Small Ball: CEU dominates inside to advance in NJCAA Tournament

HUTCHINSON, Kan. — An ability to dominate around the basket has led to plenty of good things for the College of Eastern Utah throughout this season. That same quality helped the Eagles once again survive a tightly contested tournament game Tuesday.

Michael Glover had 28 points and 11 rebounds, while Jonathan Mills chipped in 13 points and 12 boards to lift CEU to a 71-62 first-round victory over North Platte Community College in the NJCAA Men's Basketball Tournament on Tuesday afternoon.

It is the fifth straight victory for the Eagles (25-9), who are now 12-1 over their last 13 games. With the loss, North Platte (27-5) will fall into the tournament's consolation bracket.

The Knights still had a chance to deny CEU an opportunity to advance when they cut a 13 point second-half deficit to two points when Kamil Gawrzydek scored a basket to make it 62-60 with just 3:05 remaining.

Mills halted the rally when he scored a pair of baskets and added a free throw on consecutive possessions. It kick-started a game-ending, 9-2 run that helped the Eagles secure the victory.

Rebounds ended up being a major factor against North Platte. CEU collected 47 rebounds while allowing the Knights to snag only 22 boards. Not surprisingly, the Eagles scored 28 second-chance points compared to just five for North Platte.

CEU almost led wire to wire after using an early 21-4 run to stake out a 22-7 lead with 8:32 remaining in the first half. But the Knights fought back into the game when Karol Gruszecki made baskets on back-to-back possessions to spark a 14-2 spurt that brought North Platte to within three, at 24-21.

North Platte drew as close as one, making it 30-29 on a basket from Joe Ragland with 1:01 left before halftime. Glover converted a three-point play just before the half ended to give the Eagles some breathing room again. CEU opened up the second half on a 8-0 run — taking a 41-29 lead on a 3-pointer from Cliff Colomon.

The Eagles will face Wallace State Community College in the NJCAA quarterfinals on Thursday at 5:30 p.m.

e-mail: jcoon@desnews.com