MANKATO, Minn. – No. 1 seed Minnesota State-Mankato shot 61 percent from the field and made 17 3-pointers to defeat No. 8 seed Harding 97-56 in the quarterfinals of the NCAA Division II Central Region Tournament on Saturday at the Taylor Center.

Minnesota State-Mankato (30-4) advances to meet the winner of Winona State and Northwest Missouri State on Sunday at 7:30 p.m.

Harding, in the Central Region Tournament for the second straight season and the champion of the Great American Conference Tournament, had its season end with a 15-15 record.

Minnesota State made 67 percent of its shots in the first half and hit 8-of-13 3-pointers to lead 51-24 at halftime.

Senior Hayden Johnson led Harding with 19 points, 11 of them coming in the second half, and added a team-high five rebounds. He finished his career ranked 15th in scoring at Harding with 1,353 points, and he was fifth with 153 career 3-pointers.

GAC Freshman of the Year Will Francis made three 3-pointers and scored 16 points.

Tanner Adler hit 6-of-10 from 3-point range and led Minnesota State with 24 points. Zach Monaghan scored 18 points and added eight assists, and Gage Wooten scored 17 points.