Tommie teams advance, Gustavus falls in D-III Basketball Tournament
http://miac-online.org/news/2012/3/2/BB_0302125845.aspx
ST. PAUL, Minn. -- The University of St. Thomas got off to a
great start in NCAA Division III Basketball Tournament play Friday
night, with both its men's and women's teams winning to advance to
the second round, while the MIAC's other team in the field - the
Gustavus men's team - suffered a close loss to end its season.
The Tommie men (22-6) won its second-straight overtime game - this
time a 76-74 victory over Claremont-Mudd-Scripps - to successfully
start its national title defense in Whitewater, Wis. The St. Thomas
women (27-1) treated the home crowd in St. Paul to a 71-58 victory
over Martin Luther for their 27th-straight win, and the Gustavus
men (20-8) lost a 68-60 game to Wheaton just across the border in
River Falls, Wis.
With just nine seconds left in overtime, St. Thomas guard John
Nance made two free throws to break a 74-74 tie with the eventual
winning points as C-M-S missed a 3-pointer with one-second left to
give the Tommies their first-round win in the men's bracket. Will
DeBerg continued his great postseason with 19 points and four
3-pointers, Zach Riedeman scored 13 off the bench, Noah Kaiser had
12 points and seven rebounds and Erik Tengwall scored 11
points.
The women's win was a little less stressful for UST fans as the
Tommies scored the game's first eight points and led 15-3 almost
nine minutes into the game. Martin Luther roared back and even led
by four points in the second half, but another big run - this time
a 13-0 spurt - to regain control. Maggie Weiers led the Tommies
with a 15-point, 11-rebound double-double. Taylor Young had 14
points and eight boards and Sarah Smith chipped in with 10 points
and seven rebounds.
Unfortunately, Gustavus wasn't quite as lucky in its first-round
game. Wheaton built a 28-23 lead at halftime and built that lead to
as many as 14 points in the second half, but the Gusties battled
back and pulled within three points. However, Gustavus couldn't get
any closer than that as Wheaton held on. MIAC Player-of-the-Year
Seth Anderson ended his college career with a 22-point performance,
while the conference's Sixth-Man-of-the-Year, Jim Hill, had a
13-point, 10-rebound double-double in the loss.
Both Tommie teams will take the court again Saturday night with a
trip to the Sweet 16 on the line. The UST men will face the host of
its first- and second-round games, UW-Whitewater, Saturday in
Whitewater at 7 p.m. The Warhawks beat Northwestern, 83-68, to set
up the second-round showdown between the two schools, which also
met in the 2011 NCAA Division III Football Quarterfinals. There
will be live video,
audio
and stats
available for fans to follow the action online.
The St. Thomas women are on their home floor for one more game,
where they are a perfect 14-0 this season and winners of 27 games
in a row. The Tommies will host Coe, which beat UW-River Falls
Friday by the score 72-61. The game tips off Saturday at 7 p.m. and
there will be live video
and audio for fans who can't make the trip to the UST campus in
St. Paul.
For complete details, visit the interactive brackets (men
- women)
for the 2012 NCAA Division III Basketball Tournaments.
2012 NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Tournament
First Round - Friday, March 2
St. Thomas 76, Claremont-Mudd-Scripps 74 (OT) | Box Score | UST Recap |
Wheaton 68, Gustavus 60 | Box
Score | GAC
Recap |
Second Round - Saturday, March 3
St. Thomas @ UW-Whitewater | 7 p.m. | Whitewater, Wis. | Live: Video - Audio - Stats |
2012 NCAA Division III Women's Basketball Tournament
First Round - Friday, March 2
St. Thomas 71, Martin Luther 58 | Box Score | UST Recap |
Second Round - Saturday, March 3
Coe @ St. Thomas | 7 p.m. | St. Paul, Minn. | Live Video/Audio |
