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SATURDAY March 27 , 2004 - Subscribe - Contact Us - Rate Card - Place an Ad Valley&State Backpage O&E Sports Archives Classifieds Faith&Beliefs Obituaries Revels March 16, 2004 OIT men advance to NAIA D-II finals Wire Reports POINT LOOKOUT, Mo. - Sixteenth-seeded Oregon Institute of Technology upset fifth-seeded St. Ambrose University (Iowa) 80-67 Monday night to advance to the championship game of the 13th Annual NAIA Division II Men's Basketball National Championships. Oregon Tech (29-9) will face second-seeded Bellevue (33-5) at 6:30 p.m. tonight in the title game. The contest will mark the Hustlin' Owls' second finals appearance. They fell in the 1998 championship game to Bethel College (Ind.) 89-87. Oregon Tech was the 15th seed in '98. A No. 16 seed has never won the title and the lowest seed ever to win was in 2001, when seventh-seeded Northwestern College (Iowa) won it all. The 2004 event is being held at Keeter Gymnasium on the campus of College of the Ozarks (Mo.). Freshman guard Levell Hesia led Oregon Tech with 20 points on 7-for-11 shooting from the field. Hesia also recorded three assists and had zero turnovers in 26 minutes of action. Senior Florian Houguet finished with 12 points, while Michael Nunes and Todd Matthews each added 11. The Hustlin' Owls out-rebounded St. Ambrose 38-29 and only committed nine turnovers to the Fighting Bees' 16. Baker and Matthews led the rebounding efforts with eight boards apiece, helpoing the Owls gain their sixth national championship appearance. The Fighting Bees were led by senior forward Karl Peterson's 15 points and nine rebounds. Matt Fitzpatrick finished with 11 points, as did senior forward Curtis Clark. Ryan Johnson finished with nine points and eight rebounds, while Brett Jacobs had six assists for St. Ambrose. St. Ambrose was making its seventh national tournament appearance and had previously only advanced as far as the second round. Bellevue (Neb.) defeated the University of Sioux Falls (S.D.) 70-62 in the first semifinal game. To get to the final game, the Hustlin' Owls defeated Dominican University (Calif.) 71-69 in the first round, then upset top-seeded Jamestown College (N.D.) 73-66 in the second round, and defeated eighth-seeded Cedarville University (Ohio) 83-75 in the quarterfinals. The championship game is being televised live nationally on College Sports Television (CSTV). CSTV is available on DirecTV and on some cable operators. DailyTidings.com Home Page Valley&State | Backpage | O&E | Sports | Archives | Weather | Classifieds Columnists | Faith&Beliefs | Obituaries | Revels | Subscribe | Contact Us Copyright 2004 Ashland Daily Tidings and Ottaway Newspapers All Rights Reserved Site Search: The new search is here! Click here for more information. .:Advertisements:. RESOURCES - ODOT Road Cams