PITTSBURGH, Pa. -- Oklahoma Baptist (31-3) delivered a dominant performance on the national stage Tuesday afternoon, rolling past Cal State East Bay (33-1) 78-55 at UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse in the NCAA Division II Tournament quarterfinal round.
With the victory, OBU becomes the first GAC men's squad to reach the national semifinals round. Plus, this was the program's 11th all-time "Final Four." Previously in the NAIA era, the Bison program reached that round 10 other times with the last being in 2012.
Seven-seed OBU will next play on March 27 at 6 p.m. (ET) when it faces third-seed Gannon who defeated six-seed Michigan Tech 75-49 earlier on Tuesday.
The Bison set the tone early, weathering a brief back-and-forth stretch before unleashing a decisive first-half surge. With the game tied at 17 at the 10:51 mark,
Jackson Greene and
Terry Coner Jr. hit back-to-back threes to push OBU ahead 23-17. Cal State East Bay never recovered and by halftime, the green and gold led 48-28.
Greene led the charge with a game-high 23 points, attacking the paint and converting key free throws (6-of-8). Coner Jr. added 17 points, including a pair of timely three-pointers during the first-half run that helped the Bison seize control. Oklahoma Baptist's physical presence inside proved pivotal too, as the team outscored East Bay 42-28 in the paint and dominated the glass with a 58-45 rebounding edge.
The second half saw the Bison maintain their cushion with disciplined defense and balanced scoring. Despite a few runs from East Bay, the Bison consistently answered, extending its lead to as many as 27 points.
Erik Madrid anchored the interior with 14 rebounds and six blocks, while
Seth Grandberry chipped in 10 points off the bench. For Madrid, his six blocks were a career-high and the most in an NCAA quarterfinals game since the 2014 season.
Cal State East Bay struggled to find offensive rhythm throughout, shooting just 26 percent from the field and 17 percent from beyond the arc. Jaayden Bush led with 17 points, but the team's inefficiency and Oklahoma Baptist's defensive pressure proved too much to overcome. Of note, Tyree Campbell, the NABC Division II National Player of the Year was held to just five points on 1-of-16 shooting.
With the win, the Bison's historic season continues with a potential berth in the Division II national title game on April 5 in Indianapolis. Â
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