CHAMPIONSHIP INFO

FINDLAY, Ohio - No. 8 seed Cedarville never trailed and shocked No. 1 Findlay, 67-65, in the opening round of the G-MAC Men's Basketball Championship.

The Yellow Jackets advance to play No. 4 Thomas More in the first semifinal on Friday at 5:00 p.m. EST in Hillsdale, Mich.

The Yellow Jackets, 13-15, beat the NABC Division II No. 15 Oilers, 24-5, on their floor for the second time this season.

Freshman Sam Johnson powered in 19 points to lead four players in double figures.

David Okpara, Anthony Ruffolo, and Ethan Sellars all tallied ten points apiece.

Cedarville pulled off the upset despite scoring just one point in the final 2:42 of the contest. A Sellars layup made it 66-58 and then UF rallied with seven straight points.

Ruffolo made one-of-two free throws with 8.2 seconds left. Findlay missed a driving layup and then misfired at the buzzer following an inbounds play with 1.3 seconds to go.

It's the second consecutive season in which the No. 8 seed eliminated the No. 1 in the quarterfinals of the men's tournament.

The other stunner this year was No. 7 Malone winning 72-62 at No. 2 Kentucky Wesleyan.

No. 4 Thomas More outscored No. 5 Lake Erie, 99-92, and No. 3 Hillsdale defeated No. 6 Ashland, 76-59, giving the Chargers the right to host the final two rounds.

Hillsdale will host Malone in Friday's other semifinal at 7:30. Saturday's champion automatically advances to the NCAA Division II Championship.

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