Morton College ran into a red-hot shooting team from Erie and suffered a 83-56 loss in the opening game of the NJCAA Division II men's basketball tournament March 19 in Danville.

The Kats made eight first-half three-pointers and opened things up with a 17-0 run en route to building a 45-24 advantage at intermission. On the day, the 13th-seed Morton College also made 23 turnovers and shot just 6 of 17 from three-point range in having its nine-game win streak stopped.

"Early on was the key," Morton College men's basketball coach Aaron Rolle said. "We let them play too comfortably. They also did a great job of executing. Erie only missed 26 shots and had 13 offensive rebounds. We turned the ball over 23 times. That gave them a lot of extra possessions. I do think the moment got to us in the first half."

The Panthers (21-13) overcame an early 5-0 deficit to take their only lead of the game at 8-7 on Tyrone Rhivers' runner in the lane. Edward Clary and Tom Kedis got Morton College on the scoreboard with three-pointers.

Shawn Marlow' three-pointer narrowed the gap to 12-11 before the No. 4 seeded Kats (26-4) responded with 17 unanswered points.

The Panthers cut it to 16 at 66-50 on Clary's layup with 7:48 left, but could come no closer. Erie had five players in double figures with a sixth just a point shy. 

Rhivers led Morton College with 25 points, making 11 of 13 attempts. Kedis added eight, while Tyric Edwards had six. Both players had five rebounds, which led the Panthers.

"The guys did a good job of competing in the second half," Rolle said. "Erie is a tough team to get behind. They play inside out and they pressure you."

Morton College shot 58 percent in the second half, connecting 14 of 24 shots. It was Morton College's fourth trip to nationals in program history and first since 2009.

Morton College falls into the consolation bracket and takes on Ancilla at 1 p.m. Thursday, March 21st. Milwaukee Area Tech, the other Region 4 rep, defeated Ancilla 101-87 in an opening-round game March 20th. 

"We're glad to be here at nationals," Rolle said. "This is great for our program. We still have a chance to continue playing."