The Salem Rotary Club announced the 20 finalists for Division III's premier award recognizing excellence on and off the court. The men's and women's award winner will be introduced on Thursday, March 14.
The defending women's national champion, two 20-win men's teams are among the 14 teams spanning from Maine to Oregon converging on Las Vegas for the 2014 D3hoops.com Classic.
The warrior culture synonymous with American Samoans often translates to football success. But the “skinny basketball Samoans” at Willamette are applying that same attitude and work ethic.
Willamette has hired Rob Passage, who has spent the past 10 years as head men's basketball coach at Kalamazoo, as athletic facilities and operations manager,
Ryan Meehan scored 24 points, Terrell Malley added 23 points and Willamette University hit 13 of 23 three-pointers in a 92-66 victory over Linfield College.
Willamette was in front of the University of Oregon, 19-18, with 10:12 left in the first half, but the Ducks outscored the Bearcats, 26-7, over the final 7:45 of the half to build a 51-31 halftime lead.