Oakwood University and Rochester College Set to Meet in the Men's Division I National Championship Game
Uniontown, PA. – The first participants to compete for a USCAA Basketball National Championships have been decided. In Men’s Division I action on Thursday night, #5 Rochester College and #6 Oakwood University advanced in the semifinals to Saturday’s National Championship game.
The Rochester College Warriors defeated #1 Florida National University by a score of 69-70 in the first semifinal matchup. During the game, Rochester shot 48% from the floor and scored 14 second chance points to combat their 17 turnovers in the game. Florida National had a six point lead with 3:20 remaining in the second half and held that until the closing seconds of the game. The Warriors closed the game on a 7-1 run with Men’s Division 1 Student-Athlete of the Year, Justin Nafso, making the game-winning layup with one second left on the game clock.
The second men’s division semifinal between the top seeded University of Maine Fort Kent Bengals and #5 seeded Oakwood University went late into the night with the final score of 77-72 in favor of the Ambassadors. Player of the Year for Men’s Division 1, Anthony Knight, had a game-high 26 points for the Bengals. Talik Talton led Oakwood in scoring with 19 points. The Ambassadors had 18 assists and 52 points from players off the bench. In the final minute of play Oakwood converted every trip down the court for points, including two trips to the free throwline, to seal the win.
The National Championship game will be played on Saturday, March 3rd at 8:45 PM EST in the Main Arena of the Penn State Fayette Community Center. Oakwood University has won three USCAA Men’s Basketball National Championships, with the most recent coming in 2016. Rochester also has three USCAA Basketball National Championships to their name, including back-to-back titles in 2004 and 2005. Watch the championship game on basketball.theuscaa.com by clicking watch live.
-USCAA