WARRENSBURG, Mo. --  Survive and advance. That's how the saying goes when it comes to the NCAA Tournament. The #7 SBU Bearcats did just that in their NCAA South Central Region first round matchup with the Angelo State Rams, winning 89-84.

D'Ante Harris

“Any NCAA Tournament win, whether it's by 2 or 20 points, is a good win,” said head coach Jeff Guiot. “When Angelo State made their run in the second half, we kept our composure. Angelo is a tough team but we were able to make more plays down the stretch.”

It was a physical contest that saw 62 fouls (including four technicals) called on the two teams and 82 free throws attempted. The Bearcats' D'Ante Harris commented on the physical battle. “Players are competitors,” he said. “We were both fighting to stay alive. Sometimes in the heat of battle, guys can make a wrong decision.”

Harris led the #2-seeded Bearcats with 26 points. All five starters were in double figures including Wendell Mardis with 15, who picked up his first start of the season. Johnnie Harris had 12 and Tomas Brock scored 10 points.

The Bearcats (25-4) welcomed back two key components, in center Matt Rogers and swingman Nick Kovacevich. Rogers had 12 points, a team-high 8 rebounds and 4 blocks after missing the MIAA Tournament due to illness. He played 25 minutes before fouling out with a minute left. Kovacevich played 14 minutes in his first action since February 18 at Fort Hays State.

The Rams (20-9) out-rebounded the 'Cats 51-46. The Bearcats also committed 20 turnovers compared to 15 for the Rams. SBU hit seven three-pointers while the Rams connected on just four of nineteen attempts from outside.

The Bearcats were able to hold the Rams' top scorer coming in, Lionel Brown, to 1-for-14 shooting and just eight points, six of which came from the foul line. The Rams were led in scoring by Shavar Burch with 27 points. Ryan Bennett had 20 points for the seventh-seeded Rams.

Wendell Mardis

The Bearcats started the game with an 11-0 burst, behind a bucket from Johnnie Harris, conventional three-point play from Brock and back-to-back threes from D'Ante Harris. ASU would answer back, eventually cutting the lead to 22-17 with 10:39 left in the first half.

Things got heated minutes later when SBU's John Tiemeyer was called for an intentional foul on ASU's Shavar Burch. The pile of players spilled over into the barricades behind the basket. After a lengthy delay, a technical foul was ruled on ASU's Ryan Bennett for his actions during the melee. Wendell Mardis would hit both foul shots and Burch would hit one of two from the stripe.

Moments later, Matt Rogers would deliver a reverse dunk to spark the Bearcats. The Bearcats would extend their lead to as much as 15 points later in the first, before leading at the half 45-33.

The Bearcats would extend their second half lead to 20 on a dunk by Rogers with 15:22 left in the game. The Rams would battle back using a 21-4 run to cut it to three points (59-56) after a layup by ASU's Burch with 10:46 remaining. SBU would answer with a 14-3 run over the next three minutes to extend the lead back to 14 points.

The Rams would cut it to four points on two occasions in the final minute of the game but the Bearcats would hit free throws to hold on for the victory.

The Bearcats will play the Dallas Baptist University Patriots Sunday at 4 p.m. in the regional semifinal. The Patriots were a upset 89-75 winner over the third-seeded Central Oklahoma Bronchos in the regional opener. It was the first NCAA Division II tournament victory for DBU in only their third year as a program.

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