PHILIPPI, W.V. – The quarterfinal round of the Great Midwest Athletic Men’s Basketball Championship at Alderson Broaddus University saw third-seeded Central State and fifth-seeded Trevecca Nazarene both advance in the bracket on Friday.
After the men’s conference tournament was pushed back one day due to winter weather conditions, the No. 3/6 and No. 4/5 seed matchups took center stage in Rex Pyles Arena.
Central State faces No. 2 seed Kentucky Wesleyan tomorrow while Trevecca Nazarene will meet No. 1 seed and tourney host Alderson Broaddus.
Saturday’s semifinal action will tip at 5 and 7:30 p.m. EST while Sunday’s championship game is scheduled for a 2 p.m. start.
No. 3 Central State 87, No. 6 Ohio Valley 81
An entertaining, high-octane duel unfolded as favored Central State hounded Ohio Valley with relentless defensive pressure to punch its ticket to the semifinal round.
The Marauders battled foul trouble down the stretch, losing all-conference guards Jeremy Brown and Masceo Harmon to their fifth personals.
The G-MAC’s leading rebounder Raheem Lemons was also saddled with foul trouble for most of the second half, but Central State head coach saw key contributions from guys like Ra’Chaun Thompson, Tre Edwards and Akil Cornish, on critical possessions.
The freshman guard Brown scored 18 points on 9-of-15 shooting as the Marauders were able to establish a 14-point lead in the first half and led by 10 at the intermission.
Early CSU defensive pressure resulted in a number of deflected inbounds passes and the Fighting Scots endured a sluggish opening period of ball handling by going over the top of the press.
One of the G-MAC’s premier scorers, Darryl Walker, was able to get tracked in the second half and Kris Hall had a pair of three-point play opportunities that drew OVU to a one-point deficit inside a minute left to play.
Central State nailed five of its six free throws inside the final minute while OVU committed two turnovers and missed a three.
Walker finished with 20 points and seven rebounds while Hall ended with 17 for Ohio Valley. Thompson nailed four shots from long range as part of his 15 points while Edwards and Harmon also finished in double-figures with 15 and 14, respectively.
CSU ultimately avenged a regular-season conference sweep suffered at the hands of OVU.
No. 5 Trevecca Nazarene 87, No. 4 Cedarville 69
A 15-3 run out of the gates caught Cedarville flat-footed as Trevecca Nazarene pulled off the upset in wire-to-wire fashion to conclude Friday’s doubleheader in quarterfinal action.
All five Trojans’ starters finished in double-figures, led by 18 points apiece from Byron Sanford and Matt Gamberoni. TNU led by as many as 21 points and drilled a dozen shots from beyond the arc.
Tyrell Corlew made all five of his field goals from long range, including a rare four-point play from the corner.
Sanford took over the first half in transition and head coach Sam Harris' half-court sets, slicing through the Yellow Jackets’ defense for his 18 points before the break.
Gamberoni and Percy Blade helped TNU establish a dominant front line with their presence inside and Jalen Palm was the catalyst for an early second-half surge.
Cedarville was able to trim a 14-point deficit down to five by halftime, but Palm scored five straight points in successive possessions as the lead ballooned up to 16 less than five minutes into the final period.
An offensive rebound and putback by Blade plus the foul put the Trojans up by 19 and Corlew nailed a three with 11:23 left for a 20-point cushion. Gamberoni helped put away the game late with eight straight points in the paint.
TNU shot over 46 percent from the field while Cedarville connected at just over a 37 percent clip.
Patrick Bain had 16 points to lead the Yellow Jackets while Leighton Smith chipped in 14 and Austin Pickett had a dozen.