Thursday, March 12, 1998

Hawaii Pacific and BYUH learn their pairings for NAIA

Star-Bulletin staff

Hawaii Pacific University will face East Central University of Ada, Oklahoma, next Wednesday in the first round of the 61st NAIA Division I Men's Basketball National Championship Tournament.

The teams will meet at 5:45 p.m. (HST) at the Mabee Center in Tulsa, Okla.

Although East Central (18-8) is not ranked, the Tigers earned an automatic berth by winning the Oklahoma Intercollegiate Conference championship.

East Central features the nation's leading scorer, Roland Miller, a 6-foot-3 junior guard who averages 29.2 points.

The Sea Warriors (22-4), who go to the NAIA tournament for the sixth straight year, are led by guard Llewellyn Smalley (19.2 points), the Hawaii Intercollegiate Athletic Conference MVP.

While HPU has never played East Central, Hawaii's other NAIA representative, Brigham Young University-Hawaii, does know the Tigers.

The Seasiders lost to them, 66-60 on March 14, 1996, in the second round of the national tournament.

On Tuesday, BYUH (19-7), entering its third straight NAIA tournament, will face Olivet Nazarene (27-8) at 6:30 p.m. HST.

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