Mustangs 'stay the course,' advance to Round of 32

MISHAWAKA, Ind. — The Morningside University men's basketball team didn't mind playing a little physical on Friday night in the NAIA Opening Round.

Morningside — seeded No. 5 in the Liston Quadrant — eliminated No. 12 Hope International 86-77 on the campus of Bethel (Ind). University, and it'll play the fourth-seeded Pilots at 2:30 p.m. Iowa time Saturday.

The Mustangs (25-7) and Royals were even on the glass overall at 29-29, but Morningside dominated the defensive side, 26-18. Brendan Buckley led the Mustangs with eight total rebounds, while Justin Sitti and Joey Skoff had six apiece.

"We didn't want this one to be our last, so we left it all out on the court," Skoff said in the KMNS-AM postgame interview. "We just had to stay the course. They were hot the first half, but we knew they were going to cool down and we just had to secure the defensive rebounds."

The offense was a well-oiled machine, too. Morningside shot 60 percent throughout the game, making 29 of 48 shots. Hope International made 29 shots, too, but attempted 17 more takes.

Hope International led by seven points early, but the Mustangs went on a 19-11 run to take the lead, thanks to an Aidan Vanderloo 3-pointer with 8 minutes, 50 seconds remaining in the half. The rest of the half was back-and-forth, with neither team holding a lead of more than five.

The Mustangs then pulled away in the last 5 minutes of the game. Morningside led by three with 4:49 remaining, but made six consecutive free throws to seal the first-round victory.

Skoff led the Mustangs with 24 points, making nine shots. Daniel Brocaille made four 3s en route to a 20-point game. It's the first time Brocaille has had back-to-back 20-point scoring games.

"All week, the coaches and the players have been getting us a lot of shots in practice," Brocaille said. "I think I made a big impact by going straight into the game and making the first two. I enjoy the moments when I need to knock down a big shot."

Vanderloo scored 14 points, as he connected on three 3s.