KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Pairings for the 21st annual NAIA Division II men's basketball national tournament were released Wednesday by the NAIA office in Kansas City, Mo. The tournament, which will run from March 7-13, is again being played at Keeter Gymnasium at College of the Ozarks, located just outside of Branson, Mo. The Grace College Lancers will play Briar Cliff (Iowa) in the opening round of the 32-team, single-elimination tournament. The Lancers, the 2012 Mid-Central College Conference regular season co-champions and tournament champions, will play the Chargers at 8:30 p.m. (EDT) on March 8. Briar Cliff is ranked 19th in the final top 25 national poll and received the seventh at-large invitation to the tournament. The Chargers (21-10) are making their eighth appearance in the national tournament and have an all-time record of 2-7 in Branson. Their most recent appearances in 2011 and 2009 ended with first-round losses. Jake Shipley, a 6-foot-8 junior, leads Briar Cliff with averages of 18 points and five rebounds per game, while 6-1 junior Taylor Murren averages 12 points per game and 6-10 junior Michael Collison averages seven points and five boards. The Lancers (24-7) are making their sixth trip to the national tournament, their fourth in the past five years. Grace has tallied an 8-4 record in the tournament. Grace, ranked 11th in the final national poll, won the national championship in 1992 and advanced to the elite eight in both 2008 and 2009. The Lancers' balanced scoring attack is led by junior point guard Bruce Grimm, who averages 18 points per game. Senior Duke Johnson and sophomore Greg Miller score 14 and 12 points per game, respectively, while junior Elliot Smith averages nine and senior Jacob Peattie eight. Miller leads Grace with seven rebounds per game, while Johnson averages six boards per contest. The MCC has four teams in the 32-team field. Joining the Lancers are Indiana Wesleyan (automatic bid), Marian (at-large) and Saint Francis (at-large).
