SIOUX FALLS, S.D.—Third-seeded Jamestown played to its strength in its opening round victory over sixth-seeded Southeastern.
Despite shooting nearly 50% from the field, the Fire saw Jamestown connect on 13 3-pointers and come away with a 106-85 win over Southeastern in the first round of the NAIA Division II National Championship.
The Fire made eight 3-pointers, three coming in the final moments with the game out of reach, and were only 11-of-18 at the free throw line, compared to the Jimmies 21-of-26 effort at the charity stripe.
Despite trailing by 14 with 7:27 left in the first, the Fire (20-10) got back within two possessions with 2:36 left in the half as Dylan Causwell connected on a layup to cap off a 6-0 run.
The Fire trailed 47-36 at halftime.
Southeastern got within four twice more in the second half, but Jamestown (29-5) went on a 10-0 run to take an 81-63 lead with 7:41 to play to put the game out of reach.
Off the bench, Dylan Causwell led the way with 17 points and eight rebounds. Also in a reserve role, Quennel Francis had 15 points, with 10 coming in the first half.
“I’m proud of our seniors for getting us back to Sioux Falls,” said coach R-Jay Barsh. “Our guys played hard and tried to execute, but we ran in to a team that’s really hot right now. We have some bad habits that were exploited and every time we made a mistake, they turned it into a 3-pointer.”
Josiah Barsh finished with 16 points in his final game with the Fire. Jeremy Oppenheimer also had 16.