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Notables

News and notes from around D-III

From Feb. 22-28, 2002

Travis Spaman hit an 18-footer with 0.8 seconds remaining in the game to lead Hope to a 54-53 upset of St. Norbert. The Green Knights, the No. 6 seed in the West, had taken a 53-52 lead on No. 10 Hope on a layup with 10 seconds left before Hope's Chad Carlson drove the lane and kicked it out to the freshman (left) for the game-winner. Hope advances to face Carthage on Saturday. It was one of only three first-round games decided by fewer than seven points, as the 2002 first round was the least competitive of the three held under the current selection format.

Williams rolled No. 48-seeded Cazenovia out of the tournament by blowing the Wildcats away 121-49, in the largest blowout in Division III tournament history. Great Lakes No. 9 seed Lycoming shut down No. 7 seed Gettysburg 78-59. Check out first-round scores with game stories.

Atlantic No. 11 Cabrini turned the tables on No. 7 Kings Point as the Cavaliers pulled away to an 85-73 win. And the Pennsylvania Athletic Conference put two teams into the second round as Tillman Sims and Brad Merriweather each posted double-doubles to lead Alvernia past Ithaca 76-67. The seeded bracket.

We've got the night's scores, with game stories.

Allison Coleman didn't let her Warriors go one-and-out for a second consecutive year.

Bubble bursts for Capital, F&M, Hanover
After compiling 23 wins and a handful of narrow losses, Capital found itself on the outside looking in when the NCAA Tournament pairings were released Sunday night.

The 23 wins by head coach Damon Goodwin's squad were the most among teams that did not get in the tournament, along with Christopher Newport. "One of the things that we wanted to make sure we looked at was their in-region record and we have to regardless of who they lost to, they still compiled those losses," said NCAA men's basketball committee chair Tom Hart in an exclusive live question-and-answer session on D3hoops.com. "There were a couple of criteria that gave pause to the committee. It made us look at Capital hard. We're not really looking at point differentials. It's not one of the criteria."

Capital was 20-5 in the all-important regional record. Hanover, also left out of the tournament despite being the only team to defeat Washington U., having finished 13-5 in the region. Franklin & Marshall was left out despite being 4-2 against NCAA Tournament teams. "While we can talk about how they did against teams in the tournament, there are 10 other pieces of information that are going to be evaluated," said Hart. "We have 11 different pieces of information that we were evaluating and results against teams in the tournament was only one." F&M was 17-5 in its region.

Meanwhile, the women's tournament selections went almost entirely as we expected, as 13 of the 14 at-large bids (Pool B and Pool C) went as projected.

WIAC season comes down to last shot
OSHKOSH, Wis. — If any one game epitomizes the competitiveness of the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, this would be it.

The No. 1 and No. 3 seed, conference co-champions, battling to the last second for a championship.

Junior forward Tim Dworak saved the day for the Titans, sinking a perfect 3-pointer from the low corner with two seconds left to give UW-Oshkosh a thrilling 70-69 victory over UW-Whitewater in the WIAC Tournament championship game in front of 1,578 boisterous fans at Kolf Sports Center Saturday night.

Jake Wolter hit a pair of free throws with 33 seconds left to put the Warhawks up, 69-67 and the Titans brought the ball down the court.

But it wasn't Dworak who was originally slated to wear the net around his shoulders; it was supposed to be junior Scott Sowinski.

Not finding an open shot, Sowinski called for a timeout with 3.6 seconds left. Before the clock could start again, Whitewater called a timeout to double-check its defensive preparation.

Once play resumed Sowinski took the inbounds and proceeded to the basket, but he stumbled, lobbing the ball to a wide-open Dworak in the corner. Dworak flicked the wrist, the buzzer sounded and the Titans – and their fans – mobbed the court.

"We drew up a play for Scotty to dribble-penetrate his guy and he fell down, getting the ball to me for the open shot," Dworak said. "Just felt like a good shot coming off my hand."

Head coach Ted Van Dellen wasn't worried when Sowinski fell, knowing they had an alternative.

"When we called the time out," Van Dellen said. "The guys said let's go for the win. I said let's get them in overtime."

"But we had an option when Scotty fell, and when you see Tim flick his wrist like that," Van Dellen said. "You know it's going in."

The Titans had led most of the game, enjoying leads of seven and eight points in the first half before heading into halftime up by three, 38-35.

UW-Whitewater made a run at the Titans in the second half bolstered by 12 points from Aubrey Lewis-Beyers.

Wolter's 3-pointer at the 1:55 mark put the Warhawks up by two, at 65-63. It was the first time since 19:39 in the first half that UW-Whitewater had a lead.

The Titans tied the game twice more in that stretch, each time on a pair of free throws by Sowinski, but Wolter's free throws looked to be the nail in the coffin for UW-Oshkosh.

"That's just a great team," UW-Whitewater head coach Pat Miller said. "You have to give Oshkosh a lot of credit. They're a tough team, but I thought we would match up well with them."

The victory puts the Titans in the NCAA Divison III Tournament for the first time in five seasons, and caps off one of the most successful campaigns in the program's 108-year history.

Dwoark's 3-pointer capped off a 24-point night, while Sowinski finished with 19, in addition to six assists. Lewis-Beyers finished with 20 points for UW-Whitewater, London Donlow and Wolter added 16 and 14 points, respectively.

The Titans swept two regular-season meetings with the Warhawks. UW-Oshkosh shared the regular-season title with the Warhawks, who now, despite 21 wins, will have to sit and wait for a call from the NCAA selection committee.

Gettysburg knocks out F&M, 50-47
LANCASTER, Pa. — Curtis McNeil hit the go-ahead free throw with 2.7 seconds left to lift Gettysburg over top-seeded and 16th-ranked Franklin & Marshall 50-47 in the Centennial Conference championship game on Saturday.

With the game tied at 47 in the closing seconds, McNeil (left) was fouled by Diplomat center Steve Juskin on a hard drive to the basket and hit the second of two foul shots to give the Bullets (20-6) their second consecutive Centennial championship and make Gettysburg the first back-to-back champions in conference history.

Jim Natale's steal on the ensuing possession gave the ball back to the Bullets with 1.7 seconds left before McNeil drained both ends of a 1-and-1 situation to seal the victory. McNeil, who was held to a season-low five points in his regular-season visit to Lancaster, finished with a game-high 18 points this time around.

Kevin Boyle scored nine of his 11 points in the decisive second half for Gettysburg, which won for only the second time in its last 19 trips to Mayser Center. In addition, the Bullets set a single-season program record with their 20th win while handing Franklin & Marshall (22-5) its first home loss of 2001-02.
With the win, Gettysburg earned its second consecutive berth in the NCAA tournament.

F&M forward Alex Kraft, who finished with 12 points and six rebounds, had one last chance to send the game into overtime, but his desperation 3-pointer went wide at the final horn. Duran Searles scored a team-best 14 points for the Diplomats while Cas Thomas chipped in with 13 and a game-high eight rebounds.
In an atmosphere worthy of a conference championship game, the lead changed hands nine times in the second half before McNeil and the Bullet defense came through in the clutch.

With Gettysburg trailing 27-23 early in the second half, Boyle scored seven points to fuel a 7-2 run that gave the Bullets a 32-27 lead. Following an F&M timeout, Searles answered with a 3-pointer and driving layup to put the Diplomats back on top 33-32 with 14:22 left.

Gettysburg pulled out to a 44-40 lead by holding the Diplomats scoreless for 6 minutes, 32 seconds.

David Glaser hit one of two free throws before Cody Bowers scored five quick points on a 3-pointer and cutting layup to make it 44-40 and force another F&M timeout.

Asaf Ganot knocked down a 3 off the stoppage and Thomas hit a short turnaround to give the Diplomats their last lead of the game at 45-44 with 3:43 left.

McNeil then drained the last of his three 3-pointers at the 2:46 mark to put the Bullets ahead 47-45. Following a number of empty possessions on both ends of the floor, McNeil missed the front end of a 1-and-1 situation with 39.6 seconds remaining and Searles struck again from the baseline with 16.7 ticks left to knot the game at 47.

As the final seconds ticked away, McNeil backed his dribble to the top of the offensive zone, then drove hard to the basket, drawing contact from Juskin and the opportunity to put his team ahead.

The senior captain, who entered the game as the CC's top free-throw shooter, rimmed out his first attempt, but converted the second for the championship-winning point.

Gettysburg senior Terence Callahan was held to just four points — 10 under his season average — but helped the cause with three assists, three steals and a season-high eight rebounds.

Hope breaks Calvin slump, wins MIAA
On Friday, the Hope men's basketball team picked up its first-ever MIAA Tournament victory at the Calvin Fieldhouse.

On Saturday night, the Flying Dutchmen picked up their second win at the Fieldhouse and with it, the 2002 MIAA Tournament title.

Using a 22-4 scoring run over the final 8:50 of regulation, Hope recorded a stunning 70--63 come-from-behind victory over rival Calvin in front of nearly 4,400 fans at the Calvin Fieldhouse Saturday night. The Hope victory snapped a six-game losing streak against Calvin and also allowed the Flying Dutchmen to capture the MIAA's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. The MIAA Tournament title is Hope's first since 1998 and its fourth in school history. Calvin was bidding for its third consecutive MIAA Tournament title and its sixth overall Saturday night but was denied by a Hope team that improved its record against Calvin in MIAA Tournament Championship tilts to 3-0.

Calvin ends its season at 20-7, having reached the 20-win plateau for the 13th time in school history while Hope improved to 20-6, reaching the 20-win plateau for the 12th time in school history.

Throughout much of the first half, Calvin threatened to run away with the game as the Knights jumped out to a 24-10 lead on the strength of a 15-2 scoring run. Calvin would then build its lead to 17 points at 38-21 on a jumper by junior Tony Westhouse with 1:52 remaining in the half. Hope would score the final six points of the half however, using a bucket by freshman Travis Spaman and back-to-back layups by junior Don Overbeek to close to within 38-27 at the break.

Hope then used the momentum to creep to within six points at 38-32 on another bucket by Overbeek and then drew to within four at 41-37 on an Overbeek basket at 16:00 mark.

Calvin responded with an 11-3 run capped off by a 3-pointer from the right wing by sophomore Chris Prins to take a 52-40 lead with 12:03 remaining. After Hope clawed to within six points at 52-46, Calvin used a pair of Prins free throws and a three-pointer from junior Rob Dytkstra to go up 57-46. A tip-in by junior Jeremy Veenstra moments later kept Calvin up by 11 at 59-48 with 9:19 left but the Flying Dutchmen would take the momentum from that point on.

A 3-pointer by senior Todd Bloemers allowed Hope to creep to within 59-56 with 6:01 to go and a basket by Overbeek with 3:27 left brought Hope to within 61-59. Calvin then missed a pair of free throw attempts and the Flying Dutchmen took advantage as junior Mike VanHekken drilled a 3-point shot from the left wing to give Hope just its second lead of the game at 62-61 with 2:58 remaining. Calvin would never regain the lead as the Knights missed on a 3-point attempt on its next possesion and Spaman followed with a layup to put Hope up 64-61.

A pair of free throws by Veenstra pulled Calvin to within a point at 64-63 with 2:07 left on the clock. After a defensive stop, the Knights had a chance to regain the lead but a trio of Calvin shot attempts by the Knights inside were off the mark with Overbeek swatting away two of the shots. Calvin still had possession of the ball when Immink scooted into the corner and collected a steal that led to Veenstra's fifth foul of the game and a pair of VanHekken free throws that put Hope up 66-63. Calvin had a chance to tie but missed on another three-point attempt with 55 seconds left. Hope then sealed the game with an acrobatic layup by Immink and a pair of free throws by Overbeek in the closing seconds.

All told, Calvin connected on just one of its final 13 field goal attempts while also hitting just 2-of-6 attempts at the free throw line in the final five minutes of play including two missed attempts on the front end of a pair of bonus situations.

Calvin was led in defeat by sophomore Kevin Broene who picked up 17 points while Veenstra had 11 points and nine rebounds and Dykstra 10 points and 12 rebounds. Veenstra extended his double-figure scoring streak to 45 games with his effort Saturday night. Hope was led by Overbeek who dropped in 23 points and grabbed 11 rebounds with 19 of his points coming in the second half. Spaman was next with 14 points while junior Chad Carlson had 11.

Calvin finished with just a 33.9% field goal shooting clip including just 25.7 percent in the second half. Hope shot 46.4% overall including 50% (14-for-28) in the second half. Hope finished with 15 turnovers but committed just five in the second half.

Saturday night's game marked the 149th meeting between the two storied rivals. Calvin continues to lead the series 77-72. Hope's victory Saturday night also marked its first win at the Calvin Fieldhouse since an 87-85 overtime win in January of 1998.

Ohio Wesleyan rallies from 18 down
SPINGFIELD, Ohio — It was a tale of two halves — and then came overtime.

When the dust had settled, Ohio Wesleyan had rallied from an 18-point deficit to defeat the No. 1 seed and host Wittenberg 81-75 in overtime to capture the NCAC's automatic NCAA Division III women's tournament berth.

In the first half, Wittenberg raced out to a double-digit lead and by halftime the Tigers had stretched their advantage to 45-29. The Tigers were dominating on the glass, outrebounding the taller, more experienced Bishops 25-18, including 11 offensive boards. But then came a furious second half rally by OWU, the defending champion and second seed in this year's competition. OWU took the lead for the first time since early in the game at 62-61 on a short jumper by Kelly Heil at the 4:02 mark of the second half.

With the momentum on the other side, the Tigers finally fought back but still trailed by three points with six seconds left in the game. That's when Tiger guard Stephanie Campbell drove the length of the court and buried a game-tying 3-pointer just before the buzzer to send the game into overtime.

In the extra session, Ohio Wesleyan continued to pound the ball inside as it had done throughout the second half and took control. Wittenberg took an early 3-point lead on a long jumper by freshman Emilie Schmid, but OWU's post play was just too much. Tournament Most Outstanding Player Tiffany Barbee had five points in the overtime, while Mindy Hammond hit for six huge points in the extra session. Barbee finished the game with 22 points and 13 rebounds in 35 minutes off the bench, and she was joined in double figures scoring by Michelle Wolfe with 17 points, Katy Sturtz with 12 and Hammond and Heil with 10 each.

Wittenberg was paced by junior guard Kate Rolf, who finished with 21 points. Also reaching double figures were junior guard Stephanie Campbell with 13 points and junior forward Tiffany Keller with 11.

Paterson wins third NJAC title in a row
POMONA, N.J. — William Paterson won for the 12th time in 13 games, defeating Richard Stockton 55-49 to win its third consecutive NJAC championship. It was their sixth consecutive win overall and snapped Stockton's eight-game winning streak. Khalid Coursey led William Paterson with 15 points while Rashaan Barner added 11 points and a team-high eight rebounds. James Spell scored 16 points for Stockton followed by Conrad Burnside with 12 markers and Dave Graham with 10 points. Stockton shot just 7-for-24 (29.2%) from the free-throw line in the six-point loss.

The first half proved to be a defensive struggle with William Paterson equaling its biggest lead with a 19-15 margin at the break. The Pioneers took the lead at 23-22 with 16:43 left in the second half and Stockton would not lead again. The Ospreys rallied to knot the game 34-34 with 7:28 on the clock, however William Paterson responded with five straight points for a 39-34 lead. The Pioneers went 8-for-9 from the line in the final minute to seal the win.

Hall hits at the buzzer to lift Anderson
ANDERSON, Ind. — Anderson sophomore Angel Hall connected on a 17-foot jumper as time expired Saturday to give the Ravens a 62-60 win over Defiance and the HCAC Championship. With the win, the Ravens (21-6) also guaranteed themselves a bid to the NCAA Tournament.

Defiance’s Michelle Bauer drove the lane and converted a layup with just seven seconds remaining to tie the score at 60. Without calling timeout, Hall took the inbounds pass and drove the length of the floor before hitting the game-winner from the left elbow.

Anderson trailed by six points at halftime due to a poor shooting performance (34%) in the first half. Defiance capitalized and won the battle of the boards 36-27, but was unable to put the Ravens away.

Hall finished with a game-high 22 points on 8 of 18 shooting. She knocked down four of 11 3-point attempts and collected five rebounds and four assists.

Senior Rachel Miller battled foul trouble all afternoon and had to play the final ten minutes with four fouls. However, she was able to avoid her fifth foul and helped keep the Ravens close as they trailed for nearly the entire ballgame. Miller finished with 18 points and seven rebounds.

Defiance (21-6) was led by the strong play of Mandy Eberle and Veronica Sharp. Eberle finished with a team-high 17 points and seven rebounds. Sharp added 12 points and five assists.

Carleton finishes MIAC tournament run
ST. JOSEPH, Minn. — Karissa Kramer scored 16 points, 14 in the second half, and Beth Freeman added a career-high 14 points on 6-for-7 shooting as No. 25 Carleton beat No. 12 St. Benedict 79-63 for its second consecutive MIAC tournament title and automatic bid.

The Knights (23-5) shot 53% (32 of 61) for the game and 64% (18 of 28) in the second half, outscoring the Blazers (23-4) 45-28 in the final 20 minutes. Carleton set a school record for wins in a season. Bethany Koehler added 15 points, including a trio of 3-point baskets.

Michelle Barlau paced the Blazers with 16 points. Danni Hannon added 14 points while Kim Johnson tallied 10 points and nine rebounds.

Carleton closed the first half with a 9-2 run, capped by Kramer's buzzer-beating layup (pictured). Carleton opened the second 20 minutes with a 10-2 spurt as the Blazers went without a field goal for the final three minutes of the first half and the first four minutes of the second half.

"I think it was really big," Carleton head coach Tammy Metalf-Filzen said about the final three minutes of the first half. "We just went in [to the locker room] with confidence. We didn't feel like we played all that well in the first half. Offensively, we stood around and defensively we didn't get out on the shooter the way we wanted. Having that run made a big difference for us."

Trailing by seven, the Blazers got jumpers from Barlau and Ashley Brown to crawl within three. Koehler drilled a 3-pointer from the corner, Karen Fricke powered in a layup and Koehler drained another three from the top of the key and Carleton led 56-45. The Knights maintained a double-digit lead the rest of the way in cruising to their fourth straight win and 14th in their last 16 games.

Metcalf-Filzen pointed to a few half-time adjustments her team made as key to the victory. "One, we had to get out on their shooters and make them put it on the floor," she said. "Two, we had to attack inside and take advantage of being mobile inside. We really put the pressure on them and they tried to score from three and get the big buckets, but we stepped out on them and wouldn't let them do it."

Metcalf-Filzen and the Knights also felt that this year's title validated last year's, and hope that their NCAA Tournament experience will extend beyond one game this time. "It's easy for people to say that last year was a great run and a storybook season," Metcalf-Filzen said. "We weren't satisfied — we wanted to be back for a second season. We don't have the tradition that St. Thomas and St. Ben's has, but we're on our way."

Lake Forest upends Carroll for MWC crown
WAUKESHA, Wis. — Lake Forest’s Katie McCants scored a game-high 14 points and pulled down a game-high 15 rebounds to lead Lake Forest to a 72-56 victory over Carroll in the championship game of the Midwest Conference Championship Tournament at Carroll.

The conference title is the third consecutive crown for Lake Forest, its fifth overall. The Foresters have defeated Carroll in each of the last three championship games.

Junior Corey Grosskopf led the Lady Pioneers with 10 points, while senior Michelle Fink chipped in with 8 points. Senior Sarah Letourneaux added seven points for Carroll and pulled down a team-high 10 rebounds.

“This was just a heartbreaking game,” said head coach Kris Jacobsen. “Things just didn’t go our way, but it wasn’t due to lack of effort. Lake Forest is an excellent team with an excellent coaching staff and they played very well today.”

Neither team shot the ball well, with both teams finishing the game under 36% shooting from the field. Lake Forest outscored Carroll 29-16 from the free-throw line and won the rebounding war 52-34.

Jacobsen was obviously disappointed with the result of today’s game, but was quick to point out how proud she was of her 20-5 team. “I am so incredibly proud of this team,” she said. “This loss takes nothing away from what this team accomplished.”

Jacobsen also commented on her four seniors; Fink, Letourneaux, Carlyn Wilhelmi, and Jessica Koelbl. “They gave everything they had all four years. We are going to miss this classy group of leaders.”

Ripon ends St. Norbert's win streak
DE PERE, Wis. — Using a sticky zone defense, Ripon College held No. 15 St. Norbert to 30% field goal shooting to upset the Green Knights 54-45 in the championship game of the Midwest Conference Tournament at Schuldes Sports Center. Ripon (19-6) clinches the MWC's automatic berth to the NCAA Division III Tournament with the win, while St. Norbert (21-4) must wait to see if it will earn one of eight at-large bids to the 48-team field.

St. Norbert was forced to shoot early and often from the perimeter, and made just seven of 36 3-point attempts, despite open looks, for a frigid 19.4%. Matt Roherty and Phil Leiterman, who led St. Norbert in scoring at 13 and 11 points respectively, combined to make six of 25 3-pointers. The zone also prevented St. Norbert from getting to the free-throw line, as the Green Knights made just two of three attempts from the stripe.

Ripon led 21-13 in the second half but St. Norbert held the Red Hawks scoreless over the last 6 minutes, 43 seconds of the half to take a 22-21 lead on a Drew Demerath basket at the buzzer. The Green Knights would get their biggest lead of the second half at 27-25 at the 15:32 mark on a 3-pointer by Leiterman.

From there, Ripon went on a 13-4 run to take a seven-point lead at 38-31 with 7:23 remaning. St. Norbert went on a 6-0 mini-run to get to within one, but Ripon applied the knockout when Scott Landisch converted a conventional three-point play off an offensive rebound with 5:09 left. The Green Knights would not get closer than four points the rest of the way as the Red Hawks beat St. Norbert for the first time in three tries this season.

Ripon was led in scoring by Landisch, who had 13 points, while Josh Glocke added 12 points. The Red Hawks, which shot 37.7% from the floor, also held a 41-39 rebounding advantage thanks to Nick Johnson's 10 rebounds. Despite the poor shooting from both teams, it was a well-played game as each squad committed 12 turnovers.

St. Norbert had its school-record 16-game winning streak snapped, and currently sits with the same record as the 1984 team as the best in school history.

N.C. Wesleyan makes 3-for-3 over CNU
By Ted Newman
Rocky Mount Telegram
FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. — The third-time jinx didn't affect North Carolina Wesleyan.

The Bishops met Christopher Newport for the third time this season Saturday in the championship of the Dixie Conference tournament. With a pair of close wins against CNU already under its belt, Wesleyan was facing the dreaded "hard to beat a good team three times" sports maxim.

And after 35 minutes of play, it looked like the No. 3-seeded Bishops wouldn't.

But Bradley Blue scored eight of his game-high 28 points to lead a 12-1 run to close the game as the Bishops rallied from a nine-point deficit to win 77-75 and capture their first conference tournament title since 1987.

"Everybody came out focused and wanted to win," said Blue, who was named the tournament's MVP. "We played with a lot of heart today."

The win gives Wesleyan the Dixie Conference's automatic berth in the NCAA Division III tournament, its first appearance there since 1987 as well.

After building a 39-33 lead in the first half on the strength of 53% shooting, the Bishops could do little more than watch, it seemed, as CNU's Jermaine Woods erupted in the second half.

The junior guard drilled four 3-pointers in a four-minute span to key a 19-6 run that catapulted the Captains from a 49-43 hole to a 64-57 lead with 9:04 to go in the game.

"He just got hot," said NCWC coach John Thompson. "I don't think we could have defended him any better, he was making some difficult shots."

Woods, who finished with 21 points, picked up his third foul during the run and went to the bench with his fourth at the 7:06 mark and CNU holding a 65-59 lead.

Wesleyan stayed within six until Blake Brookman hit a 3-pointer with 5:10 on the clock that gave the Captains a 74-65 lead.

Then Blue took over.

He hit a 3-pointer to cut the lead back to six. That was followed by a Bobby Jenkins trey that cut the lead to three with 2:51 to go. Blue converted a pair off free throws to get the Bishops within one at the 2:30 mark, then knocked down his fourth three of the night with 1:43 on the clock for a 76-74 Wesleyan lead.

Jenkins, who hit five 3-pointers and finished with 18 points, added a free throw with 4.3 seconds left and CNU could not get a shot off in time.

Christopher Newport missed five shots in the last five minutes, and the Bishops (20-7) collected 11 rebounds — five of them offensive rebounds.

"This team continues to show the heart and character they have showed for a long time," Thompson said. "They just don't give up. CNU got hot and got on a roll, a lot of teams might have thought it was going to slip away. We just hung in there, made some big shots, made some big stops. Everybody on our team was involved."

Jenkins joined Blue on the all-tournament team, along with Shenandoah's Ronald Merriwether, Methodist's Demarkus Byrd, and CNU's Woods and Carlos Heard, who had 24 points to lead the Captains.

Wheaton stuns Clark in NEWMAC semis
WORCESTER, Mass. — The Wheaton (Mass.) men knew it wasn't going to be easy to get to the NEWMAC title game, as the Lyons had to go through the top seed and No. 22-ranked Clark. However, the squad nevertheless captured a stunning 100-92 victory in Friday's semifinal round at Kneller Athletic Center.

Fifth-seed Wheaton will face second-seed Babson, a 72-56 winner over Springfield, for the right to represent the NEWMAC in the NCAA Tournament. With the win, the Lyons denied Clark the opportunity for its fourth title game appearance in a row. The Cougars, regular season champions for three years and tournament winners the last two seasons, fall to 20-5 overall.

Wheaton used a season-best 65.5% (19-for-29) from the floor in the opening half and shot 5-of-8 (.625) from behind the arc en route to a 46-39 lead at the intermission. The first seven minutes of the stanza featured four lead changes and four ties, but the Lyons took the lead for good at 20-18 off a Richard Henninger layup with 12:22 to play. That basket spearheaded a 14-5 run, which was capped by a Josean Vega 3-pointer at the 6:53 minute mark.

Clark refused to go away, as the Cougars knotted the game on three occasions before taking a 64-63 edge midway through the half, thanks to a 3 from sophomore Trevor Walker. Both teams then battled through three lead changes and three ties, with the latter coming at 71 points apiece with 6:55 to play. On Wheaton's next possession, senior Luke Gordon drained a 3-pointer at the 6:41 mark to give the Lyons the lead for good. Wheaton extended its lead to 85-75, its largest advantage of the contest, with 1:59 remaining.

The Cougars opted to foul the rest of the way, as the Lyons used clutch free throw shooting down the stretch to hold off any Clark surge. Senior forward Sam Ackah began a lengthy two-minute free throw marathon, knocking down a pair of freebies while leading Wheaton to an impressive 17-for-22 (77.3%) mark in that stretch alone. The Cougars would get no closer than four points the rest of the way, as the Lyons posted their second-highest point total of the season.

Wheaton posted a season-high with six players in double-digit scoring, led by Gordon's career-best 31 and outrebounded Clark 50-38. Sophomore forward Frankie Whall tallied 13 points, grabbed a team-high tying 10 boards and blocked three shots. Ackah scored 11 points and posted 10 rebounds in the contest, while freshman forward Mike Stanton added 15 points and seven boards. Lewis and Vega rounded out the double-figure scoring with 13 and 11 points, respectively.

For Clark, junior Sean Fleming led the way with 24 points (8-for-15 FG). Senior Amos Anderson had 18 points (7-for-14 FG) and six rebounds, while sophomore Brent Kenneway added 10 points in the losing effort.

Jostens finalists announced
SALEM — Ten Division III men's and women's basketball players were named finalists for the Jostens Trophy, honoring the outstanding basketball player who exemplifies the Division III ideal of the well-rounded athlete through athletic and academic excellence as well as community service.

The women's finalists: Kendra Anderson, Hardin-Simmons; Kristen Channing, UW-Eau Claire; Jill Dewane, Lakeland; Heather Francoeur, Oglethorpe; Kari Groshek, UW-Stevens Point; Heather Kile, Swarthmore; Kate Lyren, Wellesley; Missy Pederson, St. Thomas; Haley Smith, Maryville (Tenn.); and Renee Willette, Carleton.

The men's finalists: Joe Corbett, Hobart; Jesse DuPerow, Marietta; Aaron Galletta, Union; Jesse Harris, Simpson; Ryan Hepp, Willamette; Adam Jones, Buena Vista; Mark Lesko, Muhlenberg; Colin Tabb, Trinity (Conn.); Rashad Williams, Brandeis; Kyle Williford, Bridgewater.

The honorees will be presented with their awards on March 14 in Salem.

Oberlin forfeits
all nine wins
CLEVELAND — The North Coast Athletic Conference announced Wednesday that the Oberlin men's basketball team would forfeit all nine of its wins for the 2001-2002 season, including a 56-49 win over Ohio Wesleyan last night in the NCAC tournament quarterfinals, for using an ineligible player. The Yeomen will be replaced by Ohio Wesleyan, which will advance to the conference semifinals Friday night at Wittenberg.

Oberlin athletic director Mike Muska would not identify the player, but said he had transferred in from another school.

"The former institution initially certified that he would be eligible at the next institution he would go to," Muska told the Associated Press. "They have subsequently said this morning that that was not the case. It would have been nice if that had been communicated three or four months ago."

Kean ends New Jersey's run, wins NJAC
EWING, N.J. — Kean junior center Jaquana Abdullah and sophomore guard Kellie Rice each poured in 20-plus points for the second time this week to lead their team to the 2002 NJAC Championship. Kean posted a 66-57 victory over defending NJAC champion New Jersey at Packer Hall on Friday night.

With the win, the Cougars earned the league’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. Kean, the No. 2 seed, improves to 19-8 on the year and snapped TCNJ’s 11-game win streak. The loss ends the top-seeded Lions’ season at 19-8.

In a very tight first half, the game witnessed eight lead changes and five ties. The largest lead of the half was seven (23-16) and held by the Cougars at 5:59. In the last 5:59, TCNJ put together an 8-1 run to tie up the game at halftime, 24-24. The Lions were plagued by turnovers, making 13 to Kean’s seven. TCNJ’s sophomore center Adrienne Warner led the team with seven points, while sophomore forwards Laura Mala and Liz Martin each notched six points and four rebounds. The Cougars’ Rice paced all scorers with 11, while Abdullah chipped in six and sophomore forward Shervon James led on the boards with six rebounds.

"Kellie stepped up unbelievably,'' said Cougars coach Michele Sharp. "I knew she had it in her. We were waiting all year for Abdullah to break out (and she did). This team just has tremendous talent."

Turnovers continued to hurt the Lions in the second half as they picked up 11 more and finished the game with 24. Kean capitalized on TCNJ’s mistakes, netting 23 points off turnovers. After shooting 37.0% from the floor in the first half, the Lions made 13-of-26 in the second, but could not stop Kean’s inside game as the Cougars tallied 26 points in the paint.

Martin collected her fourth double double of the season on 16 points and 10 rebounds to pace TCNJ, while junior guard Kristen McCandless and Warner each pitched in 13. Mala was scoreless in the first half and ended with six.

Rice had 22 points to lead Kean after notching 21 against Rutgers-Camden in the semifinals. Abdullah added 20 and grabbed 10 boards after having 20 and 15 versus Rutgers-Camden. James pulled down a game-high 11 rebounds to pace Kean.

Hood's rally lifts team to AWCC final
FREDERICK, Md. — Trailing by 16 points in the second half, Hood went on a punishing 45-13 run to rally past, then bury Chestnut Hill 64-48 to advance to the Atlantic Women's Colleges Conference championship game. Hood, the third seed in the tournament, hosts top seeded Notre Dame (Md.) on Saturday evening for the right to go to the NCAA Tournament. Notre Dame advanced earlier in the evening by beating No. 5 seed Trinity (D.C.) 85-71.

Leading 24-15 at the half, Chestnut Hill (17-9) got three 3-pointers, two from sophomore guard Jackie Kirk, and extended its lead to 35-19 with 16:19 left. But the Griffins shot just 5-for-21 from the floor the rest of the way and sophomore guard Mandy Fischer (pictured) hit four consecutive 3-pointers down the stretch to give the Blazers their 20th win against six losses.

Fischer led all scorers with 20 points on 5-for-13 shooting from 3-point range. Melissa Kolb added 12, Mandy South 11 points and Roxanne Koppenhaver 11 points and 10 rebounds as Hood's starters averaged 37 minutes apiece. Danielle Allen had a game-high 13 rebounds.

Jackie Kirk led Chestnut Hill with 18 points while Jennifer Banks had a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds.

Notables 2003-pres.

2003 Notables
February 15-28
February 1-14
January 16-31
January 1-15

2002 Notables
December 16-31
December 1-15
November
October-early Nov.
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May
March-April
February 22-28
February 15-21
February 8-14
February 1-7
January 22-31
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January 1-7

2001 Notables
December 16-31
December 1-15
October-November
July-September
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April
March

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