Indiana Tech comes up short in NAIA Men's Basketball Championship Game
KANSAS CITY, Mo. - (Box Score) - Indiana Tech almost pulled off a miracle at the 2023 NAIA Men's Basketball National Championship at Municipal Auditorium but fell to College of Idaho 73-71 in the title game.
A slow first half seemed to doom the Warriors as the Yotes took control early with a 19-4 run while holding the Warriors to six points in the first eight minutes. College of Idaho led by as many as 21 before taking a 45-26 lead at the half by shooting a blistering 56.7% from the floor and a perfect 5-for-5 from behind the three-point line.
Trailing by as many as 23 with just over 16 minutes to play in the second half, Indiana Tech went on a 10-2 run and was within 13 with a little over 12 minutes left in the game on a trey by Rog Stein. The Warriors closed to within 10 on a Jeremy Luciani layup at the 9:28 mark to force a Yote timeout.
College of Idaho started to break away again when Tyler Robinett hit a pair of free throws for a 12-point lead that held for nearly four minutes until Tech's Blake Davison was fouled on a layup and completed the three-point play. The teams traded free throws before Grant Smith hit a layup with 2:07 left to cut the lead to seven.
Max Perez hit all three free throws after being fouled and Josh Kline hit two more to make the score 70-68 with 1:17 left on the clock. Tech pulled to within one with 12 seconds remaining, but was unable to complete the comeback.
Jake O’Neil led the Yotes (36-1) with 15 points and 12 rebounds. Samaje Morgan added 13 points and Tyler Robinett chipped-in 11. College of Idaho lost its first game of the season before tearing through the year with 35 straight victories.
The Warriors finished the year as National Runner-Ups with a 32-5 record. Stein finished with 18 points and eight rebounds to lead Tech and Kline added 11 points and eight rebounds as the pair were named to the All-Tournament Team. Max Perez and Davison scored 12 each. Grant Smith received the Charles Stevenson Hustle Award.
All-Tournament Team
Charles Elzie – College of Idaho
Samaje Morgan – College of Idaho
Tyler Robinette – College of Idaho
Rog Stein – Indiana Tech
Josh Kline – Indiana Tech
Jake Ohmer – Georgetown (Ky.)
Kyran Jones – Georgetown (Ky.)
Josiah De’laCerda – OUAZ (Ariz.)
Kloten Hitt – OUAZ (Ariz.)
Elijah Malone – Grace (Ind.)
Charles Stevenson Hustle Award
Grant Smith – Indiana Tech
Chuck Taylor Most Valuable Player
Charles Elzie – College of Idaho
Charles A. Krigel Sportsmanship Award
Kyle Blankenship - LSU Shreveport (La.)
NAIA MBB Coach of the Year
Colby Blaine – College of Idaho