KANSAS CITY, Mo. – After two days of play at the 2021 NAIA Men’s Basketball National Championship, neither the No. 1 or No. 2 seeds will return to the floor. For the second consecutive day, a top seed was knocked-out as No. 2 William Penn (Iowa) fell to No. 15 Carroll (Mont.) 85-62. The opener of the day also featured an upset as Loyola (La.) advanced to the quarterfinals on Saturday.
First Round Results – Day One | March 18, 2021
No. 11 Loyola (La.) def. No. 6 Marian (Ind.), 69-62
No. 3 Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) def. No. 14 Oklahoma Wesleyan, 86-72
No. 7 SAGU (Texas) def. No. 10 Morningside (Iowa), 90-85
No. 15 Carroll (Mont.) def. No. 2 William Penn, 85-62
News and Notes
Game 1 – No. 11 Loyola (La.) def. No. 6 Marian (Ind.), 69-62
Marian – No. 6 (Duer)
8th overall appearance
Three players reached double figures, led by Cameron Wolter’s 17 point, 18 rebound double-double
Christian Stewart (15 points) and Christian Harvey (10 points) also finished in double digits
Won the rebounding battle at a 40-36 margin and recorded 10 steals
Finished shooting 32.8 percent from the field, 10.5 percent from beyond the arc, and 90.9 percent from the charity stripe
Loyola – No. 11 (Duer)
2nd consecutive Round of 16 appearance for the Wolfpack (7th overall national tournament appearance)
Held Marian to just four points through the first nine minutes of play in the opening half
Led by Zach Wrightsil who produced 19 points, nine rebounds, and five assists
Myles Burns (18 points/6 rebounds/4 assists) and Andrew Fava (17 points, 4-for-6 from beyond the arc) also finished in double figures
Terry Smith Jr. narrowly missed out on a double-double after totaling nine points and eight rebounds
Finished shooting 45 percent from the floor and 33 percent from long range while holding Marian to just 11 percent from the three-point line, and 58.1 percent from the free throw line
Game 2 – No. 3 Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) def. No. 14 Oklahoma Wesleyan, 86-72
Lewis-Clark State – No. 3 (Duer)
16th overall appearance
First win decided by 10+ points at the final site this season
Lewis-Clark had five finish in double figures, led by Hodges Bailey’s 21 point showing (perfect 10-for-10 from the charity stripe)
Trystan Bradley posted a 14 point, 10 rebound double-double performance
Nathan Fromm (14 points), Damek Mitchell (13 points), and Travis Yenor (13 points) rounded out the top scorers for the Warriors
Lewis-Clark outrebounded the Eagles at a 43-37 margin and held a 17-7 advantage in the assists column
Finished shooting 45 percent from the field, 43 percent from downtown, and 82 percent from the free throw line
Oklahoma Wesleyan – No. 14 (Duer)
9th overall appearance
11 players saw 10+ minutes and 10 players scored in the contest
Lense Ramey led the Eagles in scoring with 17 points
Kaleb Stokes posted a double-double and led all players on the glass after notching 14 points and 12 rebounds
Forced 15 turnovers while committing 10 and finishing +4 in the steals column
Finished shooting 38 percent from the floor, 22 percent from the three-point line, and 62 percent from the charity stripe
Game 3 – No. 7 SAGU (Texas) def. No. 10 Morningside, 90-85
SAGU – No. 7 (Liston)
9th overall appearance
Joel Polius led the team with an 18 point, 12 rebound double-double performance
Joshua Kashila (20 points/4 rebounds/4 assists) and Isaiah Boling (15 points/7 rebounds) also finished in double figures
Forced 17 turnovers while only committing eight
Finished shooting 51 percent from the floor, 36 percent from long range, and 70 percent from the free throw line
Morningside – No. 10 (Liston)
18th overall appearance
Aidan Vanderloo led all scorers with 22 points after sinking three shots from distance
Three other Mustangs finished with double digit scoring: Trey Brown (18 points/12 rebounds), Zach Imig (12 points/8 rebounds/6 assists), and Will Pottebaum (11 points/5 rebounds)
Won the rebounding battle at a 40-34 margin
Finishing shooting 48 percent from the field, 38 percent from the three-point line, and 77 percent from the charity stripe
Game 4 – No. 15 Carroll (Mont.) def. William Penn (Iowa), 85-62
William Penn – No. 2 (Liston)
11th overall appearance
Led in scoring by Josh Watkins (15 points) and Ty Majlik-Autry (12 points)
The Statesmen bench proved to be more productive, outsourcing Carroll 36-22
Won the rebounding battle at a 44-33 margin
Finished shooting 46 percent from the floor, 33 percent from distance, and 53 percent from the free throw line
Carroll – No 15 (Liston)
15th overall appearance
First time since 1968 that both the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds have been knocked out in the first round at the final site
Nine players scored for the Fighting Saints and three reached double figures, led by Jovan Sljivancanin with a game-high 20 point performance
Dennis Flowers III added 19 points and Shamrock Campbell tacked on 15 points
Sunk 12 three’s on the evening while forcing 18 turnovers and committing 10
Finished shooting 46 percent from the field, a red-hot 57 percent from the three-point line, and 81 percent from the charity stripe
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