JAMESTOWN, N.D. (NewsDakota.com) – The seventh-seeded Viterbo (Wis.) University V-Hawks pulled off the upset Thursday night at Harold Newman Arena, defeating the No. 2 seeded Jimmie men’s basketball team 79-73.
Ethan Haberman scored 26 points and pulled down 11 rebounds as the V-Hawks advanced to the NSAA Final Four, set for February 25-26 at Bellevue (Neb.).
Despite a 3-of-15 three-point performance in the first half, Jamestown still shot 50 percent in the opening 20 minutes, and had a six-point lead with 9:21 left in the half. Viterbo retook the lead at 22-21, following a 7-0 run, then a see-saw remainder of the half led to five lead changes and two ties. The V-Hawks led 39-36 at halftime.
Jamestown played from behind the entire second half, but were able to get within one point after Isaiah Dobson (SO/Stillwater, Minn.)’s three-pointer made it 52-51 at the 13:08 mark. Viterbo kept its lead between one and four points until a 7-0 run capped off by a basket from Haberman made it 68-60, putting a severe dent in UJ’s comeback plans.
The V-Hawks (16-13) got 22 points from Jared Fleischmann and 15 from Jason Tichy.
UJ (20-10) was led by Leighton Sampson (SR/Worthington, Minn.)’s game-high 30 points. Jon Purintun (JR/Linton, N.D.) had 13 off the bench while Dobson finished with 11. Kevin Oberweiser(JR/Drummond, Mont.) posted a double-double of 11 points and 10 rebounds.
The Jimmies shot .484 to Viterbo’s .450. Rebounds were 35-33 in favor of Jamestown. The V-Hawks were 17 of 18 from the free throw line while UJ was just 3 of 11.
Viterbo will face Dickinson State (N.D.) in the semifinals Sunday. Jamestown was knocked out of the tournament and will need an at-large bid to make the NAIA National Championship Tournament.