Making their first appearance in the NCAA Championship game, the Flying Dutchmen of Lebanon Valley defeated the Violets of New York University, 66-59, in overtime, on March 19 in Buffalo, N.Y..
Lebanon Valley, with its enrollment of 850 students, was the smallest school in the 40-team field. New York University with its 49,000 students was the largest school in the field. The Flying Dutchmen used their aggressive style of defense to hold New York University to only 35% shooting from the field. Lebanon Valley jumped out to an eight point lead midway through the first half. NYU inched its way back, cutting the lead to three at halftime. The low scoring first half was evident of the tight defense played by both teams. With just under 20 seconds to play, the Violets took a two point lead. After Lebanon Valley's Mike Rhoades' shot was blocked, Jason Say tipped in the rebound and sent the game to overtime.
Co-Outstanding Player Mike Rhoades scored seven of his team high 20 points in overtime to lead the Flying Dutchmen to their first NCAA Championship. Adam Crawford, also Co-Outstanding Player, scored a game high 24 points for NYU. It was the first time in Division III tournament history that two players received the Outstanding Player award.
Watch the dramatic finish of the championship game below, courtesy of Lebanon Valley College.
Championship
Lebanon Valley 66, NYU 59 (OT)
(at Buffalo, N.Y., att. 2,419)
All-Tournament Team
Mike Rhoades, Lebanon Valley (Co-Outstanding Player)
Adam Crawford, NYU (Co-Outstanding Player)
Jonathan Gabriel, NYU
John Harper, Lebanon Valley
Matt Crod, Wittenberg
Third Place
Wittenberg 73, St. Thomas 62
National Semifinals
NYU 75, St. Thomas 68
Lebanon Valley 93, Wittenberg 83
Sectional Championships
NYU 67, at Albany 65
at St. Thomas 84, Greensboro 74
at Lebanon Valley 87, Amherst 79
at Wittenberg 91, Washington and Jefferson 65
Sectional Semifinals
NYU 80, Rowan 75 (OT)
Albany 60, Richard Stockton 54
Greensboro 104, Cal Lutheran 99
St. Thomas 80, Hampden-Sydney 66
Amherst 80, Franklin and Marshall 71
Lebanon Valley 83, Massachusetts-Dartmouth 62
Wittenberg 66, UW-Platteville 48
Washington and Jefferson 97, Illinois Wesleyan 82
Second Round
Rowan 70, Hunter 55
NYU 67, Geneseo State 55
Richard Stockton 74, New Jersey Tech 69
Albany (N.Y.) 84, St. John Fisher 72
Cal Lutheran 95, UC San Diego 81
Greensboro 90, Christopher Newport 77
St. Thomas (Minn.) 73, Central (Iowa) 62
Hampden-Sydney 95, Roanoke 80
Franklin & Marshall 87, Susquehanna 78
Amherst 80, Colby 77
Lebanon Valley 58, Johns Hopkins 48
Massachusetts-Dartmouth 82, Williams 78
UW-Platteville 76, UW-Whitewater 68
Wittenberg 86, Calvin 81
Illinois Wesleyan 79, Manchester 77
Washington and Jefferson 75, Kenyon 58
First Round
Hunter 79, Montclair State 74
St. John Fisher 77, Brockport State 72
UC San Diego 67, Pomona-Pitzer 66
Hampden-Sydney 91, Oglethorpe 79
Susquehanna 100, Cabrini 77
Williams 108, Worcester St. 88
UW-Platteville 78, Cornell (Iowa) 54
Washington and Jefferson 73, Otterbein 71