[Men's Basketball] Crusaders upset second-seeded Mustangs

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa -- Mount Mercy got off to a great start, but seventh-seeded Clarke was the team that finished, shooting 57 percent from the floor en route to a 97-90 upset of the second-seeded Mustangs in the quarterfinals of the Midwest Collegiate Conference Men's Basketball Tournament on Wednesday at Hennessey Recreation Center.

Mount Mercy opened the game with a 12-2 run and led, 19-6, with 14:21 to go in the first half. The Crusader offense heated up and they worked their way back into the game, even taking a 43-41 lead with 3:47 left in the period. A layup by senior forward Marty Tope with 3:09 remaining put the Mustangs back in front, 45-43, and ended the first-half scoring for both teams.

A 3-pointer by sophomore guard Sid Beck and layup by senior forward Josh Watznauer gave the home team a 58-53 advantage about four minutes into the second period, but Clarke rattled off the next seven points to move ahead, 60-58, less than two minutes later. Mount Mercy would tie the game five more times Wednesday night, but could never re-gain the lead.

The turning point came with just under 10 minutes to go in the contest. With the game tied at 73-73, Clarke scored nine straight points to take command. The Mustangs got within four points, 89-85, on a layup by senior guard Jimmy Scroggins with 1:44 on the clock. Moments later, however, the deficit was 10 again after a 3-pointer and three free throws by the Crusaders. Mount Mercy was only down five with 19 seconds left, but a pair of free throws by Eli Fitzsimmons finished off the upset.

The road team won all three meetings in the series this season. Clarke was the last team to beat Mount Mercy at home, handing the Mustangs a 14-point loss on Jan. 27 at Hennessey Recreation Center. For the Mustangs, it was their sixth straight loss in the MCC quarterfinals. They haven't advanced past the first round since a road win at Viterbo (Wis.) exactly six years ago today, Feb. 23, 2005.

Sophomore forward Chad Underwood led all scorers with 24 points and hauled down eight rebounds for the Mustangs (19-9), who finished one victory shy of their second straight 20-win season. Junior guard LeTerrious Thomas added 20 points and also grabbed eight boards. Senior guard Jerome Campbell joined them in double figures with 10 points and game-high six assists.

Five Crusaders reached double digits. They got 16 points apiece from Fitzsimmons and Craig Christopher. Charles Nunn and Justin Heng scored 15 points each, and Bryan Louff chipped in 14 points. Louff and Brock Zins each snared six rebounds, and Christopher handed out seven assists.

Clarke (13-17) advances to a Friday semifinal against third-seeded Ashford (21-10) in Clinton. The Saints came back from a 14-point halftime deficit to defeat sixth-seeded William Penn, 70-67. In other quarterfinal action on Wednesday, top-seeded Iowa Wesleyan held on to beat eighth-seeded Viterbo, 69-66, and fourth-seeded St. Ambrose cruised past fifth-seeded Grand View, 71-56. The Tigers (22-4) and Bees (23-8) face off in Friday's other semifinal in Mount Pleasant.