s Basketball National Championship. No. 11 Loyola (La.) nearly pulled the upset with a game-tying three-pointer with 12 seconds left to send the game to overtime, while Saint Francis (Ind.), SAGU (Texas) and Shawnee State (Ohio) advanced to Monday’s action.
Quarterfinal Results | March 20, 2021
No. 5 Shawnee State (Ohio) def. No. 13 Jamestown (N.D.), 76-65
No. 9 Saint Francis (Ind.) def. No. 16 Bethel (Ind.), 89-81
No. 3 Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) def. No. 11 Loyola (La.), 75-70
No. 7 SAGU (Texas) def. No. 15 Carroll (Mont.), 73-65
News and Notes
Game 1 – No. 5 Shawnee State (Ohio) def. No. 13 Jamestown (N.D.), 76-65
Shawnee State – No. 5 (Cramer)
Extends current win streak to 25 straight en route to program’s first-ever appearance in the semifinal round
Held a slim one-point advantage at the intermission after trailing by double digits and scoring just four points after the first five minutes of play
Led in scoring by James Jones’ 31 point performance (13-for-23 from the field / 4-for-5 from the free throw line)
EJ Onu led all performers on the glass after snagging 12 rebounds and added an additional nine blocks to his resume (19 total at the final site)
Proved to be solid team in the paint after notching 42 points in the lane and outrebounding the Jimmies at a 41-34 margin
The Bears efficient bench outscored Jamestown 27-19
Finished shooting 42 percent from the floor and 76 percent from the free throw line, but struggled from long distance with a 19 percent efficiency
Jamestown – No. 13 (Cramer)
Second quarterfinal appearance in program history (first appearance was in 2002-03 season)
Mason Walters led the Jimmies offensively with 20 points on a 10-for-19 clip
Brock Schrom and Marc Kjos also finished in double figures with 11 points and 10 points, respectively
Brady Birch, Schrom, and Walters were tops for Jamestown on the boards with six rebounds each
Finished shooting 41 percent from the field, 83 percent from the charity stripe, and was also cold from distance at 22 percent
Game 2 – No. 9 Saint Francis (Ind.) def. No. 16 Bethel (Ind.), 89-81
Saint Francis – No. 9 (Naismith)
Trailed by five points at halftime – Led by Jalan Mull’s 22 point, 12 rebound double-double after a 10-for-17 showing from the field – Antwaan Cushingberry poured in 21 points and was tops for the Cougars with six assists- Brayton Bailey (14 points), Dan McKeeman (13 points), and David Ejah (10 points) rounded out the top scorers for Saint Francis- Outscored the Pilots in the paint at a 44-32 margin- Finished shooting 49 percent from the floor, 33 percent from three-point land, and 80 percent from the charity stripe
Bethel – No. 16 (Naismith)
Deepest tournament run for Bethel since 2017 and 9th overall trip to the quarterfinals
Nathan Aerts led the squad with 19 points while nabbing six rebounds
TreVion Crews (15 points), Jake Johnson (12 points), Jared DeHart (11 points), and Wesley Burse (10 points) also finishing in double figures
Burse led Bethel on the glass with a team-high eight rebounds
Converted 10 forced turnovers for 16 points
Finished shooting 45 percent from the field, 30 percent from beyond the arc, and 72 percent from the free throw line
Game 3 – No. 3 Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) def. No. 11 Loyola (La.), 75-70
Lewis-Clark State – No. 3 (Duer)
First overtime contest of the final site this year
Five athletes finished in double figures, led by Trystan Bradley’s 18 points
Hodges Bradley posted a 12 point, 10 rebound double-double
Damek Mitchell (13 points), Khalil Stevenson (11 points), and Nathan Fromm (10 points) rounded out the top L-C State scorers
A productive Warriors bench outscored the Loyola reserves at a 19-9 clip
Finished shooting 40 percent from the field, 27 percent from long distance, and 79 percent from the free throw line
Loyola – No. 11 (Duer)
First quarterfinal appearance for the Wolfpack since 1946
Zach Wrightsil led all scorers en route to a 27 point, 10 rebound double-double performance
Myles Burns also recorded a double-double with 17 points and 13 rebounds
Won the rebounding battle by a slim 43-40 margin and outscore the Warriors 48-30 in the paint
Forced 18 turnovers while only committing nine
Finished shooting 36 percent from the floor, 18 percent from the three-point line, and 61 percent from the charity stripe
Game 4 – No. 7 SAGU (Texas) def. No. 15 Carroll (Mont.), 73-65
SAGU – No. 7 (Liston)
Program’s second quarterfinal appearance (first in 2013)
Propelled to victory by Joel Polius’ double-double performance (27 points, 10 rebounds)
Isaiah Boling (14 points), Joshua Kashila (13 points/7 assists), and Nathan Bailey (11 points) rounded out the top performers
SAGU converted 13 Carroll turnovers for 15 points
Finished shooting 54 percent from the field, 38 percent from distance, and 70 percent from the free throw line
Carroll – No 15 (Liston)
Program’s sixth overall quarterfinal appearance
Led in scoring by a trio of double digit performers: Jovan Sljvancanin (16 points), Shamrock Campbell (16 points), and Brendan Temple (12 points)
Sljivancanin also led the Fighting Saints with nine rebounds and four assists
Carroll’s reserves were more productive on the night, outscoring SAGU’s bench at a 12-4 spread
Finished shooting 46 percent from the floor, 24 percent from the three-point line, and 67 percent from the charity stripe
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