The Mount Vernon Nazarene College men's basketball team will look to continue its postseason run as the Cougars head to Nampa, Idaho, on Monday for the 1999 NAIA Division II National Tournament.
MVNC (26-6) is the ninth seed in the 32-team tournament. The Cougars received an automatic berth in the event by defeating top-seeded Malone College 107-89 in the championship game of the inaugral American Mideast Conference Tournament on Tuesday, March 2.
MVNC will be making its third appearance overall in the tournament and its second straight trip to the Idaho Center. Last year, the Cougars advanced to the quarterfinals with two victories before wrapping up their season with a 27-7 mark.
Currently, MVNC has four players averaging in double figures: Ehren Hull (19.9 ppg), Brad Hostasa (17.0 ppg), Todd Sands (15.9 ppg), and Adam Stevens (14.9 ppg). Hull leads the team with 93 three-pointers, while Stevens and Sands average 8.7 and 7.7 rebounds per game respectively. Kyle Gerhart has also dished out a team-leading 190 assists.
The Cougars will take on Huron (SD) University at 8:00 p.m. Mountain Time on Thursday, March 11, in the next-to-last game of the first round. The Screaming Eagles (20-10) earned an automatic berth in the tournament by upsetting Black Hills State (SD) University in the championship game of the South Dakota-Iowa Athletic Conference Tournament.
Huron is led by senior forward Aaron Thomas (6-foot-4) with 17.3 points and 7.5 rebounds per game. Junior center Sean Pell (6-foot-9) adds 14.8 points and 6.9 rebounds per contest, while senior guard Zach McCall (6-foot-3) scores at a 12.9 points per game clip. Junior guard/forward Jason Logg (6-foot-5) is the team's leading three-point threat as he has canned 71-of-148 attempts from beyond the arc (48.0 percent) for his 11.7 points per game average.
The winner of the game between MVNC and Huron will advance to the Sweet Sixteen to face the winner of the Albertson (ID) College-Bethany (KS) College game at 9:45 p.m. Mountain Time on Friday. Albertson, the #9-seed in the tournament, is currently 23-6, while Bethany enters tournament play with a 21-10 overall record.
1999 NAIA Men's Division II | |||
| First Quarter Bracket | Second Quarter Bracket | Third Quarter Bracket | |
| FIRST QUARTER BRACKET | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 Cornerstone (Mich.) (32-3) | |||||
| March 10 - 5:45 p.m. | |||||
| Doane (Neb.) (13-21) | |||||
| March 12 - 4:30 p.m. | |||||
| Western Oregon (15-13) | |||||
| March 10 - 4 p.m. | |||||
| #16 Jamestown (N.D.) (21-7) | |||||
| March 13 - 8 p.m. | Semifinalist 1st Quarter | ||||
| #9 Mount Vernon Nazarene (Ohio) (26-6) | |||||
| March 11 - 8 p.m. | |||||
| Huron (S.D.) (20-10) | |||||
| March 12 - 9:45 p.m. | |||||
| Bethany (Kan.) (21-10) | |||||
| March 11 - 9:45 p.m. | |||||
| #8 Albertson (Idaho) (23-6) | |||||
| SECOND QUARTER BRACKET | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #5 MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.) (27-8) | |||||
| March 11 - 9 a.m. | |||||
| Viterbo (Wis.) (19-14) | |||||
| March 12 - 10:45 a.m. | |||||
| Husson (Maine) (22-7) | |||||
| March 11 - 10:45 a.m. | |||||
| #12 California State-Hayward (21-5) | |||||
| March 13 - 1 p.m. | Semifinalist 2nd Quarter | ||||
| #13 Berea (Ky.) (21-6) | |||||
| March 10 - 10:15 a.m. | |||||
| Briar Cliff (Iowa) (18-11) | |||||
| March 12 - 9 a.m. | |||||
| Green Mountain (Vt.) (19-10) | |||||
| March 10 - 8:30 a.m. | |||||
| #4 Milligan (Tenn.) (28-4) | |||||
| THIRD QUARTER BRACKET | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #3 Southern Oregon (22-8) | |||||
| March 10 - 1:45 p.m. | |||||
| Bluefield (Va.) (14-17) | |||||
| March 12 - 2:15 p.m. | |||||
| Mount Senario (Wis.) (21-12) | |||||
| March 10 - Noon | |||||
| #14 St. Joseph's (Maine) (26-2) | |||||
| March 13 - 3 p.m. | Semifinalist 3rd Quarter | ||||
| #11 Northwestern (Iowa) (21-7) | |||||
| March 11 - 2:15 p.m. | |||||
| Evangel (Mo.) (19-10) | |||||
| March 12 - 12:30 p.m. | |||||
| Caldwell (N.J.) (16-12) | |||||
| March 11 - 12:30 p.m. | |||||
| #6 Siena Heights (Mich.) (26-6) | |||||
| FOURTH QUARTER BRACKET | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #7 Embry-Riddle (Fla.) (26-8) | |||||
| March 11 - 6:15 p.m. | |||||
| Bellevue (Neb.) (20-11) | |||||
| March 12 - 6:15 p.m. | |||||
| Holy Family (Pa.) (27-8) | |||||
| March 11 - 4:30 p.m. | |||||
| #10 Black Hills State (S.D.) (24-6) | |||||
| March 13 - 6 p.m. | Semifinalist 4th Quarter | ||||
| #15 Cardinal Stritch (Wis.) (25-8) | |||||
| March 10 - 9:45 p.m. | |||||
| California State-Monterey Bay (26-6) | |||||
| March 12 - 8 p.m. | |||||
| Northwest Nazarene (Idaho) (12-20) | |||||
| March 10 - 8 p.m. | |||||
| #2 Bethel (Ind.) (30-5) | |||||
| SEMIFINALS & FINALS | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Semifinalist 1st Quarter | |||||
| March 15 - 8 p.m. | Finalist #1 | ||||
| Semifinalist 2nd Quarter | |||||
| Finals - March 16 - 7 p.m. | Champion of the NAIA Men's DII | ||||
| Semifinalist 3rd Quarter | |||||
| March 15 - 5 p.m. | Finalist #2 | ||||
| Semifinalist 4th Quarter | |||||
