SIOUX FALLS, S.D.- No. 2 seed St. Thomas (23-7) opened its NAIA Division II National Championship run with a hard-fought win against seventh seeded Michigan-Dearborn (21-13) at the Heritage Court in the Sanford Pentagon by a final score of 79-77 early Wednesday morning.
 
With the win, the Bobcats advanced to the second round (round of 16) of the tournament to face the winner of the Briar Cliff vs. Oregon Tech game at 10:15 a.m. CT/11:15 a.m. ET on Friday.
 
The opening game of the NAIA National Championship Tournament featured a duel on the same court in which the NBA G-League affiliate of the Miami Heat, Sioux Falls SkyForce, call home.
 
Leading the way for the Bobcats was the big-man in the middle, Raheem Bowman. He provided a huge presence on the defensive end, as well as the offensive end. On the day, he scored 18 points and snatched a game-high 15 rebounds, with 13 defensive rebounds. Amongst all that, he managed to assist on three occasions. On the season now, Bowman has registered 16 double-doubles.
 
Not too far behind him was Khalil Williams, who recorded 17 points and grabbed six boards. Both Williams and Timothy Sada closed out their games with 17 points. Sada scored nine of his points from beyond the are as he went 3-for-8 from distance. Sada also was the offensive engine of overtime, scoring seven of the team's 12 points in the extra stanza.
 
Mikon Hewitt assisted for a game-high nine times, which put the senior over the 500-mark with 502 career assists at St. Thomas University.
 
From the initial tip, it was clear that both teams were anxious and ready to play. The rhythm picked up after the first seven minutes of play, as the Bobcats and the Wolverines were in a fairly tight deadlock.
 
With 7:34 left in the first half, Darwin Trotman put on his skates, and swerved past the defenders to pick up the and-one opportunity. He would complete the three-point play to pad an early lead for the Bobcats.
 
After a missed UMD shot and a defensive rebound by Bowman, Trotman would maneuver through the defense yet again to earn an opportunity to complete a three-point play.
A quick 30 seconds to separate the two scoring opportunities which left STU up 30-21 with 7:04 left in the game.
 
The second half brought a much closer matchup as the Wolverines seemed to score after each Bobcats score. It was a constant back and forth battle between the two programs.
 

In the second half, Bowman picked up his 16th double-double of the season, with 13 points and 10 rebounds with 9:38 left on the clock. Michigan-Dearborn did not have an answer for the big man's presence in the middle.
 
After what looked to be a momentum shifting lead change for the Wolverines, Sada drained a dagger from way back to put STU up 58-57 with 3:52 left in the game.
 
Late in the second half as time was winding down, the Bobcats were down 59-60. Strategic ball movement helped open up a hole for Philip Saunders to let one fly. The three ball put STU up 62-60 with 2:30 left in the second half.
 
A crucial link-up between Hewitt and Williams paid off as St. Thomas was able to bring the score line to a halting 67-67 tie to close out regulation. Bowman secured a vital defensive rebound, one of his game-high 15 rebounds, to ensure UMD could not score.  
 
This ballgame could not be settled in regulation as both teams pushed hard to the final seconds to force an overtime. The final score in regulation was 67-67.
 
In overtime, Sada was hungry and Hewitt fed him. With back-to-back connections between the two, Sada scored all five of STU's opening overtime points as the Bobcats drove out in front, 72-69.
 
As the overtime progressed, Sada continued to do what he had done all season: drain threes.
With two minutes left in the game, the three-point specialist connected from beyond the arc to bring the STU lead back up to 76-73.
 
The remainder of the game was filled with constant responses. The fight and urge to win was real.
 
This game came down to the wire.
 
In the final 20 seconds of the game, two-time Sun Conference Defender of the Year Hewitt proved he deserved that prestigious award as he snuck up on a UMD player to snatch what very well sealed the game for the Bobcats. He then got fouled and was able to put to put St. Thomas up 79-77 with 10.8 left in overtime.
 
Notable numbers on the day came from Bowman (18 points, 15 rebounds (13 defensive), Sada (17 points, 3-for-8 3P/3PA), Williams (17 points, 6 rebounds) and Hewitt (9 assists, 2 steals, 6 points).
 
Next up for the Bobcats is a second round matchup on Friday, March 9 at 10:15 a.m. CT/11:15 a.m. ET against BriarCliff.
 
To watch that game live go to https://naianetwork.com/ or join the Watch Party at the Fernandez Family Center.
 
To follow via live stats: http://www.dakstats.com/WebSync/Pages/Tournament/TournamentPage.aspx?association=10&sg=MBB&tour=2414
 
Let's Go Bobcats!