Wed., March 12, 2010

   MOUNT LOOKOUT, Mo. -- Just as night time was ascending on the College of the Ozarks, 'Dey'time rose in the Keeter Gymnasium lifting the University of Saint Francis into the Sweet 16.

  DeJovaun Sawyer-Davis, 'Dey' to his teammates and USF fans, drilled a 3-pointer with two seconds to play to boost the Cougars over 18th-ranked Black Hills State University 86-83 on Wednesday in one of eight NAIA National Championship first-round games.

  Sawyer-Davis finished with 43 points, 27 in the second half, a career high in two seasons as a member of the Cougars. USF improved to 24-9. Playing in its third NAIA National Championship, the Cougars improved to 3-2 winning for the first time since their first championship appearance in 1999-00.

  The Cougars will play Oregon Tech, the No. 2 seed in the championship, on Friday at 5 p.m. Oregon Tech pulled away from Judson for a 63-57 win.

   Black Hills State, which advanced to the Final Four in 2009, closed out a 21-10 season.

  Sawyer-Davis' 43 points ranked No. 4 on the USF single-game scoring list. Steve Smith scored 53 points for USF in the NAIA Championship in 2000 and Dave Moreland scored 45 in a regular season game (1-24-78) and Smith also scored 44 (12-21-99).

   BHSU opened up six-point leads of 67-61 (10:37), 75-61 (9:11), and 73-67 (8:26), but after a timeout to make a defensive change, USF clawed back to tie the game at 76 when Qadr Owens knifed through the lane to score with 4:06 to play.

  "We had guys makin' plays and Q's play at that point was one of many we made down the stretch," USF's Jeff Rekeweg recalled. Sawyer-Davis muscled in a basket at 3:15 putting USF up 78-76 with 3:15 to play and in the process invigorated a small but vocal contingent of Cougar fans. Sawyer-Davis somehow tipped in a missed shot at 2:23 increasing the USF lead to four 80-76. After Will Johns hit the first free throw and missed the second at 2:20, Owens dropped in two free throws at 1:50 for an 82-77 USF lead. After Sawyer-Davis blocked at Cain Atkinson shot, Ethan Hussey was fouled at 1:21 and hit one of throw (the first) and USF led 83-77.

  Game over? Not hardly.

   Craig Von Allman converted a 3-point play at 1:13 slashing the deficit to 83-80. Sawyer-Davis missed a shot, Ferdinand Morales-Soto collected the rebound and then threw the ball away. Atkinson pulled BHSU even with a clutch 3-pointer with 25 seconds to play setting up Sawyer-Davis' decisive 3-pointer.

  "They were helpin' on the dribble penetration," Rekeweg said about the game-winning play. "Q is good at the free-throw line and pretty good at finishin'. They (BHSU) helped on the drive and Dey popped open. If there's anyone we want shooting the ball in that situation, it's Dey. He came through like an All-American. It's not about what we drew up, it's about our guys makin' plays. Ethan Hussey picked it up while Matt Edmonds, Brad Sneary and Joey Kosiarek struggled. You've got to have other guys pick it up and we did and beat a good team. It's about surviving."

  In the first half USF opened up the biggest lead of the game for either team 20-13, with 11:08 to play, the end of a 11-3 USF surge. BHSU countered with a comeback of 13-7 for a 37-33 lead, but USF closed the half with a 9-1 run for a 42-38 lead.

  "We had to quit chasin' on their curls and made some stops and kept our composure playing from behind."

  Photos courtesy Creative Images Photography

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Box score 

Read more about the Hustlin' Owls win over Judson