Winona, Minn. – Division II power Metro State made sure Adams State’s first appearance in the men’s NCAA Tournament wouldn’t last long.
Breaking away from a seven-point halftime lead Saturday, the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference champion Roadrunners cruised to a 71-48 victory over the Grizzlies in the North Central Regional quarterfinals and stayed on a collision course with top-ranked Winona State.
Metro State (28-3) easily overcame a 33-22 deficit in rebounds with 40.9 percent shooting (9- for-22) from 3-point range and pressure defense that forced the Grizzlies (16-14) into committing 25 turnovers.
Michael Bahl’s 16 points and four steals led the Roadrunners in a rematch of the RMAC Tournament championship game, which the Grizzlies lost 70-60 last Sunday in Pueblo.
Jesse Wagstaff, the MVP of the RMAC Tournament, added 14 points and a game-high seven rebounds for Metro State. Marquise Carrington contributed 10 points and four steals.
Wes Jensen led Adams State with 14 points. Roman Moniak added 11 points and Russ Murrey scored 10. The Grizzlies shot only 30 percent from the field in the second half, when they were outscored 39-23.
Metro State has a semifinal game tonight against Minnesota State. Winona State (31-0), the defending NCAA champion, set a Division II record Saturday with its 53rd consecutive victory, 100-73 over St. Cloud State. The Warriors will face Nebraska-Kearney, a 95-91 winner over South Dakota, in the other semifinal.
The semifinal winners meet Tuesday night for the North Central Regional championship and a berth in the Elite Eight in Springfield, Mass.
MINNESOTA STATE 85, FORT LEWIS 71: Fort Lewis jumped to a 13-9 lead in the early going, but Luke Anderson led Minnesota State on a 10-2 run over the next three minutes and the Mavericks never trailed again in eliminating the Skyhawks.
Tim Bieri led Fort Lewis (22-9) with 26 points. Bieri finished his career as Fort Lewis’ career scoring leader with 1,691 points.
Minnesota State (27-4) was led by Anderson’s game-high 28 points.
Women
NORTH DAKOTA 78, REGIS 63 at Grand Forks, N.D.: Kelsey Maffin scored 19 points and Danye Guinn provided a big lift off the bench as North Dakota eliminated Regis in the semifinals of the North Central Regional women’s basketball tournament.
Top-seeded North Dakota (31-3) advanced to Monday’s championship game against Nebraska-Kearney, a 92-89 winner over Concordia-St. Paul. Trailing 24-22, the Sioux outscored Regis 13-0 in the last 3:59 before intermission.
Regis (26-6) got 21 points, eight rebounds and nine steals from Diana Lopez. Her twin sister, Denise Lopez, scored 14 points. But the Rangers received only seven points off the bench.
