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| Aaron Toomey had a big night
from the foul line and beyond the arc in leading the defending
champs back to Salem. d3photography.com file photo by Cory Seward |
Amherst and Williams punched their ticket and will meet for a fourth time, this time for a berth in the 2014 Division III men's basketball national title game, as Amherst's national title defense continued.
Amherst pulled away from Morrisville State and Williams crushed Mary Washington to set up the rivals' final meeting of the year. The Ephs haven't lost to anyone other than Amherst since November.
No. 9 Williams had four scorers in double figures and held Mary Washington to a dismal 15-for-65 shooting in rolling past the 17th-ranked Eagles 79-46. Duncan Robinson had a double-double with 17 points and 14 rebounds, while Michael Mayer had 14 points and 12 boards of his own in the win.
Preseason prescienceThe top three teams in the preseason D3hoops.com Top 25 all made the Final Four, and the fourth was No. 13. |
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| # | School (1st votes) | Rec | Pts |
| 1 | Amherst (13) | 30-2 | 583 |
| 2 | Illinois Wesleyan (9) | 23-6 | 551 |
| 3 | Williams (1) | 26-5 | 501 |
| 4 | UW-Stevens Point (1) | 22-6 | 454 |
| 5 | Wheaton (Ill.) (1) | 21-7 | 418 |
| 6 | North Central (Ill.) | 28-4 | 414 |
| 7 | Mary Hardin-Baylor | 27-6 | 408 |
| 8 | Wooster | 24-6 | 390 |
| 9 | WPI | 26-3 | 362 |
| 10 | St. Mary's (Md.) | 27-4 | 356 |
| 11 | Washington U. | 21-6 | 322 |
| 12 | Whitworth | 26-4 | 318 |
| 13 | UW-Whitewater | 24-5 | 299 |
Amherst got all but 14 minutes from its starters, and three players were on the floor for all 40 minutes for the Lord Jeffs in the win. Aaron Toomey scored 31 points, including 6-for-9 shooting from beyond the arc. The seventh-ranked Lord Jeffs ended the first half on a 14-4 run to get some breathing room and led by as many as 20 in the second half.
The Ephs and Lord Jeffs met in the national semifinals in 2004. Amherst (27-3) has won all three meetings between the two this season, by 11, 12 and 11 points.
After Dickinson rallied to cut the halftime lead to five points, sixth-ranked Illinois Wesleyan came out of the locker room and scored the first seven points, then pulled away from the Red Devils to win 79-66 and book a trip to the Final Four. Andrew Ziemnik scored a team-high 18 points for the Titans, with Victor Davis chipping in 15. For IWU, it's the second Final Four trip in three seasons. Photo gallery.
It's the second in three years for UW-Whitewater as well. Down by one at the half, Whitewater turned things around with an 11-2 burst out of the locker room, turning the one point deficit to a 36-28 lead at the 15:56 mark. The No. 3 Warhawks got 27 points and 11 rebounds from guard KJ Evans as they ended Emory's tournament run with a 74-51 defeat. Jake Davis, the hero in Friday's Sweet 16 win vs. UW-Stevens Point, was held to 2-for-9 shooting and 14 points in the loss. Photo gallery.