CofO Defeats Indiana Wesleyan in Quarter Finals

On Saturday evening, the CofO Bobcats continued their unlike run in the NAIA Division II Men's Tournament by knocking off #9 seed Indiana Wesleyan 68-64.

CofO Stuns Top Ranked Walsh

The College of the Ozarks, unseeded for the tournament, pulled off a huge upset victory on Friday night over top ranked Walsh, from Ohio. It was only Walsh's second defeat of the season! Leading by as much as 22 in the first half, the Cavs chipped away at the Bobcat lead, but could never draw closer 5 points. Final score, 71-66.

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CofO vs Sioux Falls, first round tournament action

The College of the Ozarks Bobcats, unranked for the tournament, took on the #16 seeded Sioux Falls, from South Dakota in first round action on Wednesday night. The teams played close in the first half, but the second half seen CofO pull out to as much as a 12 point lead. Final score, CofO came out on top, 66-58. They will now go on to play the #1 seeded team, Walsh from Ohio on Friday night at 7:30. Walsh comes into the tournament with a season record of 29-1.

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2011 NAIA Division II Men's Basketball National Championship, College of the Ozarks, Opening Ceremony

For the past several years, I've had the pleasure of photographing the NAIA Division II Men's Basketball National Championship. College of the Ozarks has hosted the tournament since 2000.
Thirty two teams are competing. Colleges from as far away as California, Oregon, Washington State, Florida, Michigan, and Ohio have teams represented at the tournament.
Here are a few photos from before and during the opening ceremony.

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 The "blimp" flies around the gym during time outs, and drops treats to the crowd below.

Branson vs Nixa, Post Season Tournament, 02/23/11

The #4 seeded Branson Pirates upset #1 seed Nixa with a solid 62-54 victory. They now advance to the finals on Friday night.
Avery Dingman led Branson with  24 points. Sam Pugh followed with 20 points.

Branson vs Parkview, tournament 02/21/11

The Branson Pirates advanced past round one of their post-season tournament with a 64-54 victory over Springfield Parkview.

CofO Vs Bellevue University 02/19/11

The weather outside was warm, but the first half shooting of the CofO Bobcats was cold, as they dropped a close one to Bellevue University  52-48. At one time, CofO trailed by 16 in the first half. However in the closing minutes, they cut the lead to just 1, but in the end, came up short.

Mike Wiebe lead the Bobcats in scoring with  14, followed by Jared Howerton with 13.