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| Heidelberg had five scorers
in double figures but Marietta never let the Student Princes get
over the top. Marietta photo by Mitch Casey Photography |
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| Cortez Tillman had a huge day
off the bench for St. Thomas, shooting 4-for-7 from 3-point
range. Photo by Caleb Williams, d3photography.com |
Fifth-ranked Marietta survived a hard charge from Heidelberg on Saturday afternoon, improving to 17-0 and ensuring there will be two unbeaten teams in Division III men's basketball to survive the week.
Division III's other unbeaten men's basketball team, Chapman, won as well, defeating Redlands 83-63.
Marietta never trailed, but Heidelberg made it less than comfortable as the Pioneers held off the Student Princes 80-74 to remain undefeated. Marietta led by six points or fewer the entire final 8:36 after having a double-digit lead for most of the first half. Raneal Ewing led the way with 23 points, shooting 10-for-15 from the floor.
Sam Longwell had a huge day, posting a triple-double with 24 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists to lead No. 8 WPI to a 92-68 win vs. Wheaton (Mass.). WPI recorded 28 assists on its 36 baskets. It's the Engineers' first triple-double in a decade, and Longwell accomplished it without turning the ball over once.
Bethel finished a regular season sweep of St. Olaf, dropping the No. 19-ranked Oles 95-89. The Royals (11-5, 7-4 MIAC) shot 9-for-17 from 3-point range in the win. Brycen Wojta, who hit the game-winner earlier this week vs. Gustavus Adolphus, scored a team-high 24 points, while freshman guard Bridgeport Tusler added 23 in the win.
Alex Richard hit his only 3-point shot of the game at the buzzer, and it was a big one, a half-court shot to lift No. 15 UW-Stevens Point to a 69-66 win over UW-Oshkosh. Austin Ryf scored a team-high 18 points, while Jordan Lutz added 16. Watch video of the game-winning shot on our Buzzer Beaters page or see it embedded further down this page. The game was one of nine that went to overtime in men's basketball on Saturday.
Cortez Tillman scored 20 points off the bench as the No. 3-ranked Tommies (15-1, 10-1 MIAC) ran their winning streak to 11 with Saturday's 79-72 comeback victory over archrival St. John's (9-7, 7-4) before a near capacity crowd of 1,610 at Schoenecker Arena. St. John's had won six of its last seven.
No. 10 Wooster survived a game with nine lead changes and two potential game-winning attempts in the closing seconds to hold off DePauw 63-62. Evan Pannell hit a 3-pointer, his third of the game, with 20 seconds left to give the Scots the lead for the final time.
No. 9 Albertus Magnus survived the only GNAC road trip which tripped it up last year, as the Falcons won 80-66 at St. Joseph's (Maine). Victor Ljuljdjuraj led all scorers with 25 points and had five blocked shots and 14 rebounds as well, 13 of them on the defensive end.
No. 17 North Central lost for the third time in four games, as Juwan Henry had 28 points and Jordan Robinson added 20 in a 92-68 win for North Park. It was North Park's first conference win of the season. No. 22 Elmhurst improved to 15-3 and remained a game back of top-ranked Augustana in the CCIW with a 76-73 win over Illinois Wesleyan. The Bluejays hit a free throw to take a 75-73 lead with 19 seconds left, giving the Titans a chance to tie the game. Dylan Overstreet's jumper in the lane was no good and Eric Leonard collected the rebound and raced down court before he was fouled with 1.2 seconds left and hit one of two to seal the win.
Postgame interview: Bethel's Bridgeport Tusler |
No. 2 UW-Whitewater won its 10th game in a row, defeating UW-Superior 83-59. The Warhawks (16-2, 9-0 WIAC) shot 54 percent from the field, including a 66.7 percent clip in the first half. Xzavier Moananu, Ron Patten and Rahjan Muhammad scored 12 apiece for UW-Whitewater.
The NJAC is looking more like a two-team race on the men's side. William Paterson cruised past Rutgers-Camden 92-73 and Richard Stockton held off Rutgers-Newark 65-57. Stockton's win keeps the Ospreys tied for first with William Paterson and pushes Rutgers-Newark three games back.
Tommy Erb hit a jumper with six seconds left and Kyle McAndrews added a free throw to lift Pomona-Pitzer to a 58-57 win over its cross-campus rival, Claremont-Mudd-Scripps. Wheaton junior Joel Smith hit a basket in the final second of regulation to give the Thunder a 46-45 win against Carthage. The basket gave Wheaton its only lead of the second half.
Aaron Patterson scored 29 points, including a pair of free throws with eight seconds left in overtime as Shenandoah beat Hampden-Sydney 79-78. The Tigers nearly rallied from a seven-point deficit in the final 30 seconds, but turned it over with a chance to tie with three seconds left. It's just the second win of the season for Shenandoah (2-15, 1-7 ODAC). Joe Hassell scored 13 points to lead No. 11 Randolph-Macon past Emory and Henry 69-53, extending the Yellow Jackets' streak to 12 consecutive wins. The Yellow Jackets (15-2, 8-0 ODAC) held the Wasps (3-14, 2-6 ODAC) to 20% shooting from the floor (6-for-30), 0-for-10 on 3-pointers.
On a day in which several games in New England were postponed, Middlebury might have wished for one additional postponement. The Panthers (11-3) took a puzzling loss to Maine-Fort Kent, outrebounding its opponent 50-38 but forcing just four turnovers in a 71-62 defeat. The Bengals are just 2-2 vs. Division III opponents and lost earlier in the week to Pine Manor, a D-III school in its first season of men's basketball.
NESCAC leader Tufts picked up its first conference loss, while Williams and Amherst also lost as well. Bates held the Jumbos to three points over a span of 11 minutes in the second half to defeat Tufts 64-51. Bates (12-4, 2-2 NESCAC) remains unbeaten at home, at 7-0. Hamilton came back from a 12-point deficit in the second half and posted a 67-64 win against Williams. The win ended a four-game losing streak for Hamilton (11-7, 2-3). Amherst, meanwhile, lost a home game by double digits for the fourth time this season, falling to 12-5, 2-3 with a 70-54 loss to Trinity (Conn.). George Papadeas scored a game-high 15 points for the Bantams (14-5, 4-1).
Nick Laguerre scored a game-high 29 points and Tanner Brooks added 15 points and 10 rebounds as St. Mary's (Md.) defeated Marymount 78-62, forcing a three-way tie for first place in the Capital Athletic Conference. Christopher Newport remained in the first-place tie by rolling over Frostburg State.
La Verne sent Caltech to its 53rd consecutive SCIAC loss, but not before the Beavers took the Leopards to double overtime. La Verne pulled out the 59-57 win with a tip-in by Niall Harrison with 2.9 seconds left in the second extra period.
Deshawn Hamlet scored 19 points and pulled down seven rebounds to lift Southern Vermont to a 70-66 win vs. Regis (Mass.). The Mountaineers won for the 13th time in 14 games, improving to 15-3.