Posting Up - Scoreboard - Top 25 - Features - Notables - Team of the Week - Live Audio

Salem

About the 2002 Division III
men's basketball tournament

Clark 75, Catholic 72
WASHINGTON — Dave McNamara scored a team-high 18 points and Trevor Walker added 17 as Clark University slipped past defending national champion Catholic University 75-72 in an Atlantic Sectional semifinal at DuFour Center on Friday.

The win avenges the Cougars' (23-5) loss to Catholic in the Northeast Sectional final last year and sets up a matchup with Elizabethtown here Saturday at 7 p.m. The winner advances to the Division III Final Four next Friday in Salem, Va.

"To beat Catholic was kind of special," said Clark head coach Paul Phillips. They beat us last year and to come down and beat them on their court is kind of ironic."

CUA, suffering its first home loss this season, finished 26-3. Matt Hilleary led the Cardinals with 17 points, 10 rebounds, three blocks and three steals. It was his 13th double-double of the year.

Tied at 72, the Cards turned the ball over twice in the final 50 seconds. After a steal by Rob Skowyra, Chris Bagdis hit one of two free throws to give Clark a 73-72 lead with 25 seconds to go. Trevor Walker notched another steal, was fouled and hit two free throws with six seconds left.

Skowyra blocked Bobby Henning's final 3-point attempt to send the Cougars to their second consecutive Elite Eight. Skowyra registered eight points, seven rebounds, three assists and two steals. Bagdis finished with 14 points and a team-high 10 rebounds. Henning had eight points and eight assists.

William Morley led CUA with a game-high 20 points and seven boards. His layup with 9:44 remaining handed the Cardinals their final lead of the game, 58-57. McNamara, who hit 5 of 10 from the 3-point line, answered with a trey and Sean Fleming's two free throws put Clark up 62-58 at the 7:24 mark.

"When guys start knocking shots off like that," said Phillips, "you start paying more attention and it makes it a lot easier to drive to the hoop."

CUA shot an uncharacteristic 57.1% (12-for-21) from the foul line, its worst performance of the season. Clark hit 18 of 25 (72.0%), with their final four points coming from the line. The Cougars, who led 36-33 at halftime, were 11 of 25 (44.0%) from beyond the arc, while the Cards were just 6 of 19 (31.6%).

"It was a frustrating loss," said Catholic head coach Mike Lonergan, "our free throws were out of control. That game was lost in the last 10 minutes."

CUA's winning percentage of 89.7 is a school record.

Contact Us
About us
Feedback
Privacy Policy
Send Game Scores
Send Press Releases
Team of Week Nominations
User Survey