With much at stake in the game, the two teams used the first ten minutes of the contest to try to figure out each other’s strategy.  Although the 2^nd-seeded Foresters took the early 5-2 lead, the two teams volleyed field goals back and forth until the Foresters finally put together a run to give themselves some breathing room.  An Alex Kock jumper with 10:57 to go in the half sparked an 11-2 HU run giving the Foresters a 30-19 lead at the 14:20 mark and forcing MidAmerica’s Coach Lamar to call a timeout to settle down his troops.  The Pioneers regrouped and scored six unanswered points to draw within five at 30-25, but a well-tested HU squad responded with a 13-2 spurt to close out the half and headed to the locker room with its largest lead of the game at 43-27. 

Doug Sheckler and Kock both chipped in two points to open the second half to push the Foresters’ advantage to 47-27, but as has been characteristic of MidAmerica this season, the unseeded Pioneers were not going to go away without a fight.  Another Kock jumper with 14:48 to play had HU still up 18 at 54-36, but following a timeout, the Pioneers turned up the defensive pressure forcing the Foresters into three consecutive turnovers and the momentum began to shift.  A 20-6 MidAmerica run brought the Pioneers within four at 60-56 with just over six minutes left in the game.  Now it was Coach Platt’s turn to settle down the HU troops with the timeout.  COach Platt called Sheckler's number and the sophomore responded with back-to-back jumpers to push HU's lead back to eight.  But Pioneer Jacob Nellor answered with two consecutive jumpers of his own to make it 64-60 with 2:48 remaining.

On HU’s next possession, the Foresters went to their ace in the hole and Kock did not disappoint.  He hit the turn-around baseline jumper and drew the foul.  Kock’s free throw pushed HU’s advantage back to 67-60 and then he came up with a big block on MidAmerica’s Ryan Rundberg on the defensive end.  The Foresters pushed it up and found Kyle Ganton on the baseline for another deuce that broke the Pioneers’ back.  Adam Hepker turned the ball over on MidAmerica’s next possession and the Forester parade to the charity stripe began with 59 seconds left.  HU knocked down 8-9 free throws in the final minute as the Forester crowd chanted “We’re goin’ to the ‘Ship.”

For the game, Ganton took top scoring honors with 22 points on 6-12 shooting, including 1-2 from behind the arc and 9-9 from the line.  He also grabbed a team-high eight rebounds.  Kock and Sheckler each finished with 19 points.  Nellor led four Pioneers in double figures with 20.  Hepker added 16 points and eight assists, while Akuien Wour and Danny Hawkins each chipped in 10.  The Foresters shot 50% for the game to just 41% for the Pioneers and went 24-26 (92%) from the line while MidAmerica was 13-15 (87%).  For a complete box score, see Box Score.