Hawks face No. 20 Northern Michigan in NCAA Regional

The Hawks won their first GLVC regular season title this season

The Rockhurst Hawks are returning to the NCAA Division II Men's Basketball Championship for the first time since 2009.

The fourth-seeded Hawks, 23-6, will face the fifth-seeded Northern Michigan Wildcats, 27-6, in an NCAA Division II Midwest Regional first-round game Saturday at 7:30 p.m. Eastern Time at the Alumni Arena on the Walsh University campus in North Canton, Ohio.

Rockhurst is ranked 24th in the latest National Association of Basketball Coaches D2 Top 25 national poll. The Hawks are ranked 13th in scoring offense (87.2) and 18th in scoring margin (13.1) in the country.

The Hawks have won 11 of their last 12 games and have won its most games in a season (23) since going 24-6 in 2001-02 in capturing its first-ever GLVC regular season championship.

Senior forward Jaylen Wesley and senior guard Drenin Dinkins rank among the top scorers in the country. The duo were named to the D2CCA All-Midwest Region team on Thursday and earlier received All-GLVC First Team honors. Wesley was named the GLVC Player of the Year.

Wesley ranks 11th in points scored (21.6 pg) in NCAA D2. Dinkins ranks eighth in scoring (22.8 pg) and sixth in free throw percentage (90.8) in NCAA D2.

The 20th-ranked Wildcats are led by graduate 6-6 forward Dylan Kuehl, who was named the D2CCA Midwest Region Player of the Year. Kuehl is averaging 21.1 points per game and ranks third in school history with 2,089 points.

Rockhurst has a 2-3 record in three previous appearances in the NCAA Tournament. The Hawks advanced to the regional finals in 2002 in Tahlequah, Oklahoma. The men fell in the first round of the regional in 2007 and 2009 in Findlay, Ohio.

Live internet statistics and a live video webcast will be offered for all matches at the Midwest Regional. All links will be available on the Rockhurst Athletics web site.

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Players Mentioned

#23 Jaylen Wesley: G; 6' 4"; Senior

#11 Drenin Dinkins: G; 6' 0"; Senior

Players Mentioned

#23 Jaylen Wesley
: 6' 4"; Senior
: G

#11 Drenin Dinkins
: 6' 0"; Senior
: G

Rockhurst University Athletics

Players Mentioned

#23 Jaylen Wesley

#11 Drenin Dinkins

Players Mentioned

#23 Jaylen Wesley

#11 Drenin Dinkins