Kansas City, Mo. - The No. 4 LSUS Pilots will face the No. 29 University of Science and Arts (Okla.) in the first round of the 2008 Buffalo Funds-NAIA Division 1 Men's Basketball National Championship on Wednesday afternoon.

LSUS (30-2) enters the tournament as the No. 4 seed after winning a school record 30 games and claiming both the GCAC regular season and tournament championships.  The Pilots are led by the GCAC Player of the Year and All-American candidate Josh Porter (22.7 PPG).  Seniors Jamon Morris (14.6 PPG), Travis Cash (14.2 PPG) and J'Quincy Jones (10.8 PPG) round out four Pilot starters averaging double figures in scoring this season.

The Pilots are looking to win for the first time in the National Tournament since 2005.  The Pilots defeated the University of Cumberlands (Ky.) 79-75 in double overtime in their first-ever tournament appearance.  However, LSUS has lost three consecutive games following that win, and they will look to stop the streak at 12:30 PM on Wednesday afternoon.

Tomorrow's game can be viewed live over the internet for a small fee.  Please visit www.watchnaia.com for information on how to order tomorrow's game.

The NAIA also provides live stats for each game at no charge.  To view live stats for each game, along with game recaps and box scores, please visit the tournament central page at http://naia.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/103106aab.html.

USAO 2007-08 Season Highlights:

University of Science and Arts enters as one of the tournament’s cinderella stories, finishing its conference season only 10-12 and seventh in the league, but the Drovers earned their way into the tournament by way of the Sooner Athletic Conference tournament, led by Second-Team All-SAC performer Tim Nelson.

DeAngelo Alexander, Thomas Woods and Dexter Williams each earned honorable mention honors in the SAC, while head coach Brisco McPherson is a mere three wins from No. 250 in his career at USAO.

University of Science and Arts Quick Facts:

Location: Chickasha, Okla.

Enrollment:  1,250

Nickname (Colors):  Drovers (Green & Gold)

Conference:  Sooner Athletic Conference

Athletics Web site:  www.usao.edu/usao-sports

Facility (capacity):  USAO Fieldhouse (1,500)

2007-08 Record:  17-15

2007-08 Conference (Finish):  10-12 (Seventh)

Qualification:  SAC Automatic