Cal State San Bernardino Tops Wingate In Men’s NCAA Elite Eight

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. - Cal St. San Bernardino shot 61.3 percent (38-for-62) from the floor and forced 29 Wingate turnovers en route to a 100-73 victory in the opening round of the Elite Eight this afternoon at the Mass Mutual Center.

The Coyotes (26-5) will now meet Barton (29-5) in a national semifinal contest tomorrow at 6:00 pm. Barton advanced with an 83-81 overtime victory against Grand Valley State earlier today.

"I thought the guys came out with a tremendous amount of focus. They stuck to the game plan and played pretty well. We were hoping we could turn them over. Their turnovers got them back on their heels," said Cal St. San Bernardino head coach Jeff Oliver. "I wasn't ready to go home and neither was the rest of the team, so we stepped it up today."

"It's the first time in two years that we've been taken out of a game. The difference was our inability to handle their pressure. I think we're a better basketball team than what we showed today," said Wingate head coach Parker Laketa. "The better team won. They're going to make a real run at the national championship."

Senior center Ivan Johnson finished with 25 points, on eight-for-12 shooting, and a career-high seven assists to lead five Cal St. San Bernardino players in double figures scoring. Senior swing Chet Johnson tossed in 15, while senior forward Yoseph Yaisrael and senior guard Prentice Harris had 12 each. Junior point guard Lance Ortiz wound up with 11 points in 19 minutes off the bench.

For Wingate (25-9), junior guard Sean Barnette had 21 points and senior guard Shaun Kirkland had 17. Junior forward Bryan Grier contributed 15 points and nine rebounds, while senior guard Justin Baker finished with 10 points and six boards.

Cal St. San Bernardino jumped out to a 13 point, 25-12, lead midway through the first half and never looked back. The Coyotes boosted their advantage to 26, 57-31, at intermission and trailed by no fewer than 17 points throughout the final 20 minutes.