LAKELAND - Shooting a blistering 61.7 percent from the field, second-seeded Christian Brothers upset top-seeded Florida Southern 82-72 Tuesday night in front of a crowd of 1,509 at FSC'S Jenkins Field House to claim the NCAA Division II South Regional Championship.
The win earns the Buccaneers a trip to the Elite Eight in Springfield, Mass., for the first time in school history.
The Buccaneers scored the first four points of the game and led from start to finish, improving their record to 25-6. Florida Southern finished 29-7.
The Moccasins, who previously had won all eight regional title games in which they had played, shot 40.3 percent from the field and connected on just seven of 27 three-pointers against the nation’s top-ranked defense.
CBU's Nick Kohs, who was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player, fired in 16 first-half points to pace the Bucs to a 38-28 halftime advantage. He added 11 in the second half to finish with a game-high 27. Teammate Reggie Peyton paced the Bucs in the second half with 17 of his 24 points. CBU shot 66.7 percent (14-21) from the field in the second half, while FSC shot 38.9 percent (14-36).
The Moccasins made a quick 6-0 run at the start of the second half, but CBU responded with a 7-0 run to take the lead up to 11. Another FSC run cut the margin to four again, at 45-41, with 14:36 remaining, but a 14-3 CBU spurt pushed the Bucs' advantage to 59-44 with 7:13 to go and FSC never got closer than seven points the rest of the way.
Rob Eldridge, playing in his final game for FSC, led the Moccasins with 17 points, while John Thompson added 16. Both had seven rebounds.
Joining Kohs on the All-Tournament team were Peyton, Eldridge, Thompson and Arkansas Tech's Thiago Cordeiro.
