KANSAS CITY, Mo. - The Rogers State men's basketball team advances to the round of 16 at the Buffalo-Funds NAIA Men's Basketball National Tournament on Friday, March 18 at 6:15 p.m. after a thrilling, 66-64, upset over the No. 6 seed Texas Wesleyan on Wednesday evening at Municipal Auditorium.
The Cats will square off against unseeded Carroll College (Mont.). The Fighting Saints converted six-of-eight free throws in the final 45 seconds to outlast No. 11 seed Union University (Tenn.), 69-63, Wednesday to move on to the second round. Carroll has a 22-8 record and reach the tournament after winning the Frontier Conference regular season title with a 10-4 record. Head Coach Brandon Veltri was named Coach of the Year in the Frontier Conference and junior guard Byago Diouf was named the conference Defensive Player of the Year along with garnering first team all-conference honors. Junior Andy Garland joined Diouf on the first team and junior Tony Dalton was named to the second team. This is the Saints first trip the Big Dance since 2007. Carroll reached the semifinals in 2005 and bowed out in the quarterfinals in 2006.
Coach Justin Barkley's squad trailed No. 6 seed Texas Wesleyan by six points with 47 seconds remaining in the contest. Senior Matt Kellogg knocked down a trey from behind the arc to ignite a 6-1 run in the final second to secure the biggest upset in the opening round. The Cats are making their first appearance in the round of 16. This is RSU's second trip to the Big Dance in the program's short, four-year history. The Hillcats first trip to Kansas City came in the 2008-09 season as the No. 1 team in the nation after winning both the regular season and conference tournament. RSU lost to William Jewell 76-73 in the opening round of the tournament and ended the season 30-2.
The winner of the Carroll College vs. RSU second-round game will advance to the quarterfinals on Saturday, March 19 at 6 p.m. They will face the winner of the 3rd-seed Mountain State (W.Va.) and Lindenwood contest. Mountain State is ranked third and Lindenwood is ranked 20th in the NAIA Division I Men's Basketball Coaches' Poll.
RSU Radio 91.3FM will broadcast the live play-by-play coverage of the Hillcats throughout the National Tournament. The games can be listened to live via the internet with live streaming by going to the official website of the Hillcats and clicking on the "webcasts" link.
