Thursday: So much for style points

More news about: Mary Washington | Pacific Lutheran | St. Joseph-s -Bklyn.- | UW-Oshkosh
Feb 25, 2016
Mary Washington will need to beat Marymount for the third time this season to capture the CAC's automatic bid.
 Mary Washington athletics file photo

Mary Washington won its Top 25 showdown with Christopher Newport in the CAC semifinals while UW-Stevens Point and UW-Oshkosh played a game that both would like to forget.

In a game where each team had more rebounds than points, No. 14 UW-Oshkosh defeated No. 19 UW-Stevens Point 38-21 in the WIAC tournament semifinals. Oshkosh outscored Stevens Point 14-4 in the first quarter, and that was as good as the offense would get for either team. The Titans led the Pointers 25-18 at the end of three periods and put the game away in the fourth quarter.

Stevens Point shot 18 percent from the field (9-for-49), including 0-for-11 from three, and collected 38 rebounds. Oshkosh was only marginally better, shooting 26 percent (14-for-53) with 42 rebounds.

No. 22 Mary Washington is comfortable playing those types of low scoring games, but the Eagles didn't need to do that on Wednesday night. The Eagles got a career-high 36 points from Kendall Parker and defeated No. 21 Christopher Newport 71-63 in the CAC semifinals. Parker set a new school single-game record with eight three pointers. The Eagles will play Marymount in the conference finals since the Saints defeated York (Pa.) 61-52 in the other semifinal. Marymount rallied past the Spartans with a 21-6 fourth quarter.

Baldwin Wallace only made 20 field goals against No. 8 Ohio Northern, but 11 of them were three pointers, and the Yellowjackets upset the Polar Bears 65-58. Baldwin Wallace's reserves outscored Ohio Northern's 31-0. The Polar Bears (21-4) will get an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament, but will probably break someone else's bubble in the process. Capital will be sitting deep on that bubble after losing to Mount Union 81-72 in the other OAC semifinal. The Crusaders were ranked seventh in the final public Great Lakes regional rankings.

Men's recap: PLU keeps plugging away

Brandon Lester scored 29 points for Pacific Lutheran which needs one more win to reach the NCAA tournament for the first time.
File photo by Larry Radloff, d3photography.com 

Pacific Lutheran upset No. 9 Whitman 82-68 in the NWC semifinal and dropped the Missionaries into the pool of teams that will need an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament. The Lutes led wire-to-wire and held a double-digit advantage for much of the second half. Brandon Lester scored 29 points for Pacific Lutheran (17-9), which is looking for its first trip to the NCAA tournament and its first conference title since 1986. Despite the loss, the Missionaries (21-4) are in decent shape for an at-large bid. No. 3 Whitworth took care of Puget Sound 75-58 to advance through the other side of the NWC bracket.

No. 12 John Carroll errupted for 50 points in the second half and pulled away from Mount Union 93-74 in the OAC semifinals. The Blue Streaks shot 53 percent and David Linane scored 14 of his 19 points in the second half. No. 4 Marietta also advanced to the final with a 91-66 win over Baldwin Wallace. The Pioneers have won 17 consecutive games. 

No. 5 Christopher Newport survived a late scoring drought and a 26-point outburst by St. Mary’s (Md.) guard Delaszo Smith, as the Captains edged the Seahawks 57-56 in the CAC semifinals. The Captains scored just one field goal and shot 2-for-5 from the free throw line in the final 3:30, but held on for the victory. Christopher Newport will host No. 23 Salisbury in the title game on Saturday.

In its first season as a member of the Skyline Conference, St. Joseph's (Bklyn.) kept its Cinderella story going for one more night. The Golden Bears, who are seeded sixth in the six-team tournament, advanced past Sage 80-62. Matt O'Neill scored 32 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for St. Joseph's who will play top seed SUNY Old Westbury in Saturday's title game.

The CCC title game will feature two low seeds after Endicott knocked off top-seed Nichols 82-80 in the semifinals. Max Motroni scored 23 points for the Gulls including two free throws in the final seconds to put the game out of reach. Gustave Koumare scored 38 points for Nichols (23-4), which is too far down in the regional rankings to get an at-large bid. Fourth seeded Endicott will play sixth seed Roger Williams for the title and automatic bid.

The IIAC lost its top seed when Central defeated Dubuque 72-61, despite 37 points from Andre Norris. The Dutch pulled away from the Spartans with an 11-2 run late in the second half. Pete Walker posted 20 points and seven assists for Central.