COLUMBIA, Mo. - The NIU men's golf team found itself at the top of the leaderboard for the first and second rounds at the Tiger Invitational, finishing the opening 18-holes tied for first before closing the day in second place behind No. 30 Missouri. 

The Huskies own a seven-stroke lead over Austin Peay and are 11 behind the Tigers. NIU posted a 294 and 295 in the first and second rounds, respectively, to close the day with a 589.

"We had very good team play this morning with Jordan, Charlie, Matt and Thomas all doing their jobs," said Director of Golf Tom Porten. "In the afternoon, the winds increased and Sal was outstanding. He found a groove with his driver and putted the ball as well as I've ever seen him.

"We really fought back and made a bunch of birdies coming in to take over second and stay within shouting distance of Mizzou," he added. NIU amassed 30 birdies on the day, five shy of Austin Peay's 35, the most by any team in the field.

Salvador Rocha's 68 in the second round was the best performance of the day for a Huskie, besting Jordan Less' 72 in the opening round. Rocha's -4 moved the sophomore into a tie for eighth place with an even 144.

Less shot a 75 in the afternoon to maintain his position in the top-20, tied for 13th. Charlie Cameron also finished the day in the top-20 of the individual standings with a 73 in the morning and a 76 in the second round to tie for 16th.

With the group's all-around play on day one, Porten was optimistic about the final round but knows the challenge ahead of the group

"This groups got a lot of fight and we will give it our best tomorrow against a very good team playing at home (Missouri), but we have to avoid the big mistakes and play the tough par three, seventh much better."

The Huskies and the rest of the 18-team field will close the Tiger Invitational at 8 a.m. Central in a shotgun start. NIU will be paired with Austin Peay and tournament host Mizzou.

TEAM STANDINGS: 1. No. 30 Missouri - 295-283=578 (+2); 2. NIU - 294-295=589 (+13); 3. Austin Peay - 296-300=596 (+20); 4. SIUE - 300-297=597 (+21); t5. Little Rock - 307-296=603 (+27); t5. Missouri State - 302-301=603 (+27); t7. Northern Iowa - 294-310=604 (+28); t7. Central Arkansas - 306-298=604 (+28); t7. Drake - 303-301=604 (+28); t7. IUPUI - 298-306=604 (+28); t11. UMKC - 306-300=606 (+30); t11. Illinois State - 302-304=606 (+30); 13. South Dakota State - 310-301=611 (+35); t14. South Dakota - 304-308=612 (+36); t14. Western Illinois - 300-312=612 (+36); 16. Nicholls State - 305-309=614; 17. Creighton - 315-310=625 (+49); 18. Morehead State - 312-326=638 (+62)

TOP-10 INDIVIDUALS: 1. Austin Crowder (IUPUI) - 67-70=137 (-7); 2. Zach Burry (ISU) - 68-72=140 (-4); 3. Matt Echelmeir* (Mizzou) - 71-71=142 (-2); t4. Euan Walker (Mizzou) - 72-71=143 (-1); t4. Dustin Atkinson (UNI) - 69-74=143 (-1); t4. Linus Lilliedahl (Mizzou) - 73-70=143 (-1); t8. Jakob Garstecki (UMKC) - 71-73=144 (E); t8. Salvador Rocha (NIU) - 76-68=144 (E); t10. Tom Vining (USD) - 70-75=145 (+1); t10. Hayden Buckley (Mizzou) - 75-70=145 (+1)

NIU INDIVIDUALS: t8. Salvador Rocha - 76-68=144 (E); t13. Jordan Less - 72-75=147 (+3); t16. Charlie Cameron - 73-76=149 (+5); t27. Thomas DeMarco - 75-76=151 (+7); t52. Matt Cholod - 74-80=154 (+10)