CEDARVILLE, Ohio - Matt Harner poured in 23 of his career-high 27 points in the first half to spark the NAIA Division II #15 Yellow Jackets to a 78-73 victory against Trevecca Nazarene in the championship game of the 32nd Annual Cedarville Invitational.

Harner lit up the previously unbeaten Trojans by hitting his first seven shots with five of those coming outside the three-point arc. The hot start propelled CU to as much as an 18-point lead before settling for a 41-25 bulge at the intermission.

The Yellow Jackets, 4-2 overall, appeared to be coasting to victory when they held a 20-point advantage on four occasions in the second half the last of which was 68-48 with 7:45 left. However, TNU charged back.

The Trojans, 5-1, held Cedarville without a field goal for the final six minutes and finished the game with a 14-2 run. The visitors got as close as 77-73 with 25 seconds to go.

Tournament MVP Ricardo Alliman finished with 11 points and nine rebounds. He was joined on the six-player all-tournament squad by Harner, who nailed 11-of-16 shots from the floor including a 5-for-8 effort outside the arc.

Chris Beals tallied 12 points and Austin Foote came off the bench to add 10 markers. Derrick Hannon dished out seven assists and Adam Riehle matched Alliman for game-high rebounding honors with nine. [STATS]

[Read REPLAY of Courtside Blog with Tim Cary]

In the consolation game, Rio Grande roared out to a 20-4 lead only to watch Point Park make an impressive comeback for an 84-68 win. [PPU/RIO STATS]

32nd Annual Cedarville Invitational
All-Tournament Team
Ricardo Alliman, Cedarville (MVP)
Matt Harner, Cedarville
Michael France, Trevecca Nazarene
Keith Morris, Trevecca Nazarene
Josh Trocchio, Point Park
Doug Campbell, Rio Grande