| Elms and Edgar Martinez blocked someone's path to
the NCAA Tournament by defeating Becker 79-65 on Saturday. Elms athletics file photo |
If you're nervous about the men's NCAA Tournament bubble (Carleton, Wabash) then it didn't get better for you Saturday afternoon. Elms defeated Becker, the No. 4 team in the Northeast Region rankings, 79-65 to win the NECC men's basketball automatic bid.
- Saturday's men's schedule
- Saturday's women's schedule
- Selection Monday
- Who's clinched? Men's | Women's
We're keeping you up to date on who's clinched automatic bids with the links above, plus scoreboards.
Wooster may have helped the status quo and the bubble seekers with an 82-68 win against Wittenberg in the NCAC finals. Ian Franks led the way for the Scots with 25 points on 8-for-13 shooting.
UW-Stevens Point used a 15-0 run and stellar three-point shooting to rout UW-River Falls in the WIAC championship game 79-56. The Pointers hit 15 3-pointers and notched their 12th win of the season by 20-plus points.
La Roche won the Allegheny Mountain College Conference title over Penn State-Behrend 55-53 despite not scoring a field goal for the final 5:33 of the game. The Redhawks will enter the NCAA tournament with an impressive 24-2 record. Rhode Island College is headed to the NCAA tournament for the fifth consecutive year after beating Eastern Connecticut 62-49 in the Little East final.
| Delaware Valley seems happy to have a chance to
continue its season. Delaware Valley athletics photo |
For all the parity in the Mid Atlantic region, the conference playoffs have played out according to seed. St. Mary's (Md.), the top seed in the CAC, had little trouble with Wesley, opening up a big early lead and cruising to the 97-65 win. Sam Burum led the way with 20 points while the Seahawks shot 13-for-23 from 3-point range. Delaware Valley punched its first ticket to the Division III NCAA Tournament behind yet another dominant performance from James Jones. The guard poured in 32 points on 9-for-19 shooting and was perfect on 13 foul shots in a 79-58 win against DeSales.
Alvernia got a three-point play from Cory Boone late against Lebanon Valley to tie the game at 51 and then another from Brian Nerney to take the lead. The Crusaders hung on for their first Middle Atlantic Commonwealth conference championship 57-55. Franklin and Marshall and Dickinson advanced through the Centennial Conference semifinals.
In the East region, Skidmore won its first berth into the NCAA tournament in its 27-year history by beating Hamilton 68-52. Buffalo State beat Brockport State 67-50 for its 18th SUNYAC championship but its first in eight years. The Bengals will enter the NCAA tournament on an 11-game winning streak.
Lamonte Thomas put up another big number with 33 points in Johnson and Wales' 76-66 win against St. Joseph's (Maine) to win the GNAC title. Husson won the NAC while Bridgewater State knocked off Salem State 91-73 in the MASCAC final.
Augustana held serve in the CCIW, crushing Illinois Wesleyan 76-52 behind Brian DeSimone's 18 points on 7-for-10 shooting. The Vikings held the Titans to 2-for-15 shooting from 3-point range. Luther earned its first trip to the NCAA Tournament since 1984 with a 57-48 win against Dubuque. Luther hadn't even made the Iowa Conference tournament for four years in a row.
In the NESCAC semifinals, Middlebury rallied to beat Amherst 67-61. The Panthers took their first lead on Joey Kizel's layup with 1:43 left. Kizel and Ryan Sharry scored the game's final eight points for Middlebury who will play host Williams in the final tomorrow. The Ephs defeated Trinity (Conn.) 79-69 in the first semifinal.
Randolph continued its run in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference, knocking off Virginia Wesleyan 80-76 to advance to the conference final. Colton Hunt led the way with 25 points on 9-for-15 shooting. Randolph-Macon advanced past Eastern Mennonite to meet the Wildcats in the title game and put the Royals squarely on a bit of a shrinking bubble.