POINT LOOKOUT, Mo. -- An explosive second half allowed Indiana Wesleyan University to overcome a halftime deficit and advance to the NAIA Division II Men's Basketball National Championship Quarterfinals.

No. 3-seed Indiana Wesleyan defeated No. 14-seed Eastern Oregon University by a 70-57 margin. Eastern Oregon held a slim 25-23 advantage at the break.

The Wildcats were limited to 30.3-percent (10 of 33) shooting during the first 20 minutes and only junior forward Will Hubertz scored more than four points. Hubertz helped the Wildcats stay within reach until halftime with 13 points and four rebounds.

"We weren't playing our game at all," said Indiana Wesleyan head coach Greg Tonagel. "We forced shots and made a lot of bad decisions. I think anxiety was part of the problem. Guys were trying to do too much in a big game."

Indiana Wesleyan was a completely different team in the second half as IWU made three more shots than the first half, despite 14 less attempts. Following the first half shooting woes, Indiana Wesleyan connected on 68.4-percent (13 of 19) of their shots and continually got to the free throw line, hitting 19 of 26 (73.1-percent).

"The first half wasn't us and what we do," said Tonagel. "We played the same way for the first 34 games, why change now? We can't play selfish basketball and needed to get back to team ball."

And playing a balanced team effort in the second half is what Indiana Wesleyan did. Senior center Zach Coverstone scored 15 of his 19 points in the second half while senior guard Spencer Harris added nine of his 13 points and sophomore guard Derrick Troyer poured in eight of his 10 points in the final 20 minutes.

Tonagel continued, "They understood what went wrong in the first half. The guys just needed to have fun and be excited and to play the way we have done all season."

Coverstone followed a poor 2-for-7 shooting performance in the first half with a perfect 6-for-6 second half.

"Zach got back to doing what he does. He played extremely well in the second half and we fed him the ball. It was extremely physical on the court but Zach adjusted and made plays," said Tonagel.

Despite some struggles on the offensive end, the Wildcat defense continued to shine.

Eastern Oregon was held to 38.5-percent (20 of 52) shooting and committed 21 turnovers. EOU put up 15 3-point attempts against the No. 1-rated 3-point field goal defense in the country, and hit on just three (20.0-percent).

With the win, Indiana Wesleyan (30-5) ties the program record for wins in a season with 30, matching the 2006-07 season. The national quarterfinal appearance also matches the furthest any team in program history has gone as IWU reached the NAIA Quarterfinals in 2007 and 2009.

The Wildcats will next play in the NAIA Quarterfinals against the winner of No. 6-seed Oklahoma Wesleyan University and unseeded Hastings (Neb.) College, a pair of high-octane offense. That contest will be at 9 p.m. ET on Saturday, March 13 in Point Lookout, Missouri.

Said Tonagel, "We have to be ready for any type of game but continue to play our kind of basketball that's gotten us here."

There are three different avenues to follow the Wildcats in the NAIA Elite Eight: live stats gamecast, a radio broadcast on WBAT 1400 AM and on local television on WIWU TV-51 on Brighthouse Cable 23.

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