Box Score KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The No. 1 seed Cal State San Marcos men's basketball team used a 12-0 run in the early stages of the second half to pull away from Oklahoma Baptist in the Cougars' eventual 88-81 victory in the First Round of the 77^th Annual Buffalo Funds-NAIA Division I Men's Basketball National Championship on Wednesday at Municipal Auditorium.

De'End Parker paced the Cougars with 20 points, seven rebounds and four assists, while Malcolm Lemmons added 17. Bobby Macias contributed 14 points and five assists, and Adam Eakles chipped in with 11 and seven rebounds.

CSUSM has won 22 straight games and improves to 31-1 on the season.

More importantly, CSUSM moves on to face Culver-Stockton (Mo.) (24-7) in the Second Round on Friday at 8:45 a.m. PT.  The Wildcats beat Arizona Christian (23-8) 101-83 in their opening game.

"I'm glad we won our first game. I'm excited about being here, but we're not finished yet and now it's time to focus on [Culver-Stockton]," said CSUSM head coach Jim Saia. "I'm just happy we got through the first one and now we can get ready to compete in the second round."

The top-seeded Cougars, making just their second-ever appearance at the postseason competition, opened the game with a 9-2 spurt and eventually lead by as many as eight in the early stages.

However, OBU answered with a 12-4 run to take an 18-16 lead at the 13:04 mark. It would be the last time the Bison had the advantage.

Tyree Murray nailed a 3-pointer at the other end to put CSUSM back up one. Then, Macias found Parker on a fast break for an easy lay-in before Macias added a turnaround jumper himself to push the lead back to five.

The Cougars shot 47.1 percent in the first half despite a 3-of-16 clip from behind the arc.

"They had a great game plan, but once we get out running it's hard to keep up with us," said Parker. "That first win is the one that we just need to get out of the way. It was tough, but I think we have our rhythm down for the second game."

OBU's Hayden Darst's bucket made it 49-45, but CSUSM would hold OBU scoreless for the next 3:20 and use a 12-0 spurt to take a 16-point lead with 12:36 to play. Lemmons started the run with a trey from the left side and Zack Zaragoza's back-to-back 3-pointers made it 61-45.

The Bison closed back within 10, but consecutive layups by Jason Johnson and Lemmons pushed the lead back to 14. Parker eventually handed the Cougars their biggest lead, 78-61, with an old-fashioned 3-point play with 4:43 left.

The Bison, who came into the tournament with a 22-4 record in the First Round over the last 26 years, didn't go away without a fight. A 10-4 run brought OBU back within 11 and a free throw by Tyler Davis made it 85-75 at the 1:18 mark.

CSUSM seemed to help OBU's cause by going 6-of-13 from the stripe over the final four minutes of the game, but a pair of consecutive free shots by Eakles handed CSUSM a 12-point lead with 44 seconds left. OBU would make a pair of 3-pointers in the final half-minute to pull within the seven-point margin.

OBU's season ends at 19-16 overall. Aaron Abram led the Bison with 26 points and 11 rebounds, while Cale Jackson added 23 points.