EVANSVILLE, Ind.--The Truman State Men's Basketball team is headed back to the Elite Eight for the first time in over two decades as they defeated Michigan Tech 65-62 on Tuesday night. Cade McKnight bounced back to lead the Bulldogs with 21 points, including 15 in the first half, and Elijah Hazekamp recorded a double-double with ten points and a team high 15 rebounds. Turner Scott dished out six assists to go with eight points. The back and forth game had eight lead chances and seven ties.
Early on, Truman held a seven point lead at 9-2 after back to back threes from McKnight and Masen Miller. With 10:41 left in the first half, Truman stretched the lead to double digits at 17-6 as McKnight laid one in. MTU fought back and got within just three at 19-16, but Truman scored nine of the last 12 points of the half to take a 28-18 lead into the break.
MTU came out hot in the second half, opening the half on a 14-2 run to take their first lead of the game at the 15:52 mark of the second half. With 12:31 to go, MTU had extended their lead to nine points at 41-32. From there, Scott took over as he scored seven straight points, including finishing on a three point play to bring it back to a two point game at 41-39.
With 7:42 to go, MTU stretched the lead back to seven at 49-42. But seven straight knotted the game back up. Dylan Peeters started the run with a layup, followed by two foul shots from Hazekamp and then a three from Miller to even it up. Peeters concluded a 9-0 run to give Truman a 51-49 edge, and the drama was just beginning.
Twice more, MTU would tie it up to see Truman take back the lead. But a three by MTU gave them a 58-57 lead with 1:59 remaining. Entering the final minute of the game, Truman held a 59-58 lead following a layup from McKnight. MTU hit two from the foul line to go up one. Then McKnight hit two to put the Bulldogs up one. MTU answered with two free throws to go back up one. With just three seconds to go, McKnight made the go ahead layup to put Truman up 63-62. After an MTU turnover, Hunter Strait iced the game with two foul shots.
The Bulldogs return to the Elite Eight for the first time since 1999, and will be joined by Northwest Missouri State, West Texas A&M, Flagler, Colorado School of Mines, Lincoln Memorial, Daemen and West Liberty. The eight remaining teams will be reseeded before playing the Elite Eight next week.
