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Most Outstanding Player, Wash U's Troy Ruths Photo by Evans Clinchy, D3hoops.com |
Troy Ruths crossed the 30-point plateau for the second straight game as he helped lead Washington University in St. Louis to its first NCAA Division III men's basketball championship with a 90-68 victory over Amherst College. The Bears, 25-6 on the season, add this title to a third place finish in 2007. The Lord Jeffs finished the season as national runner up with a 27-4 record.
While memorable for all the Bears, the Division III finals were especially poignant for Troy Ruths. The senior big man had already been awarded the 2008 Jostens Trophy earlier in the week, and two straight 30-plus point contests earned him the Most Outstanding Player award for the championship series. In the two games, Ruths made 20-of-28 shots from the field (71.4%) and 23-of-26 free throws (88.5%) including 15-of-17 against Amherst.
Washington U.'s lead hovered around the low double figures before Amherst worked it down to six points following a jumper by Andrew Olson with 3:04 left in the first half. The Bears finished the half on a 10-3 spurt to go into the locker room up 45-32. Aaron Thompson notched five of his 11 first half points during that span.
The second stanza opened with a few minutes of traded baskets before the Jeffs worked the deficit back down to six points at 55-49 on a layup by Brian Baskauskas with 15:07 to play. The Bears responded quickly, outscoring Amherst 14-2 over the next five minutes to move out to an 18-point lead at 69-51 with 10:04 to go.
Amherst tried to work itself back into the contest, but the Bears marched the Jeffs shot for shot on the back of a 70-percent shooting performance in the second half.
Ruths added a game-best eight rebounds with three assists and three steals to his 33-point night. Thompson finished with 19 points including three makes from behind the arc. Tyler Nading notched 13 points to go with five boards, four assists and four steals. Fletcher Walters led Amherst with 17 points, five boards and four steals. Olson added 16 points while Baskauskas and Brandon Jones scored 12 each. Jones pulled down a team-high seven rebounds.
Washington U. 90, Amherst 68
All-Tournament Team
Troy Ruths, Washington U. (Most Outstanding Player)
Aaron Thompson, Washington U.
Andrew Olson, Amherst
Derek Van Solkema, Hope
John Noonan, Ursinus
Third-Place Game
Hope 100, Ursinus 86
National Semifinals
Washington U. 89, Hope 74
Amherst 84, Ursinus 58
Sectional championships
Washington U. 57, Millsaps 46
Hope 83, Wheaton (Ill.) 70
Amherst 65, Brandeis 55
Ursinus 82, Coast Guard 76 OT
| First Round March 6-7 |
Second Round March 8 |
Sectionals at Hope March 14-15 |
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at Centre 75 |
Ohio Wesleyan 82 at Centre 65 |
Hope 71 Ohio Wesleyan 63 |
| Ohio Wesleyan 83 Heidelberg 62 |
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| at Capital 92 Bethany 70 |
at Hope 92 Capital 70 |
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at Occidental 52 |
at Whitworth 83 Occidental 75 |
Wheaton (Ill.) 76 Whitworth 67 |
| Loras 71 at Wis.-Whitewater 70 |
Wheaton (Ill.) 76 Loras 73 |
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| Wheaton (Ill.) 93 OT Lawrence 83 |
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| First Round | Second Round | Sectionals at Ursinus |
| Coast Guard 70 at Trinity (Conn.) 65 |
Coast Guard 50 at Mass.-Dartmouth 47 |
Coast Guard 57 Rochester 48 |
| at Rochester 56 Middlebury 43 |
at Rochester 65 Penn St.-Behrend 56 |
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| Penn St.-Behrend 83 Farmingdale St. 62 |
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| at Ursinus 94 Baptist Bible 76 |
at Ursinus 70 Virginia Wesleyan 64 |
Ursinus 79 Gettysburg 55 |
| Virginia Wesleyan 80 WPI 75 |
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| at Gettysburg 95 Salem St. 87 |
at Gettysburg 66 Elms 65 |
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| Elms 71 Scranton 53 |
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| First Round | Second Round | Sectionals at Amherst |
| John Jay 80 at Moravian 74 |
at Amherst 96 John Jay 74 |
Amherst 85 Richard Stockton 77 |
| at Richard Stockton 84 OT Immaculata 75 |
at Richard Stockton 78 Rhode Island College 70 |
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| Rhode Island College 77 Nazareth 73 |
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| at King's 96 Clarkson 66 |
at Plattsburgh St. 83 OT King's 77 |
Brandeis 74 Plattsburgh St. 63 |
| at Brandeis 80 Lasell 59 |
at Brandeis 68 Bowdoin 53 |
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| Bowdoin 79 Curry 49 |
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| First Round | Second Round | Sectionals at Washington U. |
| at Augustana 72 Aurora 61 |
Washington U. 70 OT at Augustana 67 |
Washington U. 85 OT Buena Vista 77 |
| Washington U. 79 Wooster 74 |
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| Buena Vista 72 at St. Thomas 70 |
Buena Vista 54 Wis.-Stevens Point 53 |
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| Wis.-Stevens Point 67 Chicago 53 |
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| St. Mary's (Md.) 89 at Guilford 77 |
St. Mary's (Md.) 83 Widener 74 |
Millsaps 82 St. Mary's (Md.) 73 |
| Widener 87 Averett 78 |
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| at Millsaps 80 Maryville (Tenn.) 72 |
at Millsaps 57 Mary Hardin-Baylor 56 |
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| Mary Hardin-Baylor 65 Fontbonne 62 |