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Press Release

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SALEM, Va. — Senior Troy Ruths scored a game-high 30 points to lead the No. 11 Washington University in St. Louis men's basketball team to a 89-74 win over No. 1 Hope College in the 2008 NCAA Division III National Semifinals on Friday night at the Salem Civic Center in

Washington University (24-6) advances to the National Championship game against No. 2 ranked and defending national champion Amherst College on Saturday, March 22, at 4:05 p.m. (ET). The game will be televised live on CBS College Sports Network. Hope will take on No. 16 Ursinus College in the third-place game on Saturday at 1:30 p.m. (ET).

“I think we were just hitting on cylinders tonight,” said Ruths. “Aaron Thompson’s run put us in the lead, and then we used our experience to keep it there.”

Ruths was 11-of-15 from the field and 8-of-9 from the free-throw line, recording his fourth game in his career with 30 or more points. He also picked up six rebounds in the win, moving past Chris Jeffries (1999-03) into third on the all-time list (701).

Junior Tyler Nading and sophomore Aaron Thompson added 15 points apiece, and senior Danny O’Boyle chipped in with 12 off the bench. The Bears shot 55.8 percent (29-52) from the field for the game, and outrebounded Hope 37-32. Washington U. shot a blistering 65.4 percent (17-26) from the field in the second half.

“I thought it was great Division III basketball game,” said Washington University head coach Mark Edwards. “I thought both teams were alike, but I felt the difference really came down to experience. Coming down here last year helped us out. Not only on the resolve of wanting to win, but also how to win.”

Leading 61-58 with nine minutes to play, the Bears put together a 14-3 run to jump out to a commanding 75-61 lead. Washington U. hit all four shots during the decisive run, and was 4-of-5 from the foul line.

Washington University trailed 8-4 in the first four minutes as Hope nailed two of its first three from beyond the three-point arc. Nading answered with a 15-foot jumper, and then sophomore Ross Kelley drained an open three-pointer to regain the 9-8 lead for the Bears.

The two teams continued to trade buckets, but a 5-0 run by the Flying Dutchmen gave Hope its largest lead of the half at 22-17 with 10:31 remaining. Ruths and Nading scored eight of 11 points to ignite an 11-4 run giving Washington U. a 28-26 lead.

Jesse Reimink nailed his third triple of the half to give Hope a 29-26 advantage, and then a jumper by Zach Osburn pushed the lead to 33-32 at halftime. This marked the third-straight NCAA Tournament game that Washington U. has trailed at the half.

Ruths had 11 points on 5-of-7 shooting from the field to lead WU in the opening half. Reimink led all scorers with 13 points on 5-of-8 shooting from the field, including 3-of-4 from three-point range. Hope capitalized on nine turnovers by Washington U. for a 13-3 advantage in points off turnovers.

The Bears quickly regained the lead (39-37) in the second half behind two jumpers from Nading and a three-point play from Ruths. With the score tied 39-39, Thompson hit a 15-footer and then Kelly drained an open three-pointer from the wing to give Washington U. a 44-39 lead.

Thompson caught fire as he scored 13-straight points in a span of four minutes giving Washington U. a 57-51 advantage. He picked his third foul at the 10:14 mark and headed to bench for O’Boyle. He picked up where Thompson left off scoring four-straight points to push the lead to 61-55.

“At halftime, coach Edwards told me to keep looking for my shot and to keep being aggressive,” said Thompson. “I got the first one in, and after that it kind of just steamrolled.”

Hope (27-4), which had its 12-game winning streak snapped, shot 40 percent (26-65) from the field for the game and 42.3 percent (11-26) from three-point range. Derek Vansolkema dropped in 19 points with five three pointers to lead Hope. Reimink (15 points) and Marcus Vanderheide (10 points) also scored in double figures for the Flying Dutchmen.

Washington University picked up its 24th win of the season, the second most wins in school history. The Bears won 25 games in the 2001-02 and 2006-07 seasons. The game featured a rematch of the 2007 NCAA Sectional Championship contest, which Washington U. posted a 58-55 win to earn its first trip to the Final Four.

Press release submitted by Washington U. on Mar 21 2008 at 10:22 PM

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