Royals are GSAC Men's Tournament Champions - Mar 11, 2015

GSAC Player of the Year Kenny Morgan (6'2''-G) scored 7 of his team-high 18 points during a 18-0 run midway through the first-half to give the NAIA's No. 2-ranked Hope International University control of the GSAC Tournament Championship game vs. No. 7 Concordia University as the Royals then cruised to a 75-61 victory Tuesday evening in the Darling Pavilion.

The win gives the Royals the GSAC's automatic bid into next week's NAIA Div. I Men's Basketball National Championship in Kansas City, Mo. at historical Municipal Auditorium, March 18-24.

Concordia, which was gunning for its seventh GSAC Tournament championship, scored 9 of the game's first 11 points and was still up 13-7 before Hope International took control of play. A Morgan jumper, followed by a Garrett Neilan (6'5''-G) lay-up, and another lay-up by All-GSAC performer Matt Green (5'9''-PG) ignited the Royals and gave HIU its first lead of the game at 14-13 with 11:49 left in the first half.

Meanwhile Concordia went into a funk in which the Eagles missed 14 straight shots and committed 5 turnovers, going 9 minutes in between field goals, allowing Hope International to assume a 25-19 lead with under 5 minutes left in the half. The Royals assumed a 36-28 lead at halftime.

Concordia was still within 6 at 47-41 with just under 14 minutes left in the game when Neilan popped his only 3-pointer of the night to ignite another HIU outburst that eventually pushed the Royal lead to an insurmountable 67-50 advantage following a Morgan trey with 5:34 left in the game.

Tuff Barnes (6'7''-F) added 18 points off the bench for Hope International, and Green finished with 16. Neilan snagged a game-high 8 rebounds to go along with his 7 points.

For Concordia, All-GSAC honoree Ty Armstrong (6'9''-F-91) tallied a game-high 22 points, and Matt Scott (6'4''-G) chipped in with 12. The Eagles made just 18-of-60 (.300) shots while Hope International shot at a fine .536 (30-for-56) clip for the game.

With the victory, Hope International, now 29-2 on the season, caps its amazing 4-year turnaround into a GSAC power with its first-ever conference tournament championship, pushing its winning streak in the process to 8 straight. In addition, the Royals complete the 2014-15 season with a perfect 21-0 record at home.

Concordia, which fell to 26-7, is expected to receive an at-large bid into the NAIA Championship.

Courtesy of GSAC

GSAC Tournament Final: Hope International - Concordia 75-61
GSAC Tournament Semifinals:
Concordia - Westmont 78-58
Hope International - Arizona Christian 73-72