No. 3 MBB posts 74-58 win over St. Thomas (Fla.)

Box Score

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POINT LOOKOUT, Mo. – Cornerstone saw a double-digit lead trimmed to just five at the break but then outscored Saint Thomas (Fla.) 46-35 in the second to post a 74-58 win over the Bobcats to advance to Friday's Second Round of the NAIA DII Men's Basketball National Championship. CU got 26 points from Kyle Steigenga (FR/Holland, Mich.) as they improve to 29-5 on the year. The Golden Eagles will play at 9:30 a.m. EST against Concordia (Ore.).

Game Flow
After an early 2-0 lead by the Bobcats, it was all Cornerstone as they scored the game's next eight points which all came from different players. STU did manage to keep the score within 2-4 points but 9-0 spurt highlighted by a three-pointer from Cory Cox (SO/Flushing, Mich.) and lay-in from Justin Pepper (SR/Wayland, Mich.) upped the CU lead to 21-10 with 6:50 to play. The Bobcats did not back down however as they outscored Cornerstone 13-7 to finish the half down 28-23.

Saint Thomas then opened the second half with a jumper but the next possession saw a Kyle Steigenga dunk ignite the CU offense as they slowly built on their lead and had it to as many as 21 with 11:20 to play after a Steigenga layup on a feed from Michael McLaughlin (SO/Grand Rapids, Mich.). The lead never got under 14 for the remainder of the game as CU won by 16.

Say What?
"It is always nice to get that first win because nobody wants to go home after their first game. Now we get a day off, which I really like and it will give the coaches time to scout our next opponent". – Head coach Kim Elders

By the Numbers
26 – Points from freshman Kyle Steigenga in his national tournament debut

16 and 14 – Rebounds for Ben Lanning (JR/Grandville, Mich.) and Kyle Steigenga – both leading to double-doubles

13 – Assists for CU – led by Ben Lanning with four and Michael McLaughlin with 3

.214 – CU connected on just 3-14 shots from behind the arc – their second lowest % of the season

5 – Blocked shots for Cornerstone – three for Ben Lanning and two for Kyle Steigenga

Up Next
Cornerstone will play in the Second Round on Friday at 9:30 a.m. EST against Concordia (Ore.) as the Cavaliers defeated IU-East 116-90 in their first round game.

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