POINT LOOKOUT, Mo. – Cardinal Stritch (Wis.) took the suspense out of its game with Bellevue (Neb.) early in winning an 81-56 decision in the second round at the 2013 NAIA Division II Men’s Basketball National Championship. Cardinal Stritch is the no. 2 seed in the field.
The 2013 event is being played at the Keeter Gymnasium on the campus of College of the Ozarks in Point Lookout, Mo.
The Wolves raced to a 26-4 lead midway through the first half and it was 46-14 at halftime as Drew Diener’s team made 7-12 three-point shots and 17-29 field goals. Bellevue, by comparison, was 6-23 in the first half of action.
Bellevue could never rally as Cardinal Stritch kept firing, building the bulge to 60-21 with 12:39 left in the game and coasting in for the 81-56 win.
Cardinal Stritch was led by Derek Semenas with 20 points and eight rebounds. Darren Moore added 17 while making 8-10 field goals and Chad Mazure came off the bench to score 13. Nick Ford had a team high seven assists.
The Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference Champion converted 32-59 field goals and 10-20 three-point shots and held a 34-27 rebounding edge.
Bellevue got 19 points from Jamil Goodwin with seven rebounds and Shawn Tarver added 13 points and had six rebounds. The Bruins made 20-57 shots in the game for 35%.
The Bruins end their season with a 24-11 record. Cardinal Stritch is now 32-2 and advances to the quarterfinal round for the second year in a row and will face Dordt (Iowa) at 3:00 pm on Saturday. The 32-team, single elimination tournament concludes Tuesday, March 12, with the championship game to tip-off at 8 pm.
