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Coverage of the men's Final Four

2000 tournament first-round games

St. Thomas 80, Nebraska Wesleyan 58
By Neil Coleman, D3hoops.com
ST. PAUL, Minn. -- Logic would tell you that a team that loses its leading scorer would be in for some offensive trouble. Don’t tell that to Mark Buri.

The sophomore point guard poured in a game-high 29 points Thursday night to lead St. Thomas (22-6) past the Nebraska Wesleyan Plainsmen 80-58 in a first-round NCAA Tournament game.

The Tommies announced Wednesday that senior forward and leading scorer Kip Sparby had been dismissed from the team for undisclosed disciplinary reasons.

It was Buri who picked up most of the slack. Buri, who had averaged 13.0 points per game during the regular season, scored 14 in the first half. He was deadly from inside and out, whether it was driving to the hoop or hitting 4 of 7 three-pointers.

But Buri did not just score points. His drives to the basket forced the defense to collapse around him. Many of his nine assists came from finding teammates that were then left open. He added seven steals as the spearhead of the Tommies pressure defense.

St. Thomas jumped out to an early 11-0 lead to open the game as Nebraska Wesleyan had trouble breaking the Tommies’ trapping press. The Plainsmen tied things up at 13-13 minutes later but a 14-2 Tommie run effectively sealed their fate.

"We didn’t attack their press like we would have liked to," said UNW coach Todd Raridon. "It looked like our first game, not our 26th. You can’t have 19 turnovers and give up 19 offensive rebounds and expect to win," Raridon said.

The pressure defense forced the Plainsmen into 13 first-half turnovers. St. Thomas had only one.

St. Thomas coach Steve Fritz downplayed any effect the loss of Sparby had on the team. "This isn’t the first time we’ve played without Sparby," Fritz said. "We played four games and won four games without him."

The Tommies dominated the boards, holding a 41-24 advantage for the game. "We knew we had to keep them off the boards and neutralize their inside game," Fritz said. "Any time you can hold a team under 60, you’ve done well."

St. Thomas will travel to play top-seeded Buena Vista on Saturday.

Hamilton 85, Endicott 68
By Stacey Persichetti, D3hoops.com
CLINTON, N.Y. -- Endicott coach Jaime Cosgrove knew his top player, Eric Simonelli had four fouls with 6:45 to go in tonight's first-round game.

So did the Hamilton College Continentals.

At that point in the first-round contest at the Scott Field House, Endicott only trailed Hamilton by six points.

Cosgrove also knew that taking the junior guard out of the game might have meant the end of the game, and the season, for the Commonwealth Coast champs.

"It's a situation where he's so valuable to us... if he did foul out we were obviously in troule," Cosgrove said.

"But if I took him out, I didn't know if we'd be able to get him back in... I couldn't be sure if after taking him out, we'd still be in the game."

So Cosgrove kept Simonelli in the game. He fouled out twenty-four seconds later.

"I just lost my head, Simonelli said. "I was thinking I only had three fouls. But you can't pinpoint one play and say that's why we lost."

But that fifth foul was all Hamilton College (19-7) needed to finally put the Power Gulls to sleep and win 85-68 to advance to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. They'll face Cortland State on Saturday for a spot in the Sweet 16.

Four Continentals hit double figures in the win. Sophomore Noah Hammond came up big inside and on the free-throw line. He led all scorers with 25 points and and grabbed 10 rebounds in just 22 minutes on the court while hitting all seven attempts from the line.

"It's great to have a good game," Hammond said. "Coach (Tom Murphy) always says let the game come to you. And tonight, it just came to me."

Jim McCarthy had 21 points, Jimmy Driggs had 14 and Brendan Ferretti chipped in with 12.

"I think it's our depth," head coach Tom Murphy said. "We got a great effort from some of our players. It's different guys every game."

Hamilton's relentless pressure defense and inside presence forced 21 Power Gull turnovers. Endicott had a lot of trouble getting the ball inside, got frustrated, and fouled the Continentals, sending them to the charity stripe 29 times. Hamilton converted on 22 of those free throws.

"With six or seven minutes left, I think they kind of ran out of gas," Murphy said.

Endicott also had four in double digits. Simonelli finished with 21 and five boards, while center Adam Lattanzi notched a double-double in the loss, grabbing 15 rebounds and scoring 14 points. Jamal Francis and Jason Diaz each scored 10.

The Power Gulls led until the 13-minute mark of the first half. But it was all Hamilton after that. Endicott caught up to the Continentals just once, and tied it up at 31 with 2:31 left before the intermission.

Simonelli was 4-for-6 from beyond the three-point arc, 3-for-3 from the line and had five rebounds and four assists. Without him, Endicott's numbers and confidence were visibly let down.

"I think that was the turning point in the game," Driggs said. "He's a really good player... that was a big loss for them."

Endicott, which was making its first trip to the NCAA Tournament, finishes at 18-10.

Franklin 81, Webster 50
By Jim Rodenbush, D3hoops.com
FRANKLIN, Ind. -- Paul Buening led five players in double figures with 16 points as No. 25 Franklin cruised past visiting Webster 81-50 in a NCAA first-round game before 1,300 at the Spurlock Center.

The Grizzlies (21-6) scored the game’s first seven points and never trailed in winning their tenth game in a row. With the victory, they advance to Saturday’s second round and will travel to play No. 1 Calvin.

Buening had 10 first-half points, including six during a 10-0 Franklin run midway through the first half that broke open a four-point game. He also added a jump shot just before the intermission, giving the Grizzlies a 34-19 halftime lead.

Jake Sappenfield added 13 points, Kyle Hobbs scored 12 and Jim Sigler and Billy Scott each had 11 for Franklin. Jeff Reis’ game-high 20 points led Webster (18-8), which was making its first-ever NCAA tournament appearance.

Keith Houston’s lone basket of the game brought the Gorloks to within 45-33 with 13:20 left in the second half. But the Grizzlies responded with a 16-2 run over the next 6:03 and had a commanding 26-point lead with just under eight minutes remaining. The final margin accounted for Franklin’s largest lead of the game.

Buening had a game-high 11 rebounds and four assists and was also six of seven shooting from the field, pacing the Grizzlies’ 56% night. The Gorloks shot just 34% from the field, including 3-for-15 from three-point range.

Franklin & Marshall 69, Baruch 46
LANCASTER, Pa. -- Senior guard Mike Ritacco scored 12 points and led four players into double figures as the 19th-ranked Diplomats (22-5) posted a 69-46 victory over Bernard Baruch College (19-9) in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

The Diplomats, who won their 12th consecutive game, also got 11 points from senior guard Mark Sadowski and 10 points each from sophomore center Alex Kraft and senior guard Jerome Maiatico.

Baruch, making its first tournament appearance, was led by junior guard Tyrone Cohen with 14 points and junior center Dave Thomas with 12 points and nine rebounds.

The Diplomats jumped out to an early lead and gradually pulled away for a 38-26 halftime advantage. Kraft led both teams with all of his 10 points while Sadowski, Ritacco and senior forward Dave Manzo each had seven points. Cohen led the Statesmen with nine points.

F&M extended the lead to 17 points (43-26) by scoring the first five points of the second half, including a conventional three-point play by Ritacco with 18:43 left. Baruch went on a 9-2 run to cut the lead to 10 with 13:10 left in the game on a Len Mitchell bucket.

The Diplomats then put the game away with a 10-3 run, capped by two Sadowski free throws, to extend the lead back to 17 points (55-38) with 9:20 left. Baruch never got closer than 16 points the rest of the way.

Franklin & Marshall was 6-for-8 from three-point range in the first half, en route to a 7-for-12 performance for the game. 20-for-28 from the foul line. Baruch shot only 31.9% from the floor, while Mitchell was held to five points (with a game-high nine turnovers), 14 below his average.

F&M, the third-seeded team from the Middle Atlantic Region, will advance to Saturday’s second-round game at Widener, beginning at 7:30 p.m. Widener (24-3) is the top-seeded team in the Middle Atlantic Region.

"They're very cocky offensively, shooting their imaginary guns after scoring, pointing at offensive players," said head coach Glenn Robinson about his next opponent. "If we can keep them from getting an offensive run going, we can keep the cockiness out of their game."

Scranton 87, Mt. St. Mary 66
SCRANTON, Pa. -- Senior forward Henry Condron scored 22 points and pulled down a season-high 16 rebounds to lead Scranton to a 78-66 victory against Mount St. Mary in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament Thursday evening at the John J. Long Center.

The Royals (18-10) also received 18 points and nine rebounds from freshman center Derek Elphick and 11 from junior guard Al Callejas to move into Saturday's second round at William Paterson.

Mount St. Mary, which ended its season at 18-10, was led by sophomore forward Michael Hernandez with 18 points and sophomore forward Luis Melo had 15 points and a game-high 17 rebounds.

Elphick scored 13 points and Condron added 10 as the Royals took a 38-35 lead at intermission. Davidson Louis scored 12 of his 13 points in the opening 20 minutes of play and Hernandez chipped in 11 to keep the Blue Knights in contention.

Condron sparked a 21-8 run by scoring eight points in the opening ten minutes of the second half as the Royals built their lead to 58-43. The closest Mount Saint Mary got the rest of the way was 11 points, 60-49, with 9:07 left on a free throw by Charles Knapp, who finished with 10 points, four rebounds, six assists and eight steals. Scranton took its largest lead 71-51 with 5:53 remaining on a pair of free throws by Condron.

Scranton shot 44.8% from the field in the second half en route to 42.9% for the game. Mount St. Mary struggled from the field, shooting only 25.6% in the second half and 33.3% for the game. The Blue Knights also had their problem from the free-throw line, canning just 10 of 23 attempts (43.5%).

Roanoke 83, Marymount 72 (OT)
Jason Strickland hit a three-pointer with 11 seconds to go in regulation sending the game into overtime where Roanoke dominated to pull out an 83-72 win over Marymount University in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. The Maroons are now 24-4 on the season and will play at Rowan at 7:00 p.m. Saturday in Glassboro, N.J.

With 1:07 left in regulation, Strickland had a chance to put the Maroons up by one with two shots from the free throw line, but he missed both. The Saints went to the other end of the floor and two foul shots from Terry Hoffman put them up by two, that with 28 ticks left in the second half. The Maroons were unable to get a good look at the basket until Brad Dunleavy drove to the hoop and found a wide open Strickland spotting up behind the three-point line. Strickland then drained his 12th three-pointer of the year sending the game to OT. In overtime, the Maroons outscored Marymount 14-3 and came away with their first NCAA win since the 1996 season.

With the game tied at 38 with 3:07 left in the first half, the Maroons went on a 4-0 run to close out the half and head into the locker rooms with a 42-38 lead. Before the Saints could hit a shot in the second half, the Maroons had pushed their lead to 13 points, 51-38. Marymount started a run of its own, keeping the Maroons off the board for the next three minutes and closing to within three points. MU would then tie the score at 55 with 9:43 to go in the second half. The lead would change hands six times in the remaining minutes of the second half before Strickland’s three-pointer this it at 69.

Four Maroons scored in double figures, led by junior Colby Leftwich who scored 15. He also had 11 rebounds in the game. Strickland finished the contest with 13 points and 14 rebounds, his fourth double-double of the season. Dunleavy and Paris Butler each tallied 14 points in the victory. With four three-pointers in the win, Butler set a Roanoke College record for most three-pointers in one season. He now has 77 on the season, one better than the old mark of 76. The Maroons pulled out the win despite shooting just 34.1% from the field. The Roanoke defense was strong as ever, forcing 31 MU turnovers and stealing the ball 18 times.

Hoffman scored 14 points in the game for the Saints and was joined atop MU’s scoring column by Bert Rueger and Dallas Crawley. Crawley also had 14 boards for the Saints, who finish their season with a 16-12 record. The Saints fired at a 52.0% clip from the field in the first half, but could only hit 34.6% of their attempts the rest of the way.

Pomona-Pitzer 65, Trinity (Texas) 62
SAN ANTONIO -- The Trinity University Tigers were defeated for the first time at home Thursday night as they fell in the first round of the NCAA Tournament to Pomona-Pitzer by a final score of 65-62. Trinity led 31-27 at the half.

The Tigers jumped out early to a 9-0 lead, which ballooned to 12 at one point; however, the Sagehens maintained their composure, and stayed in the game. With just over two minutes left in the half, Pomona-Pitzer had actually taken a one-point lead, before Trinity closed out the half with five unanswered points.

In the second half, the Tigers came out strong again, building their lead to as many as eight points, but again the Sagehens tied the game as quickly as the lead was built. With just over six minutes to go, Pomona-Pitzer took the lead for good after trading numerous buckets with the Tigers. Trinity came within one point after falling behind by five, but couldn't quite get over the hump.

The Sagehens' Jeremiah Martin led the way with a game-high 24 points. Martin also grabbed six rebounds and handed out two assists. Travis Bray also had 22 points for Pomona-Pitzer.

For Trinity, Quintin Mason led the team with 17 points. Seniors Mike Mataya and Ryan Hyslop put it all on the line in their final game, scoring 13 each. Mataya had a game-high nine rebounds, and Hyslop added eight boards and four assists off the bench.

Trinity shot poorly from the field, partly as a result of good defense by the Sagehens. The Tigers ended up at 38.1% compared to Pomona-Pitzer's 41.8%. Trinity was also stymied from long range, where they enjoyed so much success during the regular season, shooting only 18.2% (4-for-22).

The win was the first by a SCIAC team in the tournament since 1994.

Christopher Newport 68, Mississippi College 61
NEWPORT NEWS, Va. -- What a way to close Ratcliffe Gym.

Christopher Newport rallied from a 12-point deficit to score a 68-61 victory against Mississippi College in a first-round NCAA Tournament game Thursday night in the last game ever to be played in 33-year-old Ratcliffe.

Trailing 32-20 after a weak first half, CNU quickly tied the score at 36 on a thunderous dunk by Brandon Jones that produced a roar from the sellout crowd. The two teams battled evenly down the stretch until the Captains went on a 7-0 run to grab a 61-55 lead with 59 seconds to go. But the Choctaws answered with a jumper by Derrick Davis and a long three-pointer by Rusty Davis to close to within one again. But Jones scored, Aaron Morris converted a three-point play off a steal and Donte Henderson made it 68-60 to seal the win. The victory lifts the Captains into a second-round game at Catholic University on Saturday at 7:30.

CNU is now 25-2 and closes its Ratcliffe Gym history with a 286-92 record. The Captains were led by Jones' 21 points and sophomore Aaron Morris, who added 14. Rusty Chapman drilled in 26 for the Choctaws including 5-for-10 from three-point range, while Davis added 10. Mississippi College closes its season at 19-8.

Ohio Northern 74, Benedictine 66
ADA, Ohio -- Mike Kluse scored 25 points and Jeremy Thompson added 22 to lift Ohio Northern past Benedictine (Ill.) 74-66 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament Thursday evening at the ONU Sports Center. The Polar Bears (19-8) advance to the second round on Saturday, when they will travel to Wooster, who received a first round bye. Game time Saturday is 7:30 p.m.

Kris Oberdick added 14 points and six assists for ONU. The Eagles were led by Terry Frigo with 20 points, Burim Xheraj with 17 points and Bill Chura with 11 points. Neither team led by more than seven points for the first 33 minutes until ONU went on an 8-0 run to take a 59-49 lead with 6:35 left in the game. Thompson scored four free throws, Oberdick got a tip-in and Kluse hit a jumper in the run.

BU scored seven unanswered points on a three-pointer by Frigo, two free throws by Xheraj and two free throws by Brian Banks to get within 64-61 with 1:45 remaining. But Adam Davis to push the ONU advantage to 67-61 with 1:28 to play. Oberdick, Thompson and Derek Jackson hit seven of eight free throws down the stretch to ice the game.

"We played hard for 40 minutes," ONU head coach Joe Campoli said. "Our spurt put us ahead by 10, but our hard play over the course of the game was the difference. Our seniors stepped up and carried us. Benedictine is a solid team and played hard against us. I’m very glad to get out of here with a win."

It was ONU’s first NCAA Tournament victory since the Polar Bears won the NCAA Championship in 1992-93. Northern was 0-4 in NCAA play, all at home, in the last six years.

BU raced to an 12-4 advantage in the first 3:18, only to see Kluse score the next 13 points to help ONU take a 17-12 lead seven minutes in. Kluse scored 15 of ONU’s first 17 points of the game and held Frigo scoreless over that span.

The Eagle defense answered Kluse’s effort, holding Northern without a basket over the final 7:41 of the first half and took a 30-27 lead into intermission. A three-pointer by Davis tied the game at 42-42 and a basket by Thompson gave ONU the lead for good at 44-42 with 12:28 to play.

Northern’s 12-2 run ended with a dunk by Oberdick and it was 51-44 ONU at the 9:43 mark. Rick Piek hit a three and Frigo connected for a basket as the Eagles trimmed the Bear advantage to 51-49 with 8:42 to go. Northern won the rebounding battle 30-27 behind eight from Kluse. Xheraj grabbed a game-high nine and Frigo had eight caroms for BU.

Amherst 79, Western New England 77
AMHERST, Mass. -- Amherst junior Erik Kelly drained a three-pointer with 2:15 remaining, and the Jeff defense held for four possessions by Western New England College in the final minute to win a 79-77 thriller at LeFrak Gymnasium in the first round of the NCAA men's basketball tournament.

An offensive rebound and putback by Golden Bear forward Ryan Abraham, put WNEC within two, 79-77 with 1:41 remaining. The visitors had several chances to tie the game, but came up short.

Junior Eric Stewart could have knotted the game with 1:17 remaining, but missed both ends of a two-shot foul. After back-and-forth possessions, WNEC stopped the clock with 11.9 seconds remaining to set up a final play, but Jeff freshman Steve Zieja stole the ball on the inbounds play from Stewart and was fouled with 3.4 seconds to play. Zieja missed both free throws, but WNEC was unable to get a shot off before the final buzzer.

Amherst began the game on fire, hitting seven of their first nine shots, including three of their first four from downtown en route to a 21-8 lead. Amherst's biggest lead was 29-14, but the Jeffs lost momentum after Co-captain Chris Smith picked up his second foul. With Smith out of the game, WNEC used their size advantage in the frontcourt to outscore Amherst 25-13 over the rest of the half, including a 15-3 run as the Jeff shooters went cold. A Zieja three-pointer pushed the Amherst lead to 35-29 and the hosts led 42-39 at the half.

But the Golden Bears did not give up. After a quick 6-0 run by the Jeffs to start the half, WNEC battled back to tie the game 61-61 on two free throws by Andy Thornton. Zieja kept the Jeffs ahead with a three-point play to give the Jeffs a 64-61 lead, and after another tie, the freshman hit a three-pointer to give Amherst a 67-64 edge.

It was nearly not enough, as WNEC took its first lead of the game four minutes later, 72-71, on two foul shots from Stewart at the 4:45 mark. But a layup from Jeff Co-captain Hugh Quattlebaum at the 3:20-mark gave the Jeffs a 75-74 lead, one which they would not relinquish the rest of the way.

Zieja led six Amherst players in double figures with 17 points, and Quattlebaum played another stellar all-around game, finishing with 15 points, five boards, four assists and three steals. WNEC junior Lew Larabee led the visitors with 17 points to go along with seven boards, while Stewart added 16 points and a game-high 10 boards.

Amherst moves to 18-0 all-time against WNEC with their second win against the Bears this season, and the Jeffs will travel to second-seeded Salem State College on Saturday for the second round of the NCAA Tournament. The Golden Bears end their season at 22-6, equaling their win total over the prior three seasons and one win shy of their all-time record.

BOX SCORE
WNEC (77) Larabee 6-13 3-6 17; Stewart 5-8 6-11 16; Abraham 5-8 4-5 14; Keane 3-9 2-2 9; Thornton 1-2 5-5 7; Krepcio 2-5 0-0 5; O'Connor 1-6 2-2 5; Manning 1-1 2-2 4. Totals 24-52 24-33 77
Amherst (79) Zieja 5-10 5-7 17; Quattlebaum 5-11 4-4 15; Smith 5-10 1-111; Kelly 4-12 1-3 11; Daoust 4-9 0-0 10; Collins 5-9 0-010; Faulkner 2-3 0-0 4; Sexson 0-0 1-2 1; Fitzsimons 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 30-65 12-17 79
3-point goals-WNEC 5-14 (Larabee 2-5; O'Connor 1-2; Krepcio 1-4; Keane 1-3), Amherst 7-21 (Daoust 2-5; Kelly 2-7; Zieja 2-3; Quattlebaum 1-4; Faulkner 0-1; Collins 0-1). Fouled out-A Smith. Rebounds-WNEC 42 (Stewart 10), Amherst 30 (Smith 8). Assists-WNEC 16 (O'Connor 5), Amherst 17 (Daoust, Quattlebaum 4). Total fouls-WNEC 17, Amherst 22. Attendance-1290

Ripon 58, St. John's 55
RIPON, Wis. -- For the second consecutive year Ripon has advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament, as they defeated St. John's 58-55 in a first round matchup at Ripon.

About the only thing that went right for the Red Hawks (19-6) in the first two minutes of the game was that they won they tip, as St. John's opened up the game with an 8-0 run. The burst was led by two three-point buckets by St. John's Luke Witt.

Ripon got on the board with just over 17 minutes to go in the first half when Steve Kohl connected on a three. After another Witt trey, Steve Brooks picked up a three-pointer for the Red Hawks to cut the Johnnies' lead to 11-6.

With St. John's up 18-13, Kohl dished out two consecutive assists to Jeff Massen to pull Ripon within one at 18-17. Troy Bigalke responded for St. John's (20-7), connecting from long range to lift their lead back up to four.

After two free throws by Mike Nester, St. John's pushed their lead back up to eight points at 29-21. The Red Hawks responded with a 7-0 run to cut lead to 29-28. Once again St. John's responded with a trey, this time by Ryan Dusha, and upped their lead back up to 32-28. At the intermission, the Johnnies led by a score of 34-31.

The second half started very similar to the first, as the Johnnies scored the first seven points to push their lead to 41-31. Brett Vraney provided a spark for the Red Hawks, as he picked up two straight lay-ins to cut the St. John's lead to 46-44 before Bigalke pushed it back to seven.

At this point Red Hawk Josh Glocke took over. The sophomore guard scored nine of the Red Hawks next 11 points and gave Ripon their first lead at 53-51 on two free throws with 4:10 in the contest. After Glocke's flurry, the Red Hawks grabbed a 57-53 lead.

St. John's suffered a devastating blow when their leading scorer, Bigalke, committed his fifth personal foul with 2:07 to play. The Johnnies would not go down without a fight, however, as they closed the lead to 57-55 and had the ball with 28 seconds to play. However Ripon, who switched to a zone defense in the second half, put forth their best defensive stand of the game and forced St. John's to throw the ball away without attempting a shot.

Jeff Massen made one of two free throws with four seconds left to push the Ripon lead to 58-55. St. John's desperation three was off the mark and the Red Hawks picked up the win.

Glocke led the Red Hawks scoring attack with 15 points, including a clutch 7-for-7 from the charity stripe. Massen had a double-double for the Hawks as he scored 13 points and pulled down ten boards. The Red Hawks shot just 36% from the floor, but made 17 of 22 free throws.

The Johnnies were led by Bigalke's 17 points, but he was just 6-for-16 from the floor. Witt hit for 13 points, including three treys. Mike Nester chipped in 10 points and 11 rebounds. The Johnnies were 8-for-8 from the stripe, but did not shoot a free throw in the second half.

Ripon faces bracket top-seed Chicago this Saturday in the second round.

Springfield 80, Eastern Connecticut State 75
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. -- Sophomore forward Michael Parker scored 21 points and freshman guard David White added a career-high 19 to lead host Springfield College to an 80-75 victory against Eastern Connecticut State University in a first round game of the NCAA Tournament March 2 before 1,124 fans at Blake Arena.

Springfield, the NEWMAC Tournament champion, will play Williams College at 7:30 p.m. March 4 in Williamstown, Mass..

Parker, the NEWMAC Player-of-the-Year, made 9-of-10 free throws, pulled down eight rebounds, and had four assists, two blocked shots, and a steal. White was 7-for-9 from the floor. The Pride also received a tremendous lift from senior guard and team co-captain Randy Alexander who came off the bench to contribute 16 points (6-for-9 from the field) and seven rebounds in 23 minutes in his final home appearance. Alexander had missed the last six games with a thigh injury.

Springfield led 35-31 at halftime and extended its margin to 51-43 on Parker's basket with 10:27 left. The Pride maintained its advantage and appeared in control after two free throws by junior guard Lydell Capers made the score 69-58 with 1:34 remaining.

The Warriors, the Little East Tournament champion, scored 17 points in the final minute and a half highlighted by four three-pointers, including a four-point play by senior guard Ronell John (11 points off the bench) that cut the margin to 77-73 with 11.7 seconds left. Senior forward Tom Gostomski made a basket that pulled ECSU within three at 78-75 with four seconds remaining before two free throws by Parker with 2.8 seconds left completed the scoring.

Sophomore guard Rich Vega led five Eastern players in double figures with 21 points before fouling out while Gostomski finished with 14 points.

Springfield shot 54.9% from the field while ECSU made only 39.2% of its attempts. The Warriors outscored the Pride from the field (29-28) and made 13 of 32 three-pointers. Springfield, however, connected on 20-of-29 free throws while Eastern Connecticut sank only 4-of-9 charity shots. SC held a 39-34 advantage off the boards.

This was Springfield's first win in a national tournament since 1986 when the Pride defeated Saint Anselm College in a regional third-place contest in the NCAA Division II New England Championship. SC, which is making its fourth playoff appearance in five years, had lost its opening-round NCAA Division III Tournament games in 1996, 1997, and 1998.

Penn State-Behrend 64, Alvernia 60
Penn State-Behrend advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament, defeating Alvernia 64-60 in Erie Hall. Behrend will travel to Rochester, N.Y., to play RIT (20-5) on March 4 at 7:30 p.m.

The Lions and Crusaders (18-10) traded baskets before Behrend shooting guard Matt Keith took over. Keith hit back-to-back three-pointers and followed with a steal and pull-up jumper to break open an even game. Penn State-Behrend (24-3) led at the half 39-25 with Keith, Andy Lawrence and Ashley Orris combining for 31 points.

With 3:53 in the second half, Lawrence hit two key free throws to maintain Behrend’s lead. The teams traded buckets before Alvernia’s Keith Lambert drove the lane and cut the Behrend advantage to two. Penn State Behrend’s Orris made two free-throws at the 1:01 mark, and then Lambert followed with another drive to make it 62-60.

With the game in its waning seconds, Behrend went to their main man Chris Hughes. Hughes pumped, drove, and hit another big shot to stretch the lead to four points. The Behrend Lions defense forced a turnover and the blue, white and red advanced to the second round with a 64-60 win.

For the game, the Behrend Lions shot 48% from the field with Keith hitting 6-for-9 from long distance for a game-high 20 points. Lawrence added 13, Hughes had 11 and Orris earned 10 points, had 6 rebounds and 6 assists.

The twenty-four wins this season is a school record, eclipsing the mark of 21 established last season. The blue, white and red are 10-2 in Erie Hall this year. They have won 45 of their last 55 contests.

UW-Eau Claire 72, Concordia (Wis.) 54
EAU CLAIRE, Wis. -- Hitting a season-high 11 three-pointers, UW-Eau Claire defeated Concordia University 72-54 in an NCAA Tournament first-round game at the W. L. Zorn Arena. The victory moves the Blugolds, now 23-5 for the season, into Saturday's second-round game against Carthage (22-3) in Kenosha. Game time is 7:30 p.m.

After a low-scoring first half, Eau Claire came to life in the final 20 minutes to hit 17 of 25 shots from the field and outscore Concordia, which ended its season 12-16, by a 42-29 margin. The Blugolds broke from a slim 34-32 advantage with a 12-0 run during a six-minute span early in the second half. After taking the 46-32 lead, the Blugolds never allowed Concordia, the Lake Michigan Conference automatic qualifier, to get closer than nine thereafter. At that point (54-45), the Blugolds went on another run of 8-0 to seal the win.

The Blugolds' size with 6-8 Jon Wallenfelsz, 6-6 Sherm Carstensen and 6-6 Dave Mellenthin proved too much for the Falcons as they were held to 32% shooting from the field and outrebounded 38-32. The Blugolds were content to shoot over Concordia's zone defense and 27 of their 50 shots came from beyond the arc.

Carstensen led the way for the Blugolds with 26 points including five treys while Wallenfelsz chipped in with 11 points and five blocked shots. Todd Marks led the Blugolds on the boards with 11 while Mellenthin pulled seven caroms and Carstensen and Wallenfelsz six each. Omar Lowery paced Concordia with 16 points and seven boards while Biaya Kadima scored 12 with six rebounds, five steals and five assists.

BOX SCORE
Eau Claire (Fg-Fga Ft-Fta Pts) Fermanich 3-7 0-0 9, Marks 0-2 0-0 0, Mellenthin 3-7 0-0 7, Carstensen 10-17 1-2 26, Wallenfelsz 5-6 1-4 11, Konkol 1-1 0-0 2, Larson 0-0 0-0 0, Kassing 1-2 0-0 2, Syrjala 1-2 1-2 4, Johnson 1-3 0-0 3, Schultz 0-0 0-1 0, Witte 1-1 0-0 2, Schneeberger 0-0 0-0 0, Jacobson 2-2 2-2 6. Totals 28-50 5-11 72.
Concordia (Fg-Fga Ft-Fta Pts) Savatovic 1-7 0-0 2, Suhajda 1-2 1-1 3, Kadima 4-16 3-5 12, Dykstra 1-5 3-4 5, Lowery 7-18 2-4 16, Campbell 0-0 0-0 0, Barnes 1-4 0-0 3, Stempniewski 2-3 0-0 5, Revolinski 0-0 0-0 0, Jones 1-1 0-0 3, Roasa 1-3 2-2 4, Melcher 0-0 1-2 1. Totals 19-59 12-18 54.
Three-Point Shots: Eau Claire 11-27 (Carstensen 5-11, Fermanich 3-6, Mellenthin 1-3, Marks 0-1, Kassing 0-1, Syrjala 1-2, Johnson 1-3). Concordia 4-15 (Kadima 1-4, Barnes 1-4, Stempniewski 1-2, Jones 1-1, Suhajda 0-1, Savatovic 0-3). Rebounds: Eau Claire 38 (Marks 11, Mellenthin 7, Carstensen 6, Wallenfelsz 6). Concordia 32 (Lowery 7, Kadima 6). Assists: Eau Claire 27 (Mellenthin 6, Fermanich 5, Carstensen 5). Concordia 10 (Kadima 5). Turnovers: Eau Claire 15, Concordia 14.
Halftime: Eau Claire 30, Concordia 25. Records: Eau Claire 23-5, Concordia 12-16.

Lewis & Clark 77, Pacific 75
PORTLAND, Ore. -- A timely three-pointer and good free throw shooting down the stretch propelled host Lewis & Clark to a 77-75 come-from-behind victory against Pacific in the first round of the NCAA Tournament at Pamplin Sports Center Thursday night. The win for the No. 22 Pioneers (21-5) clinched a second-round matchup at No. 7 Wisconsin-Stevens Point (23-4) on Saturday, March 4 at 5:00 p.m. PST.

Jeff Auxier nailed a three-pointer from the right wing with 53 seconds remaining to put the Pioneers in front for good at 73-71. Auxier had gone 1-for-his-last-9 shots from the field until making the big trey. Another key was the Pios' ability to hit from the charity stripe in the final 7:45, making 15 consecutive free throws before missing two meaningless attempts with :08 left.

With 21 lead changes and 11 ties, the game between these Northwest Conference rivals was as closely contested and intensity-filled as their two previous meetings during the regular season when Lewis & Clark won both by seven points. Neither team could muster more than a six-point cushion.

Scott Davis, Todd Meyerding and Colin Oriard scored game-highs of 18 points apiece to lead the Pioneers. Josh Ulmer added 13 points, a career-high seven rebounds, three assists and three steals. Auxier finished with seven points and eight rebounds. Pacific's talented senior guard Connelly Eseman led five Boxers in double figures with 14 points, followed by Seth Miller and Anthony Boyd with 13 each; Scott Hamre, 11; and Jeremy Vernon, 10. Eseman made 7 of 11 field goal attempts to go along with six rebounds, four assists and two steals.

Pacific ends its season at 16-9. Both teams have made their first-ever appearance in the NCAA Tournament in just their second full year of NCAA membership, and Lewis & Clark becomes the first NWC school to reach the second round.

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