Fab Four bound; No. 3 MBB def. No. 9 St. Francis 75-64

Box Score

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POINT LOOKOUT, Mo. – The No. 3 ranked Golden Eagles overcame a slow start, built a big lead in the second half and then held off a late St. Francis rally to defeat the Cougars 75-64 to advance to Monday's NAIA DII Men's Basketball National Championship semifinal. Cornerstone is now 31-5 on the season and will play Embry Riddle (Fla.) at 9 p.m. EST in one of two semifinal games at Keeter Gymnasium on the campus of the College of the Ozarks.

Game Flow
Cornerstone had all the momentum early as Michael McLaughlin (SO/Grand Rapids, Mich.) scored the game's first four points but the Cougars responded with an 8-0 run and eventually led 13-6 just before the halfway point of the opening 20 minutes. CU fought back with seven straight points including a McLaughlin triple and four from Kyle Steigenga (FR/Holland, Mich.) to tie it at 13. Travis Wells (JR/Eaton Rapids, Mich.) then heated up as he scored 11 of Cornerstone's 18 points during an 18-7 run to put the Golden Eagles up 34-24. St. Francis did score the final four of the first to cut CU's lead to 34-28.

The opening seven minutes of the second half was all Cornerstone as they took a 6-point edge and made it 14 after a Cory Cox (SO/Flushing, Mich.) three-pointer with 13:08 to play. St. Francis countered by holding the Golden Eagles scoreless for the next 5:07 to cut the margin to just four but CU got some big free-throws from multiple players including seniors Ty Mason (SR/Comstock Park, Mich.) and Justin Pepper (SR/Wayland, Mich.) to preserve the 11-point win.

Say What?
"Our team philosophy is that it isn't a single player's point but OUR point, and to be able to hit some shots after my teammates set great screen and made good passes, felt great" – Junior Travis Wells

By the Numbers
4 – Four of the five starters for Cornerstone reached double-figures, led by 20 from Travis Wells

5 – Michael McLaughlin posted a team high five assists to go along with nine points and three steals

18/24 – CU connected on 18 of their 24 foul shots in the second half after shooting just three in the first

6 and 4 – Points from Justin Pepper and Ty Mason off the bench

.323 – CU held the Cougars to a measly 32% from the field including just 4-16 from behind the arc

Up Next
Cornerstone will play in the Semifinals on Monday at 9 p.m. EST against Embry Riddle (Fla.) as the Eagles beat Southern Oregon 79-71 in their quarterfinal.

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