2004 Division III men's basketball tournament

Jason Kalsow finished with 24 points, including this jumper for the final score of the Division III men's basketball season. 
Photo by Ryan Coleman, D3sports.com

2004 NCAA Tournament coverage

Jason Kalsow hit a fallaway 13-footer from the right elbow with 0.2 seconds remaining to give UW-Stevens Point the win in the men's national championship game, knocking off defending champion Williams 84-82. It was easily the best finish to a title game since UW-Platteville and Hampden-Sydney went to two overtimes in 1999.

Williams led 79-78 with 3:09 left when a block by Nick Bennett and an eventual Tamaris Relerford steal led to a Bennett jumper with 2:38 left. Following a 30-second timeout, Chuck Abba nailed a 3-pointer from the right wing to give the Ephs a two-point lead. The Ephs would not score again.

Eighteen seconds later, Kalsow drove to the hoop and scored to tie the game with 1:17 to play. Williams took a timeout with 52 seconds remaining and Tucker Kain, who had hit six of 12 attempts from beyond the arc, missed his final try. Bennett finished with a game-high 30.

Bennett hit 12-of-19 shots from the floor including 3-for-5 from three-point range. The junior forward also pulled down five rebounds and blocked three shots en rote to Most Outstanding Player honors. Kalsow, also named to the All-Tournament Team, was the only other Pointer in double figures as he poured in 24 points and pulled down nine caroms, while dishing out six assists. Williams was led by Kain who had 23 points and eight rebounds. Abba tallied 21 points and five rebounds while Michael Crotty and Ben Coffin chipped in with 15 and 10 points respectively. Crotty and Kain's efforts placed them on the All-Tournament Team for the weekend.

UW-Stevens Point (29-5) jumped out to a 12-6 lead early in the game, including four points by Kalsow. The Ephs then went on a run of their own, scoring 14 of the next 20 points to go up 20-18 with 11:01 left in the half. The Pointers entered the locker room up 38-33 at the half after shooting 47.1% from the floor in the opening frame. In the second half, the Pointers stretched the lead to 11 points with 16:27 left in the game on a layup by Kalsow. Crotty put the Ephs on top, 61-59, with a three pointer at the 11:17 mark, but a 15-foot jumper by Bennett with 10:43 remaining tied the game at 65. The teams traded baskets throughout the rest of the game, but Kalsow's jumper in the final second was the season-ending margin.


 Championship
Wis.-Stevens Point 84, Williams 82
at Salem, Va.
Audio: Hear the conclusion (Rick Seidel and Ray Martel, Jr.)

All-Tournament Team
Nick Bennett, UW-Stevens Point (Most Outstanding Player)
Jason Kalsow, UW-Stevens Point
Tucker Kain, Williams
Michael Crotty, Williams
Jerry Angel, Wooster

Third-Place Game
John Carroll 96, Amherst 85

National Semifinals
Williams 86, Amherst 81
UW-Stevens Point 87, John Carroll 62

Sectional championships
UW-Stevens Point 82, Lawrence 81 (OT)
John Carroll 70, Wooster 64
Williams 79, Keene State 64
Amherst 82, Franklin and Marshall 70

First Round
March 4		 Second Round
March 6		 Sectionals at Puget Sound
March 12-13
at 8 Pomona-Pitzer 79
10 Colorado College 55		 at 1 Puget Sound 89
8 Pomona-Pitzer 75		 1 Puget Sound 79
5 UW-Stevens Point 100
9 Benedictine 58
at 5 UW-Stevens Point 84		 at 4 Gustavus Adolphus 55
5 UW-Stevens Point 66
12 University of Dallas 67
at 7 Sul Ross State 71		 at 3 Trinity (Texas) 72
7 Sul Ross State 74 (OT)		 7 Sul Ross State 79
6 Lawrence 86 (OT)
11 Lakeland 51
at 6 Lawrence 86		 at 2 Buena Vista 66
6 Lawrence 72
First Round Second Round Sectionals at Wooster
9 Calvin 77
at 8 John Carroll 88		 at 1 Wittenberg 65
8 John Carroll 84		 8 John Carroll 76
4 Maryville (Tenn.) 74
10 Methodist 50
at 5 Randolph-Macon 51		 at 4 Maryville (Tenn.) 75
5 Randolph-Macon 68
12 Maryville (Mo.) 73
at 6 Illinois Wesleyan 82		 at 3 Hanover 67
6 Illinois Wesleyan 77		 6 Illinois Wesleyan 53
2 Wooster 58
11 Potsdam State 60
at 7 Penn State-Behrend 58		 at 2 Wooster 70
11 Potsdam State 56
First Round Second Round Sectionals at Williams
9 Lasell 66
at 5 Trinity (Conn.) 72		 at 4 Brockport State 80
5 Trinity (Conn.) 76		 4 Brockport State 50
1 Williams 78
12 Johnson and Wales 80
at 7 Salem State 94		 at 1 Williams 91
7 Salem State 77
11 St. John Fisher 90
at 8 Hamilton 83		 at 2 Rochester 75
11 St. John Fisher 66		 2 Rochester 79
3 Keene State 82
10 Babson 66
at 6 Endicott 56		 at 3 Keene State 79
10 Babson 55
First Round Second Round Sectionals at F&M
11 Lehman 68
at 8 Lycoming 74		 at 4 New Jersey City 74
8 Lycoming 67		 4 New Jersey City 74
1 Amherst 92
12 Castleton State 57
at 7 Plymouth State 75		 at 1 Amherst 113
7 Plymouth State 85
9 Elizabethtown 71
at 5 Hampden-Sydney 74		 at 3 Franklin & Marshall 78
5 Hampden-Sydney 76		 3 Franklin & Marshall 92
2 Gwynedd-Mercy 74
10 SUNY-Old Westbury 50
at 6 Catholic 75		 at 2 Gwynedd-Mercy 74
6 Catholic 72 (OT)

*D3hoops.com ranked teams in each bracket 1-12 because the NCAA did not release seedings for this year's tournament. Our seedings are unofficial and are meant to give you some idea of the relative strength of each team relative to its bracket. Matchups are not always traditional because of geographical considerations and the possibility of a difference of opinion with the NCAA committee.