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| Duncan Robinson scored a
game-high 30 points and Williams held Aaron Toomey to just three
points in his final game. Photo by Eric Kelley, d3photography.com |
KJ Evans scored a career-high 30 points for UW-Whitewater and freshman Duncan Robinson poured in 30 for Williams as their teams each secured their place in the 2014 Division III men's basketball championship game with wins in Friday's semifinals.
Evans' night helped lift the Warhawks to the title game for the second time in three years, as UW-Whitewater defeated Illinois Wesleyan 71-63. Immediately afterward, Williams ended an eight-game losing streak to Amherst in impressive fashion, rolling to a 98-69 win.
Amherst All-American point guard Aaron Toomey was held scoreless in the first half as Williams built a 45-32 lead going into the locker room. And the Ephs (28-4) didn't let up, either, scoring the first 11 points of the second half to put Amherst into a deep hole from which it would not recover.
For Whitewater (28-4), Evans scored 20 of his 30 in the second half. Illinois Wesleyan used an 11-1 run to cut a 13-point deficit down to 62-59 with 2:26 left in the game. But Evans hit a pair of free throws to extend the lead to five and Eric Bryson finished a fast break with a layup to extend the lead to seven and put the Titans (27-5) away.
Illinois Wesleyan was held to 5-for-23 from 3-point range as it lost for the fifth time in six trips to the national semifinals.
UW-Whitewater will be trying for its fourth Division III basketball national championship, which would tie the Warhawks with UW-Platteville for the second-most in Division III history, one behind North Park. Williams, the 2003 national champion, will be playing for its second title.