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Notebook

Greg Chandler's
Great Lakes Notebook
Posted Feb. 15, 2000

As the regular season winds down, the top teams in the Great Lakes region are solidifying their positions for the conference postseason tournaments. Calvin, Wooster and Otterbein all locked up top seeds for their respective tournaments last week.

No. 2 Calvin locked up its first outright Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association regular season title since 1994 with a pair of wins, including a dramatic 82-80 overtime victory over Hope last Wednesday in front of 4,500 fans in Grand Rapids.

The Knights nearly let this one get away. Calvin led 50-36 with 15 minutes remaining, but the visiting Flying Dutchmen scraped back, eventually grabbing a 66-65 lead on Mark Bray's basket with 15.6 seconds remaining. Kyle VanderWall added two free throws with 8.5 seconds left to give Hope a 68-65 lead.

But just when all hope seemed lost for Calvin, Aaron Winkle came to the rescue. The reigning MIAA most valuable player banked in a three-point shot from the left wing, with Hope freshman Chad Carlson draped all over him, with 4.5 seconds left to tie the game at 68-68 and send it into overtime.

Winkle and teammate Nate Karsten then scored five points each in the OT as Calvin completed a sweep of the season series with Hope. The Knights now lead the all-time series 73 wins to 71.

After that narrow escape, Calvin then clobbered Olivet on Saturday 101-71. Karsten, a senior guard who has begun to heat it up, fired in a season-high 28 points for the Knights, now 12-0 in the MIAA and 20-2 overall.

While the Knights were continuing their roll, Defiance stumbled twice, falling to Albion 75-65 and Adrian 100-92 to fall into a second-place tie with Hope at 8-4 in the conference. The Yellowjackets couldn't stop Adrian's Mike Riley on Saturday, as the son of Bulldogs' coach Buck Riley lit it up with a season-high 29 points.

In the North Coast Athletic Conference, Wooster locked up its third consecutive regular season title Saturday by whipping Ohio Wesleyan 84-52. Antwyan Reynolds led four Fighting Scots in double figures with 18 points as Wooster (14-0, 20-2) won its NCAC-record 29th straight conference game and became the first school to win three straight outright conference titles since the league was founded. Earlier in the week, Wooster rolled past Allegheny, 82-65.

Meanwhile, Wittenberg continued its latest struggles. The Tigers were stone cold in a 74-58 loss to Wabash, shooting 1-for-16 from 3-point range. Wittenberg (11-3, 17-5) bounced back on Saturday to nip Allegheny in overtime 81-80, surviving a 29-point performance by the Gators' Jacob Delsandro.

Wabash, meanwhile, moved into a second place tie with Witt with its win over the Tigers, then blew out Oberlin 101-53. Senior Josh Estelle (26.5 ppg) moved to within 14 points of former NFL tight end Pete Metzelaars, who holds the school's all-time scoring record with 1,976 points. Estelle scored 23 points against Wittenberg and added 20 against Oberlin to raise his career total to 1,962. The Little Giants are 11-3 in the NCAC and 16-6 overall.

Earlham's triple-overtime upset of Wittenberg last week launched the start of a hot streak for the Quakers. Since then, Earlham (8-6, 8-14) has beaten Kenyon (67-53), Ohio Wesleyan (61-60) and Denison (91-69), to storm into fourth place in the NCAC and into position to host a first-round game in next week's tournament. Freshman Nathan Stoops leads a balanced Earlham attack at 14.5 points per game and shoots nearly 48% from three-point land.

Otterbein locked up a share of its first Ohio Athletic Conference regular season title since 1991-92 on Saturday with a 72-65 victory against Capital. It's the 10th OAC title for longtime Cardinals' coach Dick Reynolds.

Otterbein (11-3, 16-6) forward Jeff Gibbs had two more double-doubles for the week, giving him 17 in the last 18 games played. Gibbs had 15 points and 13 boards against John Carroll and 14 points and 10 boards against Capital. Meanwhile, guard Kevin Shay came off the bench to score had 20 points against John Carroll, going 6-for-8 from 3-point range.

Ohio Northern appears headed for the No. 2 seed for the OAC tournament after the Polar Bears (9-5, 13-8) downed Heidelberg 89-73 and Mount Union 78-72. Jeremy Thompson, the Polar Bears' all-time leading scorer, showed his ability to pass the ball as well in the Heidelberg win, dishing out a career-high 10 assists to go along with his 21 points. He added 24 points and six dimes in the win against Mount Union.

Meanwhile, Marietta and Capital might have played the game of the year in the OAC last Wednesday. The Pioneers needed three overtimes to subdue Capital 97-94 as OAC scoring leader Jesse DuPerow scored the game's final five points. DuPerow continued his monster season with 35 points, 17 of them in the overtime periods. He also grabbed 15 rebounds, dished out six assists and blocked four shots. Capital's Brad Howe hit seven three-pointers on his way to a 27-point performance, but it wasn't enough as the last-place Crusaders fell short in their bid for a third straight upset.

The long night against Capital may have taken some of the gas out of Marietta for its next game, as John Carroll knocked off the Pioneers on Saturday, 70-56. Blue Streaks' forward Paul Niermann helped engineer the upset, matching a career high with 18 points. Marietta is 8-6 in the OAC, 16-6 overall, their highest overall win total ever under eighth-year coach Doug Foote.

Last week, Penn State-Behrend cracked the Great Lakes regional coaches' poll for the first time. The Lions continued to strengthen their position with two more wins last week, defeating St. John Fisher 60-58 and Frostburg State 78-62 to extend their winning streak to 11 and giving them a 20-2 record for the season. Among Great Lakes teams, only Calvin and Wooster have won as many games as PSU-Behrend.

Bits and pieces: Kenyon's Chad Plotke scored 26 points as the Lords subdued Denison 88-75, then came back with a 24-point effort in a 66-62 win over Hiram. Baldwin-Wallace freshman forward Shawn McCormick continued his double-digit scoring streak with 24 points against Mount Union and 12 points against Muskingum last week. McCormick has scored in double figures in every game this season. Heidelberg senior center Kory Winkler had a season-high 26 points against Ohio Northern last week.

The MIAA women's basketball regular season championship comes down to a showdown Tuesday night in Holland, as league leader Hope hosts second-place Calvin. The Flying Dutch (13-2, 18-4) hold a half-game lead over the Knights (12-2, 17-5), who defeated Hope 56-54 in their first meeting on Jan. 15.

Last week, Hope stayed on top with two key wins against potential spoilers, defeating Defiance 53-47 and Kalamazoo 66-59. Senior Lisa Hoekstra stepped up big time in both wins, scoring 20 points against Defiance, then coming up with 27 points in the win against Kalamazoo.

Meanwhile, Calvin escaped from the jaws of a crushing upset in nipping Adrian 63-62 on Tuesday. The Knights trailed 62-55 with less than two minutes remaining, but freshman reserve guard Jennifer Plakmeyer hit two three-pointers, including the game-winner with 15 seconds remaining, as Calvin outscored the Lady Bulldogs 8-0 down the stretch. The Knights then subdued a fading Alma team on Saturday 61-52. Mindi Andringa scored 20 points for Calvin against Adrian, while Robyn Fennema matched that total in the Alma win.

No. 4 Baldwin-Wallace locked up the OAC regular-season title and top seed for the conference tournament by defeating Mount Union, 80-65, and Muskingum, 73-63. B-W (14-0, 21-1) has won 30 consecutive OAC regular-season games and 47 of its last 50 games overall, dating back to last season. Junior forward Jen Nance had 32 points and 17 boards in the Yellow Jackets' two wins.

No. 8 Capital, meanwhile, will have the No. 2 seed after wins over Marietta, 83-62 and Otterbein 79-70. The Crusaders (13-2, 20-3) got a career-high 25 points from senior guard Amy Strine against Marietta, while junior guard Marissa Rugg handed out a career-high 11 assists against Otterbein. Capital has now posted 11 consecutive 20-victory seasons under coach Dixie Jeffers.

Ohio Wesleyan sewed up a share of the NCAC regular season crown with wins over Earlham, 80-51, and Wittenberg, 72-62. Jessica Viertlboeck scored 20 points and Katy Sturtz added 19 points and nine rebounds in the win over Wittenberg. The Battling Bishops (12-2, 19-2), winners of eight straight, can clinch an outright championship by defeating Oberlin on Tuesday.

Kenyon (11-4, 17-6) holds down second place in the NCAC and can claim a share of the conference title by winning its last conference game and Ohio Wesleyan losing twice. The Ladies gutted out a 43-38 win over Wittenberg in a defensive struggle, overcoming 28 turnovers in the process, then held off Earlham, 59-56.

In the Heartland Conference, Franklin is trying to stave off a late charge by Wilmington for the regular season championship. The Quakers (8-2, 16-6) got back in the race last week by knocking off Franklin, 64-58, handing the Grizzlies (9-1, 14-8) their first HCAC loss of the season.

As a matter of fact, she DOES windows: Allegheny center Michelle Popovec had an unbelievable week on the boards, despite her team losing twice. The 6-foot sophomore center tied an NCAC single-game rebounding record with 25 boards in a 75-68 loss to Wooster Wednesday, then pulled down 17 more rebounds in a 59-48 loss to Denison. Oh yeah, she scored 38 points in the two games as she claimed conference player of the week honors.

Odds and ends: Heidelberg guard Rachael Poland had 26 points against Ohio Northern last week, the 10th time in her career she has gone for 25 or more points in a game. Poland has averaged 22 points over her last four games. Mount Union junior forward Keri Canning scored her 1,000th career point last Saturday, also against Ohio Northern. Anderson's Rachel Miller had 28 points, but she couldn't get her team to erase a winless record in HCAC play against Hanover, falling 65-58.

Saying goodbye to a legend: A little more than a week after notching her 400th career victory, longtime Muskingum women's basketball coach Donna Newberry announced that she would be stepping down at the end of the season.

In 26 seasons with the Lady Muskies, Newberry's teams posted a record of 401-216, made seven NCAA tournament appearances and won three Ohio Athletic Conference championships. Three times her team reached the Elite Eight of the NCAA Division III tournament, and her 1990-91 team reached the national championship game. She was named national D-III women's coach of the year that year by the Women's Basketball Coaches Association.

Newberry, who also has 477 wins as coach of the Muskingum women's softball team, is believed to be the only coach in Division III with 400 or more wins in two different sports. She will stay on as head softball coach, assistant athletic director and associate professor of health and physical education at Muskingum.

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