POINT LOOKOUT, Mo. – Kevin Baker scored 17 points, grabbed 14 rebounds and handed out five assists Thursday afternoon as the Oregon Institute of Technology knocked off Husson 81-67 in the first round of the NAIA Division II Men’s Basketball National Championship at the College of the Ozarks.

The 10th-seeded Hustlin’ Owls, now 27-6, also got 20 points and six assists from Florian Houguet. Houguet connected on 6-of-12 from the floor and was a perfect 5-for-5 from the free throw line.

Michael Nunes added 10 points for the Hustlin’ Owls.

Randy Fletcher had 26 points for 23-6 and unseeded Husson. Ryan Rivera and Nate Cyr had eight points each for the Braves.

The Braves led much of the first half before falling behind 33-32 on a pair of Todd Matthews free throws with one second remaining in the half.

Leading 42-40 in the second half, the Hustlin’ Owls went on a 12-0 run to put some distance between themselves and the Braves.

Baker scored six of the points during the run on a pair of 3-pointers while Chris Johnson scored all six of his points, also on a pair of 3-pointers.

During the stretch, Husson missed on three 3-point attempts and finished hitting just 7 of 27 from beyond the arc while OIT was 10 of 24.

The Braves cut the lead to eight at 65-57 with 6:45 remaining on a basket and free throw by Fletcher but could get no closer.

Oregon Tech made 44 percent of their shots from the floor, hitting on 28-of-63 while the Braves were 27-for 67 and were held 16 points below their of 83 points per game.

Sunrise Conference champion Husson was making its eighth appearance in the tournament and lost in the first round for the seventh time. The Braves advanced to the second round of the tournament in 1992.

The Braves have won four conference titles in the last five years.

Oregon Tech will play the winner of a battle of Kansas teams, seventh-seeded MidAmerica Nazarene and Bethany College, Friday night at 8.

HUSTLIN? OWLS 81, BRAVES 67

Oregon Tech (27-6) Husson (23-6)

Player G AG F AF TP Player G AG F AF TP

Nunes 3 8 2 4 10 Fletcher 11 17 26

Baker 6 13 2 2 17 White 2 5 1 5

Mitrovic 2 7 0 0 4 Rivera 4 13 8

Matthews 2 5 2 4 7 Ailey 2 9 6

Houguet 6 12 5 7 20 Cyr 3 7 1 8

Hall 0 0 0 0 0 Zeikus 2 3 0 6

C. Johnson 2 6 0 0 6 Wada 0 0 0

Hansen 0 0 0 0 0 Galley 1 1 0 2

Griesser 0 0 0 0 0 Cunninghm 0 0

Michaelis 2 3 0 0 5 Harvey 2 7 6

A. Johnson 0 0 0 0 0 Leavitt 0 5 0

M. Johnson 5 9 2 3 12

Totals 28 63 15 20 81 27 67 6 11 67

Oregon Inst. of Tech. 33 81

Husson 32 67

3-pt. goals ? O.I.T. (10-24): Baker 3-7, Houguet 3-5, Matthews 1-2, Johnson 2-6, Michaelis 1-2, Nunes 0-2; Husson (7-27): Harvey 2-5, Ailey 2-5, Zeikus 2-3, Cyr 1-4, Rivera 0-4, Leavitt 0-5, White 0-1

Attendance: 445