| Middlebury held Rochester to 30 percent shooting,
20 percent from 3-point range. Rochester athletics photo |
There will be a new champion in Division III men's basketball this year, as St. Thomas senior guard Tyler Nicolai went coast-to-coast for a layup with four seconds remaining to lift the No. 8 Tommies to a 65-64 win against No. 3 UW-Stevens Point at Augustana in the Division III men's basketball Sweet 16.
The Pointers' long heave was easily picked off and UW-Stevens Point's title defense was stopped short. It's the second trip to the Elite Eight in three seasons for the Tommies.
Michael Taylor scored a game-high 27 points and Wade Gebbers tallied 18 of his 22 points after halftime to help top-ranked Whitworth improve to 28-1 with a 93-77 win against No. 11 Marietta at Wooster. Down by 14 at the half, the Pioneers cut the lead to as little as five points, but the Pirates pulled away down the stretch for the victory. Bryan Wickliffe scored 23 and Justin Hallowell added 21 as Wooster protected its home floor with a 94-77 win against Cabrini. The Scots shot 61 percent from the floor.
Williams and Amherst set up another meeting, as the homestanding Ephs got 28 points and 11 rebounds from Troy Whittington in defeating Virginia Wesleyan 79-73. The Marlins led 34-27 at halftime but Whittington came up with 16 points after the break to help lead the comeback.
Williams coach Mike Maker said, "We made some minor adjustments at halftime, but they do a great job of guarding the arc, one of the best in the country. We can win in a variety of ways, we don't have to win on 3's. Pick your poison; we can shoot or we can drive and give the ball to Troy inside."
Freshman Aaron Toomey hit a 3-pointer with 2:50 left to give Amherst the lead for good as the Lord Jeffs won their spot in the rivalry matchup by defeating Rhode Island College 78-74. The 3-pointer ended a 17-5 run for the Anchormen.
Andrew Locke blocked six shots and Ryan Sharry and Jamal Davis blocked four apiece as Middlebury locked down Rochester 61-52 to make it three NESCAC teams in the Elite Eight. Sharry added 15 points to lead the No. 2-ranked Panthers. "Our length and ability was absolutely the difference in the game," said Middlebury coach Jeff Brown. St. Mary's (Md.) ended Buffalo State's Cinderella run with an 85-74 win against the Bengals. Alex Franz scored 17, while freshman Christian Macauley added 15 for the Seahawks in the win.
Bryant Voiles led balanced scoring with 14 points for Augustana in the Vikings' 70-57 win against Mary Hardin-Baylor, setting up an Elite Eight showdown between Augustana and St. Thomas.