Central Starts Fast, Gains Quarterfinals

Unseeded Central Washington built an 18-point first-half lead then held on to defeat Olivet Nazarene 80-74 Thursday in the second round of the NAIA national Division 1 men’s basketball tournament at Oral Roberts University at Tulsa, Okla.

The victory earned the Wildcats (19-10) a berth in the quarterfinals for the 14th time. Central, which is making its 27th NAIA national tournament appearance, has advanced to the semifinals six times.

Leon Johnson, who scored a tournament-high 32 points in Tuesday’s 73-64 win over Union, Tenn., scored 18 in the opening period and finished with 25.

“Our game plan was to go inside to Leon, but at the same time we knew we had to get more production from our outside game than we did Tuesday,” coach Greg Sparling said.

Today, the Wildcats take on fourth-seeded Georgetown, Ky.

Former Lakeside High School player Lora Jolley scored 10 points in Lewis-Clark State’s 96-63 victory over Indiana-South Bend in the first round of the NAIA Division I women’s tournament. The Warriors (21-7) face Phillips Univerisity today.

, DataTimes