Senior guard Terrell Dyer had 11 points in his final game in a Park uniform against Biola in the second round of the Buffalo Funds-NAIA Division I Men's Basketball National Championship. The Pirates fell to the Eagles, 80-64. (Photo Courtesy Matthew Hicks, www.ciphotography.com)

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KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The Park University men’s basketball team made things interesting in the game’s final two minutes Friday night in the second round of the Buffalo Funds-NAIA Division I Men’s Basketball National Championship, but the Pirates were unable to dig out of a hole established by a big first-half run from Biola University, who came away with an 80-64 victory at Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City.

Park (23-10) was led by senior Herschel Rodgers, who scored 15 points in the game, while Juston Hairston added 14, Goldeng Deng scored 11, and Terrell Dyer posted 10 in the final game of the season for the 2009-10 Pirates.

Biola (29-5) and Park each grabbed 35 rebounds, but it was a big shooting night for the Eagles that secured a trip to the quarterfinals, going 27-of-48 from the floor, 56.3-percent, including 7-of-14 from beyond the arc. Biola’s defense was also effective, holding Park to 25 first-half points and 35.9-percent shooting in the game.

After trailing by 18 at the half, the Pirates opened the second period on a 5-0 run, cutting Biola’s lead to 43-30, but after back-to-back buckets from Rodgers kept it manageable at 51-37, Biola used a used a 14-0 run to take a 65-40 lead midway through the second half.

Hairston buried a pair of threes and Philip Garnett added another as the clock crossed 7:00, getting Park back within 67-48, and with 5:30 left, Rodgers poked a Biola pass away and finished with a lay-up to make it 67-50. Park would later cut the lead to 69-55, and with 1:02 left in the game, Dyer nailed a three from the right wing to make it 72-62, but Biola finished on an 8-2 run, advancing to Saturday’s quarterfinal game against Oklahoma Baptist, scheduled for 6 p.m.

The Pirates got out to a quick start in the game, getting baskets from Rodgers and Deng to take a 4-0 lead in the opening two minutes, but a 6-0 Biola run, capped by a Nate Rakestraw jumper, gave the Eagles a 6-4 lead with 17:02 in the first.

Deng answered with a three out of a Park stoppage, giving the Pirates a 7-6 advantage, and with 13:20 in the half, he struck again, dropping a pair of foul shots to make it 14-12. The Eagles would respond, though, scoring the next five points, including a triple from Rakestraw that forced another Park time out with 12:20 left and Biola up 17-14.

Hairston came off the bench to tie it near 11:00, draining a three to make it 17-17, but after Park again tied it at 20 on a second three by Hairston, Biola finished the half on a 23-5 run, taking a 43-25 to intermission. Biola shot 57.1-percent in the first half, including 23 first-half points by Rocky Hampton, who finished with a game- and career-high 32. Clay Martin also had a career-high for Biola, scoring 16 in the game, while Marlon King finished with 12 and Rakestraw had 11.

“They did a good job, and their game plan was to protect the paint. They did that," said head coach Jason Kline. "They made us shoot jumpers which we don’t like to do a whole lot. If we have been inconsistent on one thing it’s been shooting the basketball from the perimeter and it was a good game plan. My hats off to them, they have a great coach and they have a great program. They aren’t ranked that high for nothing. If you can’t knock shots down, they won’t give you many extra opportunities and that hurt us early in the game. I'm proud of what this team accomplished after the start we had, and it's all those guys in that locker room, especially our three seniors.”