Posted: Tuesday, March 18, 2008 12:00 am
POINT LOOKOUT, Mo. (AP) - Senior guard Ryan Fiegi scored 30 points and the Hustlin' Owls of Oregon Tech defeated defending champion MidAmerica Nazarene 74-71 Monday to advance to the NAIA Division II title game.
MidAmerica's Adam Hepker had a chance to tie the game at the buzzer, but his 3-pointer bounced off the rim.
The 11th-seeded Owls will face off against top-ranked Bellevue (Neb.) in today's championship game.
In the semifinals on Saturday, the Owls pulled away from unseeded Grace College of Indiana in the second half to claim an 81-70 victory.
Myles Daley scored on a putback with just over 14 minutes left in the second half to give OIT its first double-digit lead, one it opened up to 15 points.
Fiegi finished the contest with a game-high 23 points, and added nine rebounds and five assists, assuring himself a place on OIT's career top ten list for scoring, rebounds, assists and three-point goals.
Oregon Tech is making its fourth appearance in the Final Four and last won the championship in 2004.