FULLERTON, Calf. – Jaylen Lee scored nine of his game-high 39 points in overtime, including the go-ahead bucket with just over one minute remaining, as No. 11-ranked Keiser outlasted Oregon Tech, 94-90, in a first-round game of the NAIA Men's Basketball National Championship inside Darling Pavilion.
 
The sixth-seeded Seahawks (25-5) withstood a second half rally from OIT and erased a four-point deficit in the extra session to advance to meet host Hope International in tomorrow's second-round.
 
Tech (19-11) saw their season come to a close, despite dominating the No. 2 ranked rebounding team in the NAIA on the glass (48-37), with five Hustlin' Owls scoring in double-figures.
 
"I am so proud of how our team competed tonight," said OIT head coach Justin Parnell. "The effort that we gave on the boards was outstanding against arguably the best rebounding team in the NAIA. Our offensive execution in the second half was great and we had great looks. Keiser is a really good basketball team that I believe was under-seeded and we played them even for 45 minutes. Losing hurts and I know our locker room hurts – but I am so proud of our guys."
 
KU used a 12-0 first half run, getting three triples from Loghan Downie, building a 28-18 lead, with the Florida school taking a 46-37 lead to the break.
 
The Owls answered in the second half, as a Dakota Reber 3-pointer and a pair of Jackson Cooper free throws pulled Tech within 56-55, with a 3-ball from Owen Nathan and a Cooper put back tying the game at 63-63.
 
OIT trailed 82-78 with just over a minute left in regulation, but Cooper scored on the block and after a defensive stop, Jared Sucher splashed a 10-foot floater in the paint to tie the game. The Seahawks had a chance to win, but Camerin James missed two free throws with two seconds left, sending the game to overtime.
 
Tech scored the first four points of the extra session, with two Nathan free throws giving the Owls an 86-82 lead. From there, Lee took over, starting a rally with a 3-point play and giving KU an 89-88 lead with an acrobatic lay-up. Sucher countered at the other end with a 15-foot jumper to give OIT their final lead, but Lee scored inside and followed with a steal and basket, extending the lead to 93-90. The Owls had two chances to tie, but both 3-point attempts rimmed out.
 
Sucher led OIT with 21 points, Reber added 19 in his final collegiate game, with Nathan scoring a career-high 17. Cooper narrowly missed a triple-double with 14 points, 13 rebounds and seven assists, with Grant Tull capping his career with a 10 point effort.
 
Lee made 14-of-19 field goals in the win for KU, with James scoring 19 and Jackson Slater posting 11.