POINT LOOKOUT, Mo. - St. Vincent guard Kennon Roberts always likes the Bearcats' chances, figuring they can beat teams in a variety of ways. But Roberts and his teammates surprised even himself by hitting 43 of 48 free throws while beating No. 12 seed Indiana Tech 113-96 on Thursday at the NAIA Div. II Tournament. The Bearcats' 90-percent accuracy was in stark contrast to their 67-percent shooting from the foul line entering the tournament. "We've come up big throughout the playoffs and hit our foul shots," said Roberts, who made 15 of 18 free throws and scored 25 points. "But I can't say I would have thought we would shoot as good as we did today." Forward Tony Washam also was deadly at the foul line. He converted 18 of 20 free throws en route to 36 points, the top scoring effort in the tournament thus far. Washam has only played four games since missing more than a month while his hand and wrist were in a cast. "I take some hits on my hand, but it doesn't hurt," Washam said. "It's back to normal, and I can't worry about it. If something is going to happen, and I get hit and injure it again, I can't control it." St. Vincent (25-6) took control early, reeling off 15 unanswered points to grab a 28-9 advantage. Indiana Tech, averaging 90.2 points a game, managed just 34 first-half points. "At the beginning of the game, I think our team-defense was as good as it's ever been," Roberts said. St. Vincent's biggest lead was 30 points -- 80-50 -- with nine minutes to play. But Indiana Tech (25-7) pulled to within 99-91 with 2:20 left when Washam was whistled for his fifth foul and then a technical. "Sometimes we have to keep our composure and not wish things away," St. Vincent coach D.P. Harris said. Indiana Tech was led by JuJuan Cooley's 29 points. "I give them a lot of credit," Washam said. "They stayed with it. They didn't want to quit. That's how teams are here. We've been known to blow leads, and we can't do that here. If it stays close, anything can happen." In addition to Washam and Roberts, three other Bearcats reached double-figure scoring. Guard Marcus Fisher had 20 points. The 113 points is a season-high for St. Vincent. "We usually average 15-20 steals but had only six today," Indiana Tech coach Jason Kline said. "That's a credit to Saint Vincent on how they handled our full-court pressure full-court." The Bearcats meet Saint Ambrose in second-round action at 2:15 p.m. today. The Bees beat Sterling 63-62 yesterday. "Back to back games is going to be tough," Washam said. "But if we lose we go home. We can think about being tired after we accomplish what we're going to accomplish." "We're here to win this," Roberts added.

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