KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The top-two seeds in the tournament, Central Oklahoma and Northwest Missouri, both advanced to the semifinals of the 2022 MIAA Basketball Championships presented by Citizens Bank & Trust.
Top-seeded Central Oklahoma defeated No.9 Northeastern State and No.2 seed Northwest Missouri handled No.10 seed Rogers State. Below are game recaps from Thursday’s men’s session.
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No.1 Central Oklahoma 77, No.9 Northeastern State 66 – Box Score
The No.1 seeded-Central Oklahoma Bronchos defeated the No. 9 seeded-Northeastern State RiverHawks 77-66 the quarterfinals of the 2022 MIAA Men's Basketball Championship presented by Citizens Bank & Trust.
The Bronchos shot 44.6 percent (29-65) against NSU hitting 27.8 percent (5-18) from the three-point range and 73.7 percent (14-19) from the free-throw line. The RiverHawks finished with 47.4 percent (27-57) shooting from the field, 31.6 percent (6-19) from the three and 60.0 percent (6-10) from the foul line.
Four Bronchos finished with double-figure scoring. Central Oklahoma’s offense was led by All-MIAA selection Isaiah Wade with 23 points hitting 9-14 from the floor with a perfect 3-3 finish from the three while going 2-3 at the free-throw line. All-MIAA honorees Callen Haydon and Jaden Wells finished with 21 and 14 points, respectively. Haydon also recorded a tournament-high 10 assists while Cam Givens had a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds.
The RiverHawks offense was led by All-MIAA selection Emeka Obukwelu with 18 points on 72.7 percent (8-11) shooting with a 2-2 finish at the line. Rashad Perkins and Jaxon Jones each added nine points apiece while Jones led the NSU defense with seven boards. Northeastern State caps the 2021-22 season with a record of 16-14.
Central Oklahoma will face the winners of Friday’s quarterfinal match up featuring No.4 seed Washburn and No.5 seed Emporia State in the tournament semifinals on Saturday, March 5 at 6 p.m. in Municipal Auditorium.
No.2 Northwest Missouri 72, No.10 Rogers State 50 – Box Score
Second-seeded Fort Hays State Tigers defeat No.7 seeded-Central Oklahoma Bronchos 71-63 in the quarterfinals of the 2022 MIAA Women's Basketball Championship presented by Citizens Bank & Trust.
The Bearcats shot 47.1 percent (24-51) from the field, 48.0 percent (12-25) from the three and 80.0 percent (12-15) from the free-throw line while the Hillcats hit 42.6 percent (20-47) from the floor, 11.8 percent (2-17) from the three and 72.7 percent (8-11) from the foul line.
Northwest knocked down a tournament-high 12 threes with four Bearcats finishing in double-figure scoring. The Bearcat offense was led by All-MIAA selection Diego Bernard with 18 points, finishing 6-10 from the field, 3-3 from the three and 3-4 at the line. Another All-MIAA honoree Wes Dreamer knocked down the game-high five threes to finish with 15 points while the 2022 MIAA Player of the Year added 12 points and tailed a game-high six assists. Isaiah Jackson added 11 points and lead the Bearcats with a game-high seven rebounds.
The Hillcats were led by Joey Saracco with 12 points and six boards. Saracco hit 4-6 on the floor and finished a perfect 4-4 at the line. All-MIAA selections Devin Pullum and Tylan Dean added 10 and nine points, respectively. Rogers State ends their 2021-22 season in their first trip to the MIAA Tournament with a record of 16-13.
The Bearcats will face the winners of Friday’s quarterfinal match up featuring No.3 seed Fort Hays State and No.6 seed Missouri Southern in the tournament semifinals on Saturday, March 5 at 8:15 p.m. in Municipal Auditorium.