Comer, Cougars fall in final

POINT LOOKOUT, Missouri — Kegan Comer was in a situation young basketball players dream about.
Down by one, clock running out and a chance to make a shot to clinch a national championship.
Having already helped top-ranked and No. 1 seeded University of Saint Francis men’s basketball team erase a 13-point deficit, Comer had both a potential game-winning and later a would-be game-tying shot hit off the side of the rim, as the Cougars fell to the No. 3 Indiana Wesleyan Wildcats 69-66 in the NAIA Division II Tournament championship at University of the Ozarks’ Keeter Gymnasium
It was the second championship in three years for the Wildcats (33-5), who had lost all three previous meetings this season against the Cougars (33-5).
Comer, a 2013 Jay County High School graduate who had a game-high 22 points to go with seven rebounds and two assists, scored his final bucket of the contest with 31 seconds remaining to get the Cougars to within 67-66.
Pressure from the Saint Francis defense forced Indiana Wesleyan to turn the ball over with 19 seconds remaining, and Comer’s attempt at the game-winning shot bounced off the left side of the rim.
The Wildcats’ Justin Mewhorr hauled in the rebound and was fouled, splitting the ensuing double-bonus free throws at the other end for a 68-66 Wildcat lead.
Comer then drove the length of the court, got caught along the left baseline and had his potential game-tying shot also carom off the side of the rim. Bob Peters of Indiana Wesleyan was fouled on the rebound, made the second of two free-throw attempts with 0.9 seconds left and the Cougars’ heave from the other side of half court was waved off as it came after the buzzer.
Comer, who was one of three University of Saint Francis players named to the All-Championship Team, finished his sophomore season with 13.2 points per game, which ranks third on the team. He also averaged 2.9 rebounds and nearly three assists per game.
He shot 44.6 percent from the field, 36.5 percent from behind the 3-point line and was 74.6 percent from the free-throw line. Comer missed two games because of injury and started 34 of the 36 games he appeared in.

Saginaw Valley 63, Ferris State 61
SOMERS, Wisconsin — The Cardinals are in uncharted territory.
Wade Gelhaus played a part in getting them there.
After having his best game of the season Sunday, Gelhaus, a 2013 Fort Recovery High School graduate, had two rebounds and an assist Tuesday as the Saginaw Valley State University men’s basketball team knocked off conference foe Ferris State 63-61 to earn a berth in the NCAA Division II Elite Eight.
SVSU (25-7), which was seeded fifth, fell behind 37-29 less than five minutes into the second half.
The Cardinals, who have reached the Elite Eight for the first time in program history, took the lead for good with less than 2 minutes to play.
Gelhaus played 10 minutes off the bench and missed the only shot he took.
SVSU earned a No. 6 seed for the Elite Eight, and meets third-seeded Western Oregon (30-3) at 9:30 p.m. March 23 at Dr. Pepper Arena in Frisco, Texas.