Life Falls in Round of 16 to Wayland Baptist
Men's Basketball / 03.16.18
Kansas City, MO- Life University struggled from the field in a devastating loss to Wayland Baptist, 65-43, in the second round of the NAIA National Tournament. The Running Eagles finish their season with a 21-12 record.
The game began with WBU's Trevonta Robertson hitting two three -pointers which was part of an 8-2 run for the Pioneers. LIFE would work to close the gap, but Wayland Baptist would lead by as many as 12 points with six minutes left in the first half. The Running Eagles would go into halftime trailing by just 8 points but shooting just 10 of 29 from the field and 3 of 14 from 3-point range.
LIFE's David Scott would make the first field goal of the second half, pulling LIFE within six points of the lead. However, momentum would quickly shift in favor of the Pioneers as they went on an 8-point run before Michael Miller would score a basket to end the run. Frustrations would boil over in the second half as LIFE's Zach Landis would be called for his fourth foul with just under four minutes into the half. The Running Eagles would continue to play the second half in foul trouble. Wayland Baptist took advantage of several opportunities to increase their lead from the free throw line. Wayland Baptist helped themselves by shooting 19 for 28 from the stripe, while the Running Eagles only got to the line 11 times.
Senior Ivan Benkovic lead all LIFE players with 9 total points. Zach Landis lead all LIFE players with 6 rebounds.
Seniors Ivan Benkovic, Zach Landis, Jay Johnson, Undra Mitchem, and Michael Miller played their last game for the Running Eagles. Benkovic, Landis, and Miller were all on the squad's 2017 Mid-South Conference Championship team, and were NAIA National Runner-Ups. Zach Landis finishes his career as the all-time leader in rebounds for Life University, and joined the prestigious 1,000 point club in the regular-season finale.
