Faulkner University

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- The horn sounded and Faulkner's fans cheered wildly, but the Eagles had a more somber approach.

There were a few high-fives, maybe a small hug, and not much else.

Faulkner's 76-59 win over Northwestern Oklahoma State in Saturday's NAIA quarterfinals hasn't satisfied the Eagles.

No, a mere quarterfinal victory isn't enough.

"We haven't celebrated after any game," junior Richarde McCray said. "We have two more games to go, so we just hand the ball off and go shake hands."

Faulkner, galled by what it considered a lack of respect, used a surprising run of outside shooting to move into the semifinals. The unseeded Eagles (24-10) will play second seed Oklahoma City at 8 p.m. Monday at Municipal Auditorium.

The Eagles said they've seen other teams scoff at them and their record -- they and the Rangers (22-12) were the final unseeded teams alive -- and they've taken it as motivation.

"We've been disrespected by just about everybody here," senior guard Jammie Evans said. "Just about every team has looked down on us like we're not supposed to be here, but we belong."

The Eagles had their best 3-point shooting night of the season, making 9 of 16, and have shot better than 50 percent in each of their three NAIA tournament games. The three-game shooting streak is their best of the season.

"We have some great shooters," guard Bryant Murray said. "When we have the whole package working, that's when we're at our best."

Though Murray didn't attempt a 3-point shot, the threat opened lanes to the basket. He finished with 15 points and eight assists.

Evans was 3-for-5 on 3-pointers and scored 14 points, while Josh Gholston was 3-of-4 and had nine points.

Aaron Greenwood, Faulkner's backup center, had 12 points on 5-of-7 shooting. McCray, a guard, totaled nine points and nine rebounds. The Eagles had a plus-12 rebounding edge.

"We try to get a lot of our points off the break or pressure and a few putbacks, but we didn't get many tonight," Faulkner coach Jim Sanderson said. "The 3-point shot is just a bonus."

The Eagles drained four 3-pointers in the game's first 91/2 minutes and were 7-of-10 at halftime. Brandon Vaughn's 3 with 10:38 to play gave Faulkner the lead for good.

"When you're shooting like that, you know it's your night, Faulkner's night," Evans said. "That's not even our game."

Northwestern Oklahoma, making its first quarterfinal appearance, shot only 33 percent and didn't have a player score in double figures. Tramain Davis, Ricky Burney and Gary Nunez had nine points each.

The Rangers led 14-12 before Faulkner hit a 15-4 run, highlighted by Vaughn's go-ahead 3-pointer. Murray ended it with a driving layup at the 8:12 mark.

"When we're hitting shots, teams have to stay on their guys and that opens things up," Murray said. "It creates offense. We like to work things inside-out."

Faulkner, which beat McKendree 87-79 late Friday in the second round, soon retreated to its hotel and will rest today after winning for a third straight night. It was to be a quiet night.

"We're not finished yet," Evans said. "We have more business to take care of."