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Notables

News and notes from around D-III

Feb. 8-14, 2002

Jones honored before final home game
CLINTON, Miss. — Men's head coach Mike Jones fought back tears Thursday night as he was honored in a pregame ceremony before his final home game at Mississippi College.

More than 2,000 people came out to see the ceremony to honor MC's greatest basketball coach. Mississippi College interim president Lloyd Roberts said a few words in honor of coach Jones and the M-Club awarded him with a plaque recognizing his tremendous accomplishments at Mississippi College.

But as if that was not enough, his Choctaws (20-2) then went out and soundly beat Texas-Dallas in a game that was never in question and avenged an earlier loss this season to the Comets. The win capped off another 20-win season and puts the Choctaws in good position entering the ASC tournament next weekend ranked 2nd in the South Region.

The Choctaws were led by a balanced attack tonight as three players scored in double figures. Seniors Stacey Keyes and Justin Taylor each tallied 14 points while Karlos Fairley added 12 points and five boards.

The Choctaws came out of the gate quickly and led 24-12 with ten minutes to go in the first half. Fairley scored ten of his 12 points in the first half to lead the Chocs to a 40-25 halftime lead. MC shot 60% in the first half on 18-30 shooting.

The second half would be more of the same as the Choctaws put the game out of reach early. Keyes made a quick thre pointer to oppen the half and followed that with a three-point play on the next possession. With ten minutes to play the score was 60-35 and the comets would get no closer than 16 points. For the game the Chocs shot 57% from the floor to continue their hot shooting in the past few weeks. The Chocs also outrebounded the Comets 28-21.

The Comets were led in scoring by Eric Chatham with 15 points while Brian Thomas scored ten points. The loss drops UT-D to 13-11 on the season.

The win for Coach Jones improves his coaching record at A.E. Wood Coliseum to 164-18. The Choctaws have won 78 of the last 82 ballgames in the Golden Dome.

Calvin wins sixth straight in D-III's biggest rivalry
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Faced with the possibility of falling out of the MIAA title hunt, Calvin delivered one of its most passionate defensive performances and in the process, the Knights put themselves right back into the league championship picture.

Fueled by a swarming defensive effort, Calvin (18-6 overall) came up with a 78-64 victory over rival Hope Wednesday night in front of a sellout crowd of 4,500 fans at the Calvin Fieldhouse. The victory was Calvin's sixth in a row over Hope and it allowed the Knights to move back into a tie for first place in the MIAA standings with the Flying Dutchmen at 8-3 in league play.

Both teams will close out their MIAA regular season campaigns on the road Saturday afternoon as Calvin travels to Alma and Hope journeys to Albion. Calvin can clinch a share of the MIAA title with a win at Alma Saturday and along with it, the top seed for next week's MIAA Tournament. For Hope to gain the top seed of the MIAA Tournament, the Flying Dutchmen need a victory over Albion and a Calvin loss to Alma. Should Calvin and Hope both lose Saturday, a three-way tie for the MIAA regular season championship will be created between Calvin, Hope and Kalamazoo. Kalamazoo finished its MIAA regular season at 8-4 with an 86-67 win over Olivet. In the event of a three-way tie for the league crown, Calvin would still own the overall tie-breaker edge and would gain the top seed for the MIAA Tournament.

Holding a 17-16 advantage with 10:58 remaining in the first half, Calvin broke loose on offense, reeling off an 18-4 scoring run to build a 35-20 lead with 6:07 left in the half. Sophomore Chris Prins sparked the Knight outburst with eight points and a steal in the scoring stretch. Hope (17-7 overall) fought back to within single digits as freshman Greg Immink connected on a 3-pointer at the 2:16 to close the score to 42-33. After a Calvin timeout at the 1:58 mark, Prins broke free in the corner and tossed in a 3-pointer to put the Knights up 45-33. Calvin junior Rob Dykstra then added a free throw and Immink converted on a layup to leave the score at 46-35 at intermission.

Hope shot 48% in the first half including 62.5% (5-for-8) from 3-point range but the Flying Dutchmen were plagued by 10 turnovers in the opening 20 minutes that led to 15 Calvin points.

In the second half, Calvin used a hanging jumper in the lane by sophomore Josh
Berghuis to go up 52-39 with 14:10 left on the clock. Calvin would then go scoreless over the next three minutes but would hold Hope to just one field goal defensively to maintain a double-digit lead. Junior forward Jeremy Veenstra then broke the Calvin scoring drought with a steal and subsequent three-point play to give the Knights a 55-41 lead.

Trailing 66-55 with 4:40 to go Hope went on a mini 6-2 scoring run with Immink converting a jumper and junior center Don Overbeek nailing a shot in the paint and adding two free throws a few moments later to allow the Flying Dutchmen to creep to within 68-61 with 3:41 remaining. Veenstra was able to help quell
the Hope comeback however as his putback off a missed Calvin shot put the Knights up 70-61. After a Hope free throw Calvin senior Jon Potvin followed with a floating runner in the lane to put the Knights up 72-62.

Calvin would then convert six of eight free throw attempts in the final 1:33 of play to close out the win.

Calvin was led in scoring by Prins who collected 20 points and five rebounds, finishing just three points short of a career scoring high. Veenstra was next with 16 points and 11 rebounds to notch his 22nd career double-double and extend his double-figure scoring streak to 42 games. Dykstra was also superb, scoring
11 points and snaring nine rebounds while also picking up three assists and a steal. Hope was led in scoring by junior guard Chad Carlso who chalked up 16 points but just two in the second half. Junior Mike VanHekken was next for Hope with 14 points while Overbeek recorded a double-double with 12 points and 12 rebounds while Immink picked up 11 points, four steals and three assists off the bench.

Calvin finished the game with a 41.7% field goal clip and went 21-for-29 (72.4%) at the charity stripe. Hope shot 41.1% overall but just 34.5% in the second half. Hope did outrebound Calvin 38-37 but the Flying Dutchmen commited 20 turnovers while the Knights turned the ball over just 11 times.

Platteville women finally pull an upset
PLATTEVILLE, Wis. — The UW-Platteville Pioneers have come so tantalizing close to the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference's "Big Four," but have come up just short in their seven previous games against UW-Stout, UW-Stevens Point, UW-Oshkosh and UW-Eau Claire.

Until Wednesday.

The Pioneers defeated visiting 21st-ranked UW-Eau Claire 74-70 to clinch their first .500 season in a decade, improving to 13-11 overall and 8-7 in the WIAC. The Blugolds fell to 18-5, 10-5.

It was Senior Night for the Pioneers, and all three seniors contributed greatly to the breakthrough win. Crystal Stietz, the conference's leading scorer, poured in 31 points and set a school record by making 14 of 14 from the line. Stietz made a baseline jump shot and two free throws with 42 seconds remaining for a 71-68 lead.

After the Blugolds' Becca Spaeth knocked down a pair of free shots to make it a one-point game, senior Katie Oliver hit two free throws with 14 seconds left for a 73-70 advantage. After a UWEC missed 3-point attempt, Tiff Flesch made one of two free throws with 1.2 ticks left for the final margin.

Senior Grace Foster added 16 points, with 12 coming via the 3-point shot, and Flesch finished with 11 points. Kristi Channing led Eau Claire with 15 points, while Emilee Planert scored 14.

Va. Wesleyan's run continues with sweep of HSC
VIRGINIA BEACH — When Bill Gobble connected on a 3-pointer with 1:50 remaining to be played against long-time rival Hampden-Sydney, a partisan record crowd of 1,102 at Virginia Wesleyan' Jane P. Batten Student Center let him know they liked what he did.

A deafening roar erupted on Gobble’s third triple of the game, as it squelched a Hampden-Sydney run that had cut Virginia Wesleyan’s 68-60 lead to only two points. The visiting Tigers pulled within three points after that triple, but were out of runs as the host Marlins used clutch free throw shooting down the stretch to post a 78-70 victory over the nation’s 12th-ranked team.

It was a significant victory as it extended a current winning streak to seven in a row, improved the Marlins’ Old Dominion Athletic Conference record to a best-ever 14-4, gave VWC (16-9 overall) the second seed in the upcoming ODAC tournament, and marked only the second regular-season sweep of the Tigers in VWC history. The Marlins tripped the then seventh-ranked Tigers 60-57, at Hampden-Sydney, on Jan. 16.

"Bill’s three late in the game was huge," says VWC head coach Dave Macedo. "He really gave us a spark off the bench, as did Ryan Kahle. They were both important contributors to the win. We set the tone early, but Hampden-Sydney (19-5, 13-5) made some great runs. You have to give our guys a lot of credit though for holding them off and making some big plays at the end of the game."

Off the bench, Gobble and Kahle, a pair of juniors, combined for 30 points, hitting 10 of 15 field goals, including 5-for-9 from 3-point range, and 5-for-5 from the line. Gobble was perfect across the board, hitting all four field goals, all three triples, and both free throws that he attempted.

While their contributions were crucial, so was the floor leadership of point guard James Wallace. The stalwart senior repeatedly found ways to get shots up and in over a harassing Hampden-Sydney defense, scoring a game-high 24 points, his second best total of the season. Wallace connected on six of 12 field goal attempts, including 5-for-11 from three-point range.

"James Wallace is on the top of his game now," says Macedo "He was the difference in the game, in my opinion. He wanted the ball, he made several clutch shots, he was 7-for-7 from the foul line, and he handled their constant pressure pretty well overall."

Pressure was constant from both squads throughout an intense contest that saw five ties and nine lead changes, six of the latter in the second half. Momentum ping-ponged, with each team producing scoring runs to keep the tally tight.

VWC used a 7-0 run to open up a 14-6 lead early, only to see the Tigers respond later with four consecutive triples, three by junior Matt McKeag, in a 14-2 surge to take a 28-27 advantage with 3:56 in the half. Wallace responded with a triple to stop the run and return the lead to the Marlins, who closed out the half with an11-0 surge to open up a 41-30 lead.

Before the clock could hit 0:00 though, Hampden-Sydney sophomore Jeff Monroe stripped the cords with a 3-pointer from just inside the midcourt stripe. The Tigers rode that momentum shift into the locker room and back out onto the court for the second half, opening with a 9-0 run that gave the Tigers a 42-41 lead at 16:26.

The teams traded the lead four times in the next 94 seconds, before Gobble emerged with a 3-pointer that gave the Marlins a lead they would not surrender. His triple at the 14:01 mark sparked a 9-0 spurt that pushed the Marlins into a 56-48 lead and left Hampden-Sydney on the chase.

Key scores by senior Josh Fisher, junior Louis Park and first-year Marlin Kyle Sharp helped VWC to maintain the upper hand, before Hampden-Sydney produced one more rush at the lead. Junior Lane Brooks started it with a dunk and in the next 80 seconds the Tigers cut a 68-60 deficit to 68-66 on a jumper by David Willson.

That’s when Gobble stepped up to knock the wind out of the Tigers for the last time, drilling home the triple that enabled the Marlins to keep a step ahead to the final buzzer.

Three-pointers electrified the crowd throughout the game, as the teams combined to hit 20 of 39 from the long ranges. VWC hit on 12 of 26, the Marlins’ second-highest single-game production of the season. Five different Marlins hit for at least one triple. Hampden-Sydney did post a 30-28 edge in rebounds, but game-high honors belonged to Kahle, who pulled in a season-high nine.

McKeag paced Hampden-Sydney scoring with 18 points. Brooks finished with 16 and Monroe with 11.

"Our guys are playing with a lot of confidence," says Macedo. "They’re believing in one another and that’s helping our program to move in the right direction. Anytime you can beat a top-notch program like Hampden-Sydney, it puts you on the map. To beat them twice and have the opportunity for another rematch with them is something our guys feel pretty good about."

Lewis & Clark ruins Willamette's first day in Top 25
PORTLAND, Ore. — Lewis & Clark's Scott Davis led the Pioneers to a 78-67 win over No. 25 Willamette in a battle between the Northwest Conference's top two teams. Willamette (18-6, 12-3 NWC) had just entered the Top 25 for the first time.

Davis poured in 26 points, including 15 straight points for the Pioneers (18-5, 11-3) after Willamette had taken a 47-46 lead at the 13:55 mark in the second half. Davis' tear ended at 4:40 when the Colin Oriard made a layup to give the Pios a 63-58 lead.

Willamette's big push came early in the second half. Trailing by 11 points, Ryan Hepp and Marques Johnson led the Bearcats back. Johnson's rebound and putback gave the Bearcats the 47-46 lead, but it was too much Davis down the stretch.

Oriard finished with 18 points, seven rebounds, and six assists. Jeff Auxier scored 10 of his 12 points in the first half, when the Pios built a 40-31 advantage. John Mietus notched a double-double with 10 points and 13 boards.

Johnson led the way for Willamette with 21 points, followed by Brian Newton with 17. Hepp finished with 13 and six assists. B.J. Dobrkovsky had a game-high nine assists and a team-high nine rebounds.

The win virtually clinches a berth in the Northwest Conference Tournament for the Pioneers. The Pioneers can attain the No. 1 seed with two wins this Friday at Pacific Lutheran and at home Saturday against Linfield. If the Pioneers lose twice this weekend, Whitworth splits its final two games, and Linfield wins its final two, the Lewis & Clark would finish in a three-way tie for second with the Pirates and Wildcats and would lose the tiebreaker. Willamette has clinched a berth in the three-team tournament.

Experts determine Carthage has clinched bid
KENOSHA, Wis. — Carthage beat North Park 74-59 on Monday night to clinch at least a tie for the CCIW title and, according to CCIW tiebreaker experts Gregory Sager and Bob Quillman, the CCIW's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.

Although Augustana can win out and tie the No. 1-ranked Redmen for the CCIW title at 10-4, Carthage would still win the automatic bid in the third tiebreaker. According to Sager:

If the Redmen were to lose their last three games, and Augustana won out, then both teams would finish 10-4 and tied for first. The first tiebreaker, head-to-head, would be a wash — because for this scenario to happen, Augie would have to beat Carthage up in Kenosha on Feb. 23. Carthage beat Augie 64-63 in Rock Island on Jan. 23.

The second tiebreaker, comparative records against other CCIW teams starting from the third-place team and working down the standings, would also be a wash. Both Carthage and Augie would've split with the same three other teams — Elmhurst, Millikin, and Wheaton.

The third tiebreaker is road record. Carthage's CCIW road record would be 6-1. The best Augie can do at this point on the road is finish 4-3. Therefore, Carthage wins the third tiebreaker, and thus the CCIW's Pool A bid.

But if you're not convinced by this, they can put your doubts to rest on Wednesday, Feb. 13, at Millikin.

Nikki Kingston's layup sparked a 8-0 first-half run for King's.

The No. 4 Lady Monarchs snapped Muhlenberg’s 20-game home win streak while improving to 21-2 on the year. The No. 15 Mules fell to 19-3.

With the Lady Monarchs leading 25-22 entering the second half, Kingston ignited a 14-4 run with a basket and four foul shots while Fran Monte added a pair of buckets to give King’s a 39-28 lead with 11:36 remaining. Muhlenberg would eventually claw back to 44-41 with 8:27 left when Lindsay St. Lawrence converted a pair of three-point plays while Susan Marchiano added a pair of baskets.

The Lady Monarchs countered with a basket by Jen Wozniak and four consecutive foul shots by Kingston to increase the advantage to 48-41 with 7:30 left. After the Mules closed to 50-44 on a basket by St. Lawrence and a foul shot by Marchiano with 6:03 left, the Lady Monarchs would put the game away with a 10-2 spurt keyed by a basket and two foul shots by Monte, a bucket by Kristin Yeasted, and two foul shots each by Wozniak and Kingston.

In the first half, the Lady Monarchs held a slim 9-8 lead before going on a 8-0 run. Kingston hit a driving layup before Tiffini Varrasse followed with a steal and lay-up with 11:23 left. After a bucket by Monte, Carissa Ryan converted a pair of foul shots to put King’s up 17-8 with 10:16 left. Muhlenberg then countered with a 4-0 run to close the gap to 17-12. After the teams traded four consecutive baskets, the Lady Monarchs took a 21-14 lead on a bucket by Jen Wozniak with 5:44 left.

The Lady Mules would then close out the half with a 8-4 run keyed by a pair of baskets by Susan Marchiano and buckets by Jenn Risley and Becky Richmond to cut the halftime margin to 25-22.

Overall, Monte aided the Lady Monarch cause with 13 points and seven rebounds while Wozniak chipped in with 10 points and six boards. Tiffini Varrasse scored seven points with seven assists, and seven steals.

Muhlenberg was led by Marchiano with 16 points and 10 rebounds while Baran added 11 points. St. Lawrence chipped in with eight points for the Mules.

Buri leads St. Thomas past Macalester in 3 OT
ST. PAUL — Senior guard Mark Buri had 29 points, including the final six points of the game in the decisive third overtime, as No. 5 ranked St. Thomas outlasted Macalester 86-80 in MIAC men's action Monday night in Schoenecker Arena.

The Tommies (21-3, 17-2 MIAC) clinched a share of the MIAC championship and locked up the top seed for next week's six-team playoffs with the victory. UST has won 16 of its last 17 games and is 12-0 at home this season.

Buri, who played all 55 minutes of the game, hit a 14-foot jumper with six seconds left in regulation to tie the game at 64-64. A subsequent shot by Mac at the buzzer missed to force overtime. The Tommies missed potential game-winning shots in the final seconds of the first and second overtimes.

In the third overtime, Buri made a 3-pointer with 2:29 to go for an 80-78 lead. Mac's Doug Benson tied the game at 80-80 on a layup with 1:53 to go. Buri answered with a reverse layup with 1:07 left to give UST a 82-80 lead.

After a Macalester missed shot, UST's Kevin Fitzgerald dug out an offensive rebound of a Tommie shot with 18 seconds to go and got the ball to Buri, who was fouled. Buri made two free throws with 15 seconds left for an 84-80 lead, then added two more with three seconds to go.

Buri sank 12-of-12 at the line and the Tommies made 31 of 36 free throws to Mac's 9-for-16. Macalester made 13 3-pointers to just seven for the Toms.

The Scots (14-9, 12-6) led 38-34 at halftime and built a 10-point lead at 48-38 with 15:00 to go. They played the final 3:29 of regulation and all three overtimes without leading scorer Patrick Russell, who appeared to suffer a concussion after he slumped to the court. Russell and Erik Jackson each scored 20 points and Ben Van Thorre had 19 points and 10 rebounds for the Scots.

Fitzgerald, who also played all 55 minutes, had 13 points and 15 rebounds for the Tommies. Jimmy Sioris added 17 points and Cole Butler had 14 points and eight rebounds.

The Tommies are 2-0 in overtime games this season and 6-0 in overtime games over the last 10 seasons.

Gustavus clinches MIAC first-round bye
ST. PETER, Minn. — The Gustavus men defeated Bethel 68-66 on Monday, assuring the Gusties of a first-round bye and home court for at least the semifinal of the MIAC playoffs.

The Gusties led by as many as ten points in the first half thanks to the hard work of Chad Henke on the blocks. Henke scored eight points and ripped down seven rebounds in the first session, but Bethel's Brett Repsaky tallied 10 points to lead the Royals on a 20-9 run that was capped off by a Josh Moberg jumper at the buzzer. Moberg’s basket gave Bethel a 33-32 lead heading into the dressing room — their first since the six-minute mark when they led 10-8.

Andy Gilbert, who scored 39 points against Gustavus in their first meeting, shot just 3-for-10 in the first half for seven points. Gustavus point guard Hans Sviggum turned the ball over five times in the first half during his nine minutes on the court. The Gusties fired a meager 34.6% from the floor in the first session, while Bethel shot 43.3%. In the second half, David Newell fired up the entire gym when he slammed home an alley-oop dunk from Sviggum just one minute into play.

Gustavus went down low in the second half, as the Gusties outscored the Royals 22-6 in the paint. There were 12 lead changes in the contest, and with 5:18 remaining Bethel went up 61-55 on an Eric Roberston jump-hook. The Gusties fought back on a Brett Boese layup and a three-point play by Kirk Walberg when he drove baseline, made the basket and the free throw to get it to 61-60.

Bethel had a 66-65 edge with 2:15 on the clock when Eric Nelson stole the ball from Brett Repasky at midcourt and found Boese for the layup, giving Gustavus the lead for good. The Gusties held on despite shooting 5-for-11 from the line in the second half.

Henke finished the game with 15 points and 11 rebounds, good enough for hi 10th double-double of the year.

He said that the turning point in the contest came when Bethel was up six, "We called a timeout and responded with a 5-0 run. We didn’t let it slip away and then made a hug play down the stretch when Eric ripped off that steal."

Newell racked up 15 points, six rebounds, and two blocks for the Gusties who shot a much-improved 56% in the second half. Bethel was led by the MIAC’s leading scorer, Gilbert, with 20 points on 7-for-17 shooting. Repasky added 14 for the Royals (17-5, 13-5). Gustavus (20-3, 15-3) recorded their 20th win for the sixth time in the last seven seasons.

Photo by Marilyn E. Culler Lindsey Rush, who missed the first two months of DePauw's season with a torn ACL, helps cut the net down celebrating the SCAC title.

The Tigers (20-2, 15-0 SCAC) captured at least a share of their fourth title in as many years since joining the conference and extended their school-record win streak to 19 games. The Tigers have now won at least 20 games in five of the last six seasons.

Washington U., the four-time Division III defending champion, rolled past Emory 75-45 to win its 33rd consecutive game and clinch the UAA title outright.

N.C. Wesleyan overcomes
seven-point lead in final 0:47
By PATRICK BRANNAN,
Sports Editor, Rocky Mount Telegram

ROCKY MOUNT, N.C. — In a close game every play can be critical.

N.C. Wesleyan came up with several plays that made a difference Sunday. The
end result was a 91-89 Bishops' victory in overtime against No. 15 Christopher Newport. Wesleyan (16-6, 9-3 Dixie) completed a season sweep of the Captains.

"As I tell the guys all the time, and we've been involved in a lot of close games, any play during the 45 minutes can make the difference," Wesleyan coach John Thompson said.

One of the biggest plays came with 47 seconds left in overtime. CNU's Albert Haskins was at the free-throw line for a one-and-one. He hit the first, but the second was waved off because of a lane violation by the Captains' Rashawn Rosa. The shot would have given CNU (19-4, 9-3) an 88-80 lead.

Instead it gave the Bishops life.

"That was huge obviously," Thompson said. "We were able to capitalize and we did just enough to get it done. Our guys have repeatedly shown that they have heart, they have character and they don't ever quit."

Wesleyan had to rally twice, once in regulation and the final rally in overtime. The Bishops were down by five with 1:30 left in regulation and trailed by seven with 47 seconds left in overtime.

Keith Sudler started the final comeback with a layin. After Haskins missed two free throws, Sudler found Bradley Blue for a 3-pointer from the top of the key to cut the lead to 87-85 with 31 seconds left.

With 29 seconds remaining, Carlos Heard hit the first of two free throws for CNU. Bobby Jenkins grabbed the rebound on the second and was fouled. He hit both free throws to cut the margin to 88-87.

That's when Wesleyan got another play to go its way. The Captains turned the ball over and the Bishops had the ball underneath their own basket. Bobby Jenkins found Ryan Sinclair off the in-bounds play for an easy layup to give Wesleyan an 89-88 lead. It was a play that Thompson said the team doesn't use much.

"We have a couple of real staples that we use," Thompson said. "That's one that we practice and we work on, but it's not one of our primary things. I didn't have any timeouts, so I couldn't draw up something new that nobody's ever seen, but we needed to do something that we'd practiced before but I wanted to give them something that they probably hadn't seen on tape. You couldn't have asked for a better look."

Jermaine Woods missed a jumper for CNU with nine seconds left and Sudler grabbed the rebound. He hit both free throws to seal the win.

Sudler paced Wesleyan with 29 points. Blue added 12 and Jenkins followed a 20-point game on Saturday with a double-double — 12 points and 11 assists.

The win moves Wesleyan into second place in the Dixie with two games remaining. Methodist is alone at the top at 9-2 while the Bishops and Captains are both 9-3. Wesleyan holds the head-to-head tiebreaker with the Captains.

Rochester completes another sweep of NYU
ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Erika Smith converted a three-point play with 21.8 seconds left and Anne Gotstein added an insurance free throw with eight seconds remaining as Rochester (15-7, 6-5 UAA) upset 12th-ranked NYU at the Palestra, sending the Violets to their second consecutive loss and their fifth in eight games.

It's the second time this season NYU has been swept on a UAA weekend road trip, after falling at No. 1 Washington U. and sub-.500 Chicago last month. NYU needs to beat Wash U. in the return game next Sunday to have any shot at a Pool C bid to the NCAA tournament.

The victory wasn't secured until NYU's Dari Magyar bounced a 3-point shot off the left side of the rim at the final buzzer. UR has won three straight and four of its last five. NYU (17-5, 6-5) was atop the NCAA's East Region poll entering the week.

Megan Fish scored a career high 16 points for UR. She made two free throws with 1:33 left, tying the score at 64-64.

Allison Herman's layup put the Violets ahead, 66-64, with 33 seconds to go. In the closing seconds, Smith ran around a screen, caught Gotstein's pass, and laid the ball in. She was fouled by Magyar and made the free throw, giving UR a 67-66 lead.

With eight seconds left, NYU's Cassandra Wiggins missed a jumper and fouled Gotstein on the rebound. Gotstein made the first of two free throws for a 68-66 lead.

On the final possession, Chiene Jones rushed the ball upcourt and found Magyar for the final jumper.

UR led by as much as five (53-48) midway through the second half and was ahead by four, 56-52, on Sarah Sullivan's 3-pointer with 6:00 left. Wiggins scored eight points to key an 11-4 run that put NYU ahead, 63-60, with 2:15 left.

Wiggins scored a career high 17 points and grabbed eight rebounds for NYU before fouling out. Kelly Wescott was UR's only other double-digit scorer. She had 11 points. Smith finished with seven points. Gotstein had one point, four rebounds, and three assists.

No. 2 HSU unbeaten no more
BROWNWOOD, Texas — Kristy Lyons was just 5-for-14 from the field but 7-for-10 from the line in leading four players in double figures as Howard Payne upset No. 2 Hardin-Simmons 74-66 in American Southwest Conference action, handing the Cowgirls their first loss of the season. Crystal Perriraz added 15, Lindsey Cantrell 12 and Heather Moon 10 for Howard Payne (15-8, 9-3). The Yellow Jackets limited Hardin-Simmons (21-1, 11-1) to 38.6% from the floor (22-for-57).

The loss, which ends Hardin-Simmons' 21-game winning streak, leaves Wash U. as the only undefeated team, men's or women's, in Division III.

"This is the accomplishment we have been dreaming of, and to finally do it, it's amazing," Perriraz told the Brownwood Bulletin. "Anyone who comes to Howard Payne dreams of beating Hardin-Simmons. For it to happen my senior year, this is incredible."

Lauren Harris led Hardin-Simmons with 17 points, while Kendra Anderson (above), who scored 38 points in the teams' first meeting, was held to 14 for the Cowgirls, who shot just 9-for-27 from the floor in the second half.

Three teams pick up No. 2
No. 2 Catholic, No. 4 Brockport State and unranked Keene State each picked up their second losses of the season Saturday, as Catholic's 20-game win streak ended at Marymount 79-70, Brockport lost 88-76 at Plattsburgh State and Keene lost at Western Connecticut 90-83. Full stories inside.

Photo by Pat Coleman, D3hoops.com Elizabethtown's Chad Heller had 17 points on 6-for-11 shooting, as well as four assists and four steals in the win.

Although Lebanon Valley (16-6, 8-4 MAC Commonwealth) never held the lead at any point over the course of the game, the Flying Dutchmen did stick close throughout much of the first half. The teams were tied 12-12 with 12:06 to go in the first half before sixth-ranked Elizabethtown embarked on a ten point run over the next two and a half minutes.

Etown maintained a lead of about ten points until the final two minutes of the first half, when Lebanon Valley, sparked by Chris Kreider's four points in 20 seconds, began to cut the gap. With 30 seconds remaining before halftime, Lebanon Valley's Evan Harlor hit a 3-pointer to cut the Blue Jays' lead to 41-37. Elizabethtown took a seven-point lead into halftime courtesy of a 3-pointer by Rocky Parise just with 1.8 seconds left in the half.

The Blue Jays opened the second half with seven unanswered points. Etown began to put the game out of reach at 15:50 when a layup by Ian Daecher made the score 55-43 and sparked a nine-point Blue Jay run over the next two minutes. Elizabethtown's lead hit 20 points for the first time in the game on a 3-pointer by Jim Barron at 9:41.

The Blue Jays assumed a brief 31-point lead with 11 seconds left to play when freshman Kyle Conrad hit a 3-pointer. A layup by Lebanon Valley's Kyle Hassler three seconds before the end of the game cut the final margin to 29 points.

"We try not to talk about (being left out of the tournament last year)," said Elizabethtown head coach Bob Schlosser. "We want to have something to show for this year other than a good record. Whatever number (of wins) that is doesn't matter."

Five Blue Jays hit double figures in scoring, and they were led by Chad Heller with 17 points. He also led Elizabethtown with four steals and six rebounds, and he had four assists as well. Brian Marquette had a memorable Lebanon County homecoming, coming off the bench to score 14 points on the strength of 6-for-8 shooting from the field.

Brian Loftus chipped in 14 points for the Blue Jays while dishing out four assists and making three swipes, and center Jon English scored 12 points and had three assists. Parise scored 10 points, aided by a perfect 3-for-3 performance from the 3-point line, with six assists and four rebounds.

Kreider led Lebanon Valley with 23 points, and John Sharkey was LVC's only other double-digit scorer with 10 points. Darren Pugh led Lebanon Valley with 10 rebgounds while scoring eight points.

Mills leads No. 7 Randolph-Macon
past No. 8 Hampden-Sydney
HAMPDEN-SYDNEY, Va. — Junior forward Jared Mills scored 23 points and pulled down eight rebounds to lift seventh-ranked Randolph-Macon to a 60-51 victory against ODAC foe and eighth-ranked Hampden-Sydney on Saturday in Fleet Gymnasium. The win moves the Yellow Jackets to 20-4 overall and 15-2 in the conference and a lock for the first seed in the ODAC Tournament while Hampden-Sydney falls to 19-4 overall and 13-4 in the ODAC.

Randolph-Macon opened the game on an 8-0 run, but the Tigers countered with the next eight points to tie the contest at 15:32 mark. The two teams then battled back and forth until Hampden-Sydney took an 18-17 lead on a Lane Brooks layup with 7:30 to play in the first half. The two then battled over the next 3:30 of the contest with the score remaining 18-17 until Jamal Brunt broke the scoreless stretch with a 12-foot baseline jumper. Sophomore David Willson then countered with his first 3 of the year to push the Tigers ahead again, 21-19, but the Yellow Jackets closed the half on an 6-0 run, thanks to a Brunt 3 and three Tim Smith free throws to lead 25-21 in the locker room.

Hampden-Sydney quickly knotted the game in the early going of the second half and after a layup and free throw by Willson, the Tigers took their biggest lead of the game, 30-27, with 15 minutes to play. Jared Mills then hit a layup and made a free throw for the Yellow Jackets to tie the game again, before a Jeff Monroe jumper gave the Tigers their final lead of the contest, 32-30, at the 13:42.

Mills’ layup started a dominating run for the junior as he scored nine consecutive points for the Yellow Jackets and, along with a Tim Smith 3-pointer, paced the Jacket run that culminated in a 10-point lead (42-32) with 9:39 to play. Lane Brooks’ free throws broke the 12-0 Jacket run and two more freebies from Matt McKeag cut the Jacket lead to six.

Randolph-Macon the went off on another 9-0 run over the next three minutes, this time paced by five points from sophomore Kurt Bergmann, to run the lead to 51-36 with 4:55 to play. The Tigers were able to whittle the lead down to seven points (54-47) on a layup by Brandon Randall, but that was a close as the team could get as Mills knocked down five of six free throw attempts down the stretch to seal the contest.

Mills led all players with 23 points, while Bergmann chipped in with 12 points and nine rebounds for the Jackets. Randolph-Macon shot 47% (17-for-36) from the floor, 50% (6-for-12) from 3-point range and 74% (20-for-27) from the line. Macon also committed 25 turnovers, but outrebounded H-SC 35-29.

Lane Brooks led the Tigers with 13 points, while Willson chipped in with 12. Hampden-Sydney shot just 32% (18-for-57) for the game and made just two of 16 from 3-point range but made 13 of 17 (77%) free throws. The Tigers turned the ball over 16 times.

This Willie Chandler dunk was his 1,000th career point, not all that long ago.

Chandler ends sprint to 2,000
A famous coach once said of his star player, "He may not be in a class by himself, but it doesn't take long to call the roll."

With 26 points, including 24 in the second half, of a 70-63 come-from-behind win over Pennsylvania Athletic Conference foe Wesley, Misericordia's Willie Chandler joined former Salisbury State star Andre Foreman and Colby's Matt Hancock as the only players in Division III history to reach 2,000 career points during their junior season. (Trenton State's Greg Grant also reached 2,000 in three years, but didn't play as a freshman.)

Chandler entered the game needing just six points to reach the milestone, but made everyone wait as he tallied just one field goal in the first half as the Cougars trailed 34-22 at the break.

After falling behind 43-24 with under 17 minutes to play, Chandler sank two free throws to cut the lead to 43-29 with 13:53 remaining.

Just as he did to eclipse the 1,000-point mark, Chandler deflected a pass and went coast-to-coast for a dunk and 2,000 career points.

Wesley built the lead back to 13 with 10 minutes left, but the Cougars (16-7, 11-3) chipped away until finally taking their first lead and only lead on a Chandler 3-pointer with 2:35 to go.

George Fox dumped twice over weekend
SALEM, Ore. — For the first time in almost three years, the George Fox women's team has dropped two games in a row as the Bruins struggled offensively and suffered a heart-breaking 53-51 upset at the hands of Willamette in Northwest Conference action Saturday night at the Cone Fieldhouse. The loss followed a 55-44 loss to Puget Sound on Friday night.

Both teams had trouble getting the ball in the hoop in the early going, Willamette managing an 8-2 lead eight minutes into the game. Bruin coach Scott Rueck then decided to go with his "team of the future," pulling starting seniors Becky Thompson at point, Nicole Prazeau at wing, and Heather Doud at post in favor of freshmen Melissa Alexander, Liz Clark, and Sarah Myhre. The newcomers sparked a 14-2 run that gave George Fox a 16-10 lead, and the Bruins eventually stretched that to 32-18 at the half.

The Bruin starters still struggled offensively as the second half began, and with Nancy Weyler scoring eight of her game-high 18 points, the Bearcats reeled off a 10-0 run to get within four at 32-28. The Bruins upped it back to 10 with 13:26 left on a layup by Emily Ruggles, but then went cold again, missing 12 shots and committing seven turnovers as Willamette posted an 18-1 run to go up 50-43 with five minutes left. Heather Doud's jumper with 1:08 left got George Fox within one at 52-51.

Down 53-51 after a Simmie Muth free throw, the Bruins had a chance to tie as Thompson drove the lane, but Muth fouled her with 1.4 seconds left. As it was only the sixth Willamette foul, the Bruins had to take the ball out under the basket. Thompson's inbounds pass sailed untouched to the opposite end of the court, however, and the Bearcats got the ball. Muth was fouled with a tenth of a second left and missed her free throw, but there wasn't enough time for a full-court shot.

Myhre was the only Bruin in double figures with 11 points, going 5-for-6 from the floor, while Doud and Clark led the Bruins to a 39-38 rebound edge with seven apiece. Thompson had four assists and four steals. However, the Bruins suffered through a horrendous shooting night, finishing 18-59 (.305) from the field, and were only 7-for-28 (25.0%) in the second half. From 3-point range, the normally accurate Bruins (ranked 28th nationally in percentage) this night were just 3-for-25 (12.0%) from behind the line.

In addition to Weyler's 18, Muth scored 15 and Kasey Sorenson 11. Rosie Contri grabbed a game-high 13 rebounds, and Sorenson had 6 assists. The Bearcats shot 40.0% (20-for-50) in the game, including 52.2% (12-for-23) in the second half.

George Fox fell to 19-4 overall and 10-4 in the conference while suffering its first two-game losing streak since Dec. 1 and 4, 1998. Willamette improved to 10-13 overall and 5-9 in the league.

Capital pushes streak to 15, tops Baldwin-Wallace
COLUMBUS — A 16-0 run midway through the second half lifted the Capital University men's basketball team to an 85-73 win over Baldwin-Wallace in an Ohio Athletic Conference matchup Saturday.

Capital, ranked No. 14 in the latest D3hoops.com Top 25, extends Division III's second-longest win streak to 15 games and moves its record to 20-3 on the season and 13-3 in the OAC, winning 20 games for the first time since 1988-89. The Crusaders kept pace with crosstown rival and 11th-ranked Otterbein, who beat John Carroll 89-84 to stay tied in first place in the conference standings.

Baldwin-Wallace controlled much of the first half and had a 33-25 lead with four minutes to go in the half. Capital junior Tony Ruberg took over scoring seven straight points in a 13-6 Capital run to close the gap to one point, 39-38 at the half. Ruberg finished the first half with 16 points.

Baldwin-Wallace once again ran out to an eight-point lead, 50-42, early in the second half and was up 55-50 with 13:16 remaining when Capital exploded for its 16-0 decisive run.

Ruberg and fellow junior Geron Tate each had a game-high 18 points. Sophomore Adam Stolly scored all 12 of his points in the second half. Freshmen Jake Beck and Paul Sheehy also scored in double digits with 11 and 10 respectively.

Baldwin-Wallace had four players in double figures led by Craig Budziak with 17 points.

Sappenfield's long shot lifts Franklin to victory
FRANKLIN, Ind. — It was the kind of shot that's been dreamed about kids shooting around by themselves since the beginning of basketball.

And it happened for Jake Sappenfield and it happened for the Franklin men against HCAC rival Anderson at Spurlock Center on Saturday.

With just 1.8 seconds left, the senior guard caught a long pass from the end-court from teammate Chad Miller turned to his right and fired a bomb from the half-court circle that swished through the net as the buzzer sounded. The Spurlock crowd erupted as Sappenfield's teammate mobbed him on the court. The shot gave the Grizzlies a hard-fought 84-81 victory against the Ravens, who led for most of the game.

Franklin (15-8, 6-6 HCAC) had little going for it through much of the second half. After trailing by five points at 40-35 at the intermission, the Grizzlies fell behind by as many as 11 points. Sappenfield and sophomore point guard Scott Study were in heavy foul trouble and senior front-liners Josh Quattrocchi and Jed Zarse only had two points between them.

But Franklin kept within striking distance, hitting its free throws — the Grizzlies hit 27 of 31 foul shots in all — and eventually wrested the lead away from AU (14-9, 6-6). Quattrocchi hit a huge basket and subsequent free throw with 12 seconds left to give the Grizzlies an 81-79 advantage. But the Ravens tied the game on a rebound basket by Derek Ricketts in the closing seconds, setting up Sappenfield's heroics.

Sappenfield led all scorers with 23 points. He also had four assists and three steals. Freshman guard Nick Scott tallied a career-high 21 points and Miller added 16 points and career-best 17 rebounds. Curtis Thomas led Anderson with 17 points, including a trio of 3-point baskets. Ricketts had 15 points and Wegahta Ghebremichael added 14.

The Grizzlies ended up outshooting Anderson 45-44% and outfought the Ravens under the backboards, grabbing 41 rebounds to AU's 32.

Lebanon Valley women win 13th in a row
ANNVILLE, Pa. — Junior Stephanie Tighe posted a game-high 22 points and 11 rebounds as Lebanon Valley beat visiting Elizabethtown 58-41 in a MAC Commonwealth matchup.

The Valley increased its team record for wins in a season and improved to 19-3 overall, 11-1 in the conference. Elizabethtown suffered its third consecutive loss and dropped to 5-17, 3-9.

As always, Lebanon Valley took care of business with hard defense and exceptional rebounding. The Valley outrebounded the Blue Jays 54-29 and held Elizabethtown to 28.1% shooting.

After trailing 22-15 with just over seven minutes remaining in the first period, LVC finished the half going on a 14-2 run to take a five-point lead. Junior Christine Bigler and Lauren Emick sparked the run by each draining a 3-pointer. Bigler finished with two three pointers and scored all 10 of her points in the first half. Emick also recorded two three pointers to end the night with six points.

Tighe scored 16 of her 22 points in the second half, including 11 in the final 5:45. She notched her fifth double-double of the season, shooting 8-for-15 from the floor and going 6-for-7 from the free throw line.

Freshman Crystal Gibson pulled down a career-high 10 rebounds. Freshman Tamika Rogers gave LVC 22 productive minutes, finishing with nine rebounds, four points and one block. Freshman Jennifer Northcott chipped in nine points and six rebounds. Stephanie Scinto led the Blue Jays with nine points, while Jessica Hollinshead and Cherrissa McCoy each notched eight.

Chowan snaps CNU women's eight-game streak
MURFREESBORO, N.C. — Down 11 as many as 17 points in the second half, Chowan rallied to beat Christopher Newport 64-62.

The Braves (12-9, 6-5 Dixie) trailed by 11 at the half and could not seem to muster much offense as they managed to shoot just 27% from the floor (9-for-33). Chowan made a run with just over seven minutes to go in the second half when they cut the lead to five points. Erin Ward hit a 3-pointer to tie the game up at 49 apiece with 6:20 on the clock. Amanda Murray hit a jumper and a 3-pointer in two Braves possessions to give Chowan a 55-51 lead with 4:30 to go. Ward stretched the lead to seven points when she hit from beyond the arc, pushing the Braves to 58-51 with just under four minutes to go.

The Captains (18-3, 9-2) cut the lead to one point with 1:30 left before Ward put back a Murray miss to take them back up by three. The Captains were forced to foul and sent Ward to the line where she sunk both foul shots to give the Braves a 62-57 lead. Christopher Newport's Amber Hallman hit a layup to pull the Captains within two points with seconds left, but Ward iced the game with a pair of foul shots for the 64-62 win.

Ashley Winslow netted her tenth double-double of the season by scoring 15 points and grabbing 15 rebounds. Kara Jackson had 13 points and four assists while Murray scored 13 in the win. Erin Ward had 10 points and four steals in the victory. Tia Moore had 19 points and seven rebounds for the Captains while Jen Harrell contributed 11 in the loss.

DeBord reaches
2,000 points for
Concordia-Austin
AUSTIN, Texas — Five minutes into Thursday night's game, Concordia-Austin forward K.B. DeBord put down a reverse dunk on a backdoor cut to become the second Division III player this season (and the first man) to reach the 2,000-point plateau. He finished the night with 39 points on 12-for-21 shooting from the floor and 14-for-16 from the line. He finished the night with 2,031 points.

DeBord would have reached the plateau sooner, but the senior missed a game in January because of injury after having started 86 consecutive games. The two-time first-team All-American Southwest Conference selection is averaging 24 points per game this season and 21 per game over the course of his career, while shooting 60% from the floor. Misericordia junior guard Willie Chandler is next up for 2,000, as he's six short of the milestone heading into Saturday's game against Wesley.

Notables 2003-pres.

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