EUGENE, Ore. – After winning their opening round game for a second straight season, NCU moves on to face No. 2 seed in the Liston Bracket, Indiana University East.
 
The No. 9 ranked Beacons will play at 8:15 am (PST) on Friday, facing the No. 7 Red Wolves, the River States Conference Eastern Division and Tournament champions. Danny Havel and Corey Anderson will be on the call for the game live on Fox Sports Radio Eugene (AM 1050 or FM 95.7) with the pre-game starting at 7:45 am. NCU Athletics and Student Life will be hosting a watch party for the game in the Rug Room on campus.
 
IU East comes in on a roll, having won eight straight games. They are 27-7 on the season and battle tested having played ten games against NAIA DII tournament teams. They were 4-6 in those contests. The Beacons were 5-4 in nine games against the tourney field during the regular season and conference tournament.
 
The Red Wolves are also no strangers to Branson. Last season IU East came in as a No. 7 seed and became the tournament Cinderella, knocking off No. 2 Tabor in the first round and advancing all the way to the Fab Four.
 
A Cinderella no more, Indiana East has been ranked in the NAIA top-ten for most of the season, climbing as high as No. 5 back in November.
 
The Red Wolves are a much different team than they were last year as just six players from the Fab Four run are still on the roster. The team brought in a talented young group with eight of their 15-man roster listed as freshmen or sophomores.
 
It is also a deep group with nine players in the regular rotation and six players averaging at least seven points per game. Leading the charge is junior Guard Jordan Furlow who averages 14.6 points per game. Senior Kyle Pipenger averages 13.3 points per contest and hits 51% from three-point range, the second best rate in the NAIA. Furlow and Pipenger were both second-team All-RSC selections.
 
NCU's posts will have their hands full with starting big man Aaron Thomas. The 6-7 sophomore scores just 6.5 points per game but hits 63% from the field, hauls in 8.6 rebounds per contest and has blocked 72 shots on the season.
 
Indiana East opened the tournament on Wednesday, knocking off No. 7 seed Reinhardt 84-74. Pipenger led the attack, scored 23 points as he hit four triples and went 9-for-9 at the charity stripe. Junior Guard Jacoby Claypool, a first-team All-RSC honoree, posted a double-double with 15 points and ten assists while Thomas added his own double-double with 12 poitns and 12 rebounds. As a team they shot 45% from the field but were vulnerable from downtown, hitting on just 28% of their chances. They also survived a 17-turnover game while out-rebounding Reinhardt 41-37.
 
The winner of Friday's game will advance to the quarterfinals on Saturday where they will take on the winner of No. 1 Cornerstone and No. 4 Saint Francis. That game will be played at 11:00 am (PST) on Saturday.