NCAA DII Men's Basketball Bracket
BIG RAPIDS, Mich. – With 1.2 seconds left on the clock, Findlay guard Elijah Kahlig had ice in his veins to eliminate Bellarmine and return the Oilers’ men’s basketball program to the Sweet 16 as he completed the game-winning sequence.
It must have been like slow motion as the senior all-conference performer rose for a contested three-point attempt, a shot that nearly was a four-point play as it rimmed out when he was fouled by Alex Cook off the inbounds play.
Kahlig calmly sank the first two free throws and intentionally missed off glass to run time off the clock.
A desperation full-court heave was deflected out of bounds and time expired as No. 3 seed Findlay took down the No. 2 seed Knights in a closely-contested final, 74-73, on Sunday in Jim Wink Arena at Ferris State.
The Oilers (28-4 overall) avenged their NCAA Championship Midwest Regional loss to Bellarmine from 2017 before joining the Great Midwest to replicate their postseason run. UF booked its place in the regional final against site host and top seed Ferris State for Tuesday with a 7 p.m. ET tip.
The winner would advance to Sioux Falls, S.D., for the Elite Eight March 20-24 at the Sanford Pentagon.
With 12 ties and 11 lead changes, the momentum swung back and forth like a pendulum with two nationally-ranked heavyweights exchanging blows. Neither team led by double-digits (Oilers led by as many as nine, Knights led by as many as six) and leads were hard to hold on to at critical junctures of the game.
Whether it was Great Midwest Player of the Year Taren Sullivan seemingly scoring at will or the Knights’ Brent Bach catching fire from all spots on the floor, each team had their moment.
Perhaps no play was bigger down the stretch from UF senior guard Martyce Kimbrough, who absorbed contact on the break and spun in a tough layup off glass.
Kimbrough sank the free throw and converted the and-one opportunity to tie the game at 68-68 with 2:28 left to go.
Kimbrough also had two huge offensive rebounds in the final 1:45, one finding a cutting Austin Gardner for a layup and the other pursuing his own miss with five seconds left to set up the Kahlig inbounds play.
Sullivan had it going again after carving up No. 6 seed Drury in the opening round. He finished with 22 points on 9-of-14 shooting, including 13 in the first half. Kimbrough posted 20 on 7-of-13 shooting and Alex White was near perfect in the post with 6-for-7 shooting for 14 points and three blocks.
Bellarmine was ranked fourth nationally while the Oilers went into the game ranked 13th in the NABC Coaches Poll. The Knights concluded their season at 28-4 overall as Bach had a game-high 26 points.
Ferris State toppled No. 4 Lake Superior State in the last semifinal to set up the Tuesday showdown with Findlay.