Notables

The Indiana Collegiate Athletic Conference, facing the loss of conference members DePauw and Rose-Hulman, announced a new name to match its new membership. Effective immediately, the ICAC will be known as the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference.

The name change was prompted by the addition of three Ohio schools, Bluffton, Mt. St. Joseph and Wilmington, bringing the HCAC to eight schools. All ICAC records will be carried forward.

No winner was announced in the renaming contest held by the ICAC; however, two people who submitted entries through D3hoops.com suggested the name eventually chosen. Congratulations to Todd Spurgeon (Wabash '96) and Doug Porterfield, a self-proclaimed Hampden-Sydney fan from the Washington, D.C., area.

Eight other entries that we passed along had some variation of the term Heartland in their title.

Johns Hopkins senior guard Angie Arnold received the Frances Pomeroy Naismith award, presented to the nation's top senior women's basketball player under 5-foot-6. Arnold is the second Johns Hopkins player to win the award, joining former teammate Amy Dodrill (1995) in making Hopkins the only school with two recipients.

Only three of the 15 winners of the award have come from non-Division I schools.

To earn the award, the recipient must demonstrate leadership, character, loyalty, all-around basketball ability, and excellence in the classroom. Arnold is the only player in school history, male or female, to score over 1,500 career points (1,803) and dish out over 500 assists (570).

The New England Small College Athletic Conference presidents voted to become a full-playing conference over the next three seasons and, in the process, limit postseason play to the conference champion.

The NESCAC currently does not keep conference records or standings, and all members are free to accept at-large bids to the NCAA and ECAC tournaments. This action will eliminate ECAC postseason competition.

This season, the NESCAC sent four schools to the NCAA men's tournament. Under the new plan, Williams, which advanced to the Final Four, could not accept a postseason bid. For more details, read the full NESCAC press release courtesy Bates College.

By Pat Coleman,
D3hoops.com

SALEM, Va. – The nation's best defense showed up for all 40 minutes tonight as Wisconsin-Platteville finished its second undefeated season in the last four years, defeating Hope 69-56 in front of 3,915 at the Salem Civic Center.

The Pioneers (30-0) scored the first seven points of the game and 23 of the first 32 as they pressured Hope (26-5) into eight first-half turnovers.

"We felt it was a factor to get an early lead," said Platteville head coach Bo Ryan. "We knew if they got an early lead they could stretch it with the style they play. We wanted to get an early lead and hold on."

In all three championship bracket games, one team jumped out to a large early lead. Hope took a 13-2 lead in the semifinal game against Wilkes and coasted the rest of the way, while Williams had Platteville on the ropes early at 11-0 but couldn't hold the lead.

Hope battled back to cut the lead to 7-6 four minutes into the game on layups by Joel Holstege and Chris Vander Slice and a jumper by Dan Van Hekken, but the Pioneers took it back to a 14-point advantage by the midway point of the half. The Flying Dutchmen never got back within 11 points, despite 15 second-half turnovers and only nine field goals by Platteville.

Platteville's senior-laden backcourt was key to their success this season. Seniors Ben Hoffmann and Ryan Fuhrmann started, while Andre Dalton, the hero against Williams, came off the bench in all 27 of his appearances. Fuhrmann scored 10 in the title game, while Hoffmann and Dalton each scored nine.

The key to the Platteville offense, however, was sophomore guard Merrill Brunson. Brunson came off the bench to score 15 points in 16 minutes of action and led the Pioneers with six field goals in eight attempts. Brunson, who was Platteville's second-leading scorer during the season, had been held scoreless against Williams.

For Hope, it was another disappointment on championship Saturday. "Congratulations to Platteville on winning the championship," said head coach Glenn Van Wieren. "Right now we are feeling a lot of pain."

Senior guard Joel Holstege, who led Hope with 26 points and four assists, was happy his career ended in Salem. "It was a fun ride, that's the way I look at it now."

Notes: Holstege, Dalton, Wilkes' Dave Jannuzzi and Williams' Michael Nogelo were named to the All-Championship team, while Hoffmann was named Most Valuable Player. . . Williams won the third place game behind Nogelo's 38 points and 13 rebounds, defeating Wilkes 105-93. Nogelo's final point, a free throw with 24 seconds left, gave him 2,000 for his career. Jannuzzi had 32 points and eight assists for the Colonels. . . Neither team shot well from long range in the championship game – Platteville shot 4-for-16 from beyond the arc while Hope was 4-for-23. "How many times will Hope go 0-for-5 from three-point territory," asked Ryan, as they did in the first half. . . Platteville leads the nation in scoring defense, allowing opponents only 51.7 points per game.

D3hoops.com did live text play-by-play from this Final Four:
National championship game
First semifinal: Hope/Wilkes
Second semifinal: UW-Platteville/Williams

Williams's Michael Nogelo and Emory's Alicia Moore have been awarded the first annual Jostens Trophy. The awards were presented at the Rotary Club of Salem (Va.) on March 19.

Nogelo has averaged 21.9 points and 7.8 rebounds a game for the Final Four-bound Ephs. For her career, Moore averaged 13 points and nine rebounds led the team in each category for the third consecutive season.

Case Western Reserve will leave the North Coast Athletic Conference at the end of the next academic year to retain full-time membership in the University Athletic Association. CWRU will then play a full double round-robin schedule in men's and women's basketball and compete for the UAA's automatic bids to the NCAA Tournament.

NCAC executive director Dennis Collins said the conference would consider membership options, including expansion.

Connecticut College 93, Salem State 84
By Ray Martel
D3hoops.com

Before a capacity crowd of 1,250 in attendance at the Charles B. Luce Field House, #2 Connecticut College Camels faced #3 Salem (Mass.) State College Vikings in the second round of the 1998 NCAA D-III Tournament. It was a night of firsts for the Camels: their first NCAA appearance, their first matchup against the Vikings, and the chance to become the first Camel team to win 22 games in a season.

Salem State earned a trip to the Field of 48 by winning the MASCAC title over Worcester State 90-86, then dumped Massachusetts-Dartmouth 86-78 in the first round.

Salem State took its second and final lead of the first half was at 4-2, bringing on the battle of the 52s. Connecticut's Dwayne Stallings and Salem's Khris Silveria would provide much of their respective team's offense in the first half.

Connecticut started to pull away early in the half Stallings and NESCAC rookie of the year Kareem Tatum would start a 15-2 run to put Connecticut up 19-10 with 1446 to go in the first half. Silveria attempted to stop the bleeding with a bucket to bring the Vikings within seven, but Connecticut raised the lead back to 21-12 with 14:00 left in the first half. The Camels carried a seven-point lead into the break, 43-36.

Connecticut scored five of the first six points in the second half, but Silveria and Greg Cardello led Salem State on a 12-0 run to give them the 49-48 lead. The Camels retook the lead and pushed it back out to seven.

Salem State's second comeback was fueled by three-pointers from Ricky Morales, and brought the Vikings back to a 77-77 tie with 1:590 left. But Salem was in foul trouble, and Kareen Tatum hit 12-for-13 from the foul line.

Connecticut would finally pull away from the Vikings, as Adekanbi, and Chris Gallerani, put the Camels up by four, but a steal by Gallerani and a three by Tatum with 1:08 to go essentially shut out the lights for Salem. The teams would foul and march to the line and come to the final score of 93-84.

"Foul shooting throughout the game was a problem throughout the game for us," said Salem State coach Brian Meehan. "We had chances to stay close the whole game, and the game sometimes got away from us because we were missing free throws. We needed to keep it close. We would go down by nine or ten and come back then go back down and up. We can only do that so many times. Eventually it catches up to you."

The Vikings got 32 points from Silveria, but it wasn't enough. "I thought that if I got it going early that some of the other guys would catch on real quick, and they did." But Connecticut College had the defense when it needed it.

Defense did the job for the last two minutes of the game. "When you play against these caliber teams," said Connecticut College coach Glen Miller, "defensive stops and rebounds are going to win the games for you. We gave up some second chance opportunities, but down the stretch we rebounded the ball, and that's what put it away."

The Camels enjoyed the home-court advantage. "It was a great crowd," said Zach Smith "They were cheering us 25 minutes before the game. We were just doing passing drills!"

Gustavus Adolphus 65, Nebraska Wesleyan 51
LINCOLN, Neb. -- The Gustavus Adolphus men's basketball team defeated Nebraska Wesleyan, 65-51 in the second round of the NCAA National Tournament in Lincoln, Nebraska. The Gusties will now face defending national champion Illinois Wesleyan in the West-Midwest Sectional Tournament next weekend.

The Gusties held a slim 45-44 lead with 5:25 remaining, but used a 20-6 run over the final five minutes of the game to claim the 11-point victory. The Gusties, who are the #3 seed in the West Region, improve to 25-3, while Nebraska Wesleyan, the #2 seed, finishes at 23-3.

Both teams struggled from the field in the game as the Gusties shot 44% (19-of-43) and the Plainsmen shot 40% (20-of-49). Gustavus did convert six-of-13 three-point attempts, while Nebraska Wesleyan managed to make only two-of-20 treys. Mark McDonnell led the Gusties with 14 points including 8-of-8 from the free throw line. Luke Schmidt followed with 13 points and Bob Southworth with 12. Eleven of Southworth's 12 points were scored in the second half. Nate Thomas led Nebraska Wesleyan with 17 points. Gustavus avenged a 61-59 loss to the Plainsmen in the second round of the national tournament last year in Lincoln.

Gustavus has now advanced to the "Sweet Sixteen" of the NCAA Division III Tournament three times in the past six years (1992, 1996, and 1998). The last appearance was in 1996 when they were defeated by Wittenberg in Springfield, Ohio, 76-68 in the Sectional semifinals.

Hunter 65, Jersey City State 60
NEW YORK, N.Y. -- The Hunter College men's basketball team advanced to the NCAA Division III "Sweet 16" for the second time in its school history with a hard-fought 65-60 win over Jersey City State at the Sportsplex.

"Jersey City State is a great basketball team," Hunter head coach Mike Brown commented. "They took our best punches and we took their best punches. I think we survived. Now we advance. At tournament time, that's what you are supposed to do."

Buoyed by the play of senior Brian Palacio, who scored 12 of his team-high 14 points in the second half, the Hawks (27-1) held a 63-56 lead with 1:23 remaining in the game when Gothic Knight senior Corey Johnson hit a long three-pointer to cut the lead to four with 1:08 left. After Jeff Harrington hit one of two free throws with 40 seconds to play, Jersey City State (19-8) forced a turnover off full court pressure and Johnson had a three-pointer go in-and-out of the hoop with :28 remaining. The Hawks' Troy Battle converted a layup with :22 to play to ice the game.

Palacio, in just his second game back after missing 10 contests with a knee injury, hit six of nine from the field. "With my career on the line, I tried to contribute so my team could move on," Palacio said. "I think we showed our depth tonight and beat a very good team." Battle added 13 points, while junior Mike Rencher had 12 points, seven rebounds and five block shots. Jersey City was led by senior center Danel Allen with 18 points and eight rebounds.

The Hawks limited the Gothic Knights to just 25.8% shooting from the field and overcame poor free-throw shooting of their own, converting just 7-for-18 from the charity stripe.

Hunter extended its CUNY record winning streak to 25 games and with 27 wins, has recorded the most victories in school history eclipsing the mark of 26 set during the 1993-94 season. Hunter last advanced to the Sweet 16 in 1992-93.

Hunter will now face Catholic in a regional semifinal to take place at Wilkes on Friday, March 13. Catholic was a 67-62 winner over Johns Hopkins. The other regional semifinal will pit Rowan, a 81-64 winner over College of New Jersey, against host Wilkes, a 59-57 victor against Scranton.

Christopher Newport 78, Mississippi College 67
NEWPORT NEWS, Va. -- Christopher Newport overcame 64% first-half shooting by Mississippi College and took a 78-67 win in the Division III NCAA Tournament on Saturday night in Ratcliffe Gym.

The Captains trailed, 37-34, at halftime, but used an 11-0 run early in the second half to take the lead for good. Trailing 46-41, CNU ran off 11 in a row to surge in front, 52-46, and was never headed.

The Choctaws did close to within two points three times, the last at 56-54 with 6:15 to play, but CNU scored the next six and never led by less than five again.

Senior Matt Bryant led the Captains with 20 points, while junior Mike Holland added 19, sophomore Montoria Valentine 11 and senior David Powell 10. The Choctaws were paced by senior Chris Romero who scored 17, senior Francisco Wilson added 16 and junior Darrell Diamond had 15. CNU outrebounded the taller Choctaws, 34-29.

The win was Christopher Newport's 26th in a row, raising its record to 26-1. Mississippi College finishes at 24-3.

Hampden-Sydney 76, Trinity (Texas) 62
HAMPDEN-SYDNEY, Va. -- Hampden-Sydney advanced to its fourth sectional in the last seven years as they got 21 points from sophomore T.J. Grimes and 19 from fellow second-year guard Chris Fox as they rolled to a 76-62 win over Trinity. Hampden-Sydney led 35-28 at the half and blew the game open in the second half as they led by as many as 20 points. Trinity was led by Ryan Hyslop who scored 14. Hampden-Sydney is now 23-5 while Trinity is 21-6. Hampden-Sydney will face John Carroll in the Sweet 16 game at Hope College in Holland, Mich.

UW-Platteville 69, UW-Oshkosh 59
The University of Wisconsin-Platteville held the WIAC's top shooting team to 38% from the field, including 0-for-13 from beyond the three-point line, and defeated Wisconsin-Oshkosh to 69-59 in a first-round NCAA Division III playoff game in front of 1,832 fans at Williams Fieldhouse Saturday night.

The Pioneers, ranked #1 in the nation, improved to 26-0 overall, while Oshkosh ended its season 21-6. Three of the Titans' losses were to Platteville. Platteville will host a four-team sectional next Friday and Saturday. The Pioneers will play the University of Chicago (24-2) in Friday's semifinal. Defending national champion Illinois Wesleyan (22-4) plays Gustavus Adolphus (25-3) in the first semifinal. The winners meet Saturday for a trip to the Final Four.

Ben Hoffmann led the Pioneers with 13 points, while Ryan Fuhrmann added 12, and Travis Schreiber scored 10. The Pioneers outrebounded the Titans 36-29.

"What we were concerned about going in is their depth," Oshkosh coach Ted Van Dellen said. "They start five very good players and bring three good players off the bench. They're very deep."

Pioneer guard Ben Hoffmann agreed. "Some teams take guys out to give them a rest. We put guys in to give us a boost."

Brett Davis scored 12 for the Titans, while Aric Vaubel and Brad Clark each had 11. Center Keith Meyer scored 10.

"We didn't shot the ball well, but I think their defense had something to do with that," Van Dellen said. "We had some outstanding looks that we needed to hit."

"It's awfully tough to beat a team three times," Pioneer coach Bo Ryan said. "This is a big win for us."

Catholic 67, Johns Hopkins 62
WASHINGTON -- Senior center Jason Alexander scored eight of his 15 points in a three-minute stretch of the second half to help lead Catholic to a 67-62 victory against Johns Hopkins in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. The Cardinals (25-3) have won 20 consecutive games and advance to the Middle Atlantic sectional at Wilkes next weekend.

The lead changed hands numerous times in the second half, but Alexander's burst helped Catholic lead by as many as seven. The Blue Jays (21-7) got back within two thanks to three-pointers by freshman Ryan Satalin, but Catholic won at the foul line down the stretch.

The win was Catholic's first in five NCAA Tournament appearances, dating back to 1944. Freshman guard Pat Maloney led the Cardinals with 18 points, while Kamau Coar led Johns Hopkins with 15.

Despite a school record for wins, both Simpson Storm basketball teams were denied NCAA Tournament bids. The men's three losses (to Buena Vista, Loras and NAIA Division II Grand View) were by a combined 12 points. However the strength of schedule in the final analysis turned out to be the deciding factor. "I very disappointed right now," said Simpson head coach Bruce Wilson. "We did everything we could, I feel the system let us down. I am very proud of our team."

"You could have thrown a blanket over teams 3-7 from the West," said James Nelson, the chair of the NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Committee. "But it came down to a strength of schedule. Wisconsin-Oshkosh was 10-5 against plus-.500 teams, and Augsburg was 8-3. This is what was the deciding factor." Simpson was 3-2 against plus-.500 teams.

All four of the women's losses came in the Iowa Conference, two of which were to Luther. This played in the West Region Committee's decision. "I am very disappointed right now," said Simpson women's head coach Brian Niemuth. "I'm real proud of our team, and excited to share the Iowa Conference title. This is a good lesson for us. It will teach how important it is in controlling our destiny."

The Storm women finish the year at 21-4. The 21 wins is a school record.

Muhlenberg pulled off an unprecedented double Feb. 28, capturing both the men's and women's basketball championships, defeating Johns Hopkins in Baltimore. The men edged the Blue Jays, 55-53, while the women upset the heavily favored home team 71-61.

In the men's game, Jim Doumato scored 13 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, as Muhlenberg (17-9) went on the road and defeated Johns Hopkins, 55-53, to capture the Centennial men's championship. Kamau Coar led the Blue Jays (20-6) with 17.

On the women's side, Jill Roth set a conference championship game record with 27 points to lead Muhlenberg (17-9) to a 71-61 upset of heavily favored Johns Hopkins (22-4) in Baltimore to win the Centennial women's championship.

The Mules defended their 1997 title and became the first road team to win the women's final. Sarah Clarke added 22 for the victors, who connected on 32 of 37 attempts from the line. Hopkins, which connected on just 16 of 27 from the charity stripe, was led by Angie Arnold's 14 points.

CRAWFORDSVILLE, Ind. -- Wabash (21-4) captured its second consecutive Indiana Collegiate Athletic Conference championship with an 83-75 win against Franklin (22-5) on Feb. 28 at Chadwick Court. The Little Giants, which will be appearing in the NCAA Tournament for the fifth time under head coach Mac Petty, were led by junior forward Chad Tabor's career-high 34 points.

Tabor, the ICAC's Most Valuable Player for the second consecutive season, made 11-of-19 field goals and 11-of-15 free throws in the contest. Sophomore guard Josh Estelle added 21 points and senior center Eric Jaryszak had nine points and seven rebounds for the Little Giants.

Franklin was led by junior guard Jason Sibley's 22 points and eight rebounds.