Central Missouri men grab victory in NCAA Division II regional quarterfinal
Central Missouri held on for an 82-72 victory over Northern State in an NCAA Division II Central Regional quarterfinal Saturday in Sioux Falls, S.D.
The Mules, 25-6, led by 14 points in the second half before Northern State cut the lead to two at 72-70 with 2:15 to play. Central Missouri put the game away by hitting five of six free throws down the stretch.
Rakeem Dickerson led Central Missouri with 22 points and a game-high six assists. Smithville’s Dillon Deck added 18 points for the Mules, who face Minnesota State-Moorhead at 5 p.m. today in the semifinals.
Minnesota State-Moorhead, the No. 2 seed, beat seventh-seeded Pittsburg State 80-68.
Lamine Dieng and Trey Starks each scored 13 points for the Gorillas, who won the MIAA Tournament and finished the season 20-12.
▪ Fourth-seeded Northwest Missouri trailed by as many as 14 points in the first half but pulled out a 59-56 win over fifth-seeded Minnesota State in Sioux Falls. Northwest Missouri will face No. 1 seed Augustana at 7:30 tonight.
Justin Pitts led the way for the Bearcats with 19 points.
▪ Top-seeded Bellarmine avenged a loss to Drury in the Great Lakes Valley Conference championship game by beating the Panthers 84-60 in the NCAA Division II Midwest Regional in Louisville, Ky.
Jake Thelen scored 21 points for the Knights, 28-3. Ben Fisher scored 17 points for the Panthers, 21-9.
Women
Second-seeded Emporia State defeated No. 3 seed Pittsburg State 65-54 in overtime Saturday in the NCAA Division II Central Regional semifinals in Hays, Kan.
Merissa Quick scored 23 points and pulled down 11 rebounds for the Hornets.
The Hornets were 22 of 25 from the free-throw line and outrebounded the Gorillas 45-33.
Lizzy Jeronimus, who went to Shawnee Mission West, scored 20 points for Pittsburg State, 27-7.
Emporia State will play top-seeded Fort Hays State at 7 p.m. Monday for the regional title. Fort Hays State beat Wayne State 70-54 on Saturday.
Kate Lehman scored 23 points for the Tigers.
This story was originally published March 15, 2015 at 12:15 AM with the headline "Central Missouri men grab victory in NCAA Division II regional quarterfinal."