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| Brady Rose scored 26 points for Illinois Wesleyan in the Titans' 19-point win vs. No. 2 Augustana. File photo by Dean Reid, d3photography.com |
Wednesday night started with No. 6 Lycoming losing to Lebanon Valley by 10 and then things got worse for highly ranked teams. Illinois Wesleyan beat No. 2 Augustana 19, UW-Stevens Point rolled No. 3 UW-River Falls by 25 and No. 5 UW-Whitewater blasted No. 7 UW-Oshkosh by 26.
The CCIW has not produced an undefeated conference champion since Augustana ran the table in 1973 and it won't have one this year either. Illinois Wesleyan used a 16-4 run midway through the first half to take a double-digit lead at home on No. 2 Augustana. The Vikings trimmed the lead to eight with 15 minutes to play, but the Titans called time out, regrouped and scored the next nine points to coast to a 72-53 victory. Box score
Brady Rose scored 16 of his 26 points in the first half and Illinois Wesleyan (10-3, 3-1 CCIW) held Augustana to 2-for-11 shooting from three. The Vikings (10-2, 2-1 CCIW) will host Illinois Wesleyan in the rematch on Jan. 31.
The WIAC opened conference play with two stunning scores where the visitors trounced the home teams. UW-Stevens Point shot 51 percent from the field, including 57 percent from three, and blasted No. 3 UW-River Falls 73-48. Mark Nelson and Koko Songolo combined for 28 points off the Pointers' bench and River Falls (9-2, 0-1 WIAC) had six assists to 17 turnovers.
The Top 10 showdown between No. 5 UW-Whitewater and No. 7 UW-Oshkosh turned out to be no contest as the Warhawks crushed the Titans, 83-57. Whitewater (11-1, 1-0 WIAC) hit eight of its first nine 3-pointers and 15 in the game, including six from Mitchell Pfeiffer. He finished with 22 points to lead the Warhawks.
The list of undefeated men's teams shrunk by two with losses bookending the schedule. Sam Light shot them out with 27 points and six 3-pointers as Lebanon Valley knocked off No. 6 Lycoming 81-71. Brothers Timothy and David Jeffries scored 37 points and Buena Vista slowed down Nebraska Wesleyan, 91-75.
Two undefeated Mid-Atlantic teams narrowly avoided their first loss. No. 13 York (Pa.) survived a frantic rally by Salisbury and hung on for a 84-81 win over the Sea Gulls in Maryland. Newly ranked Juniata fended off Lancaster Bible 57-54 to improve to 12-0.
Montclair State showed that it's a contender in the NJAC race by beating No. 20 New Jersey City, 76-66. Myles Mitchell-White helped the Red Hawks (10-3, 4-2 NJAC) earn their first win over the Gothic Knights since February 2009. Ramapo rebounded from its rough weekend in Las Vegas to beat Rutgers-Camden, 93-74, pushing its record to 10-3, 6-0 in the NJAC.
After a rough performance out of conference, defending national champion Babson found its groove in the NEWMAC opener as the Beavers routed Springfield, 83-60. Nick Comenale scored 28 points including the 1,000th of his career. No. 15 MIT crushed WPI 94-58 and pushed its record to 11-1, 1-0 in the NEWMAC.
Langston Johnston scored 27 points in the MIAA opener for Trine and the Thunder beat homestanding Hope, 80-75. Four of Adrian's starters scored double-figures, paced by Justin Webster's double-double, and the Bulldogs defeated Calvin, 76-67.
Luke Callahan converted a three-point play to lift Rose-Hulman over HCAC conference favorite Hanover, 71-69. The Panthers have dropped three of their last six games.
A pair of All-Americans put up big numbers in victories. Tyheim Monroe, who is already Cabrini's all-time leading rebounder, is now the Cavaliers' all-time leading scorer, too. He tallied 28 points and 28 rebounds in Cabrini's 89-66 victory over Centenary (N.J.). Aston Francis scored 40 points for Wheaton (Ill.) and the Thunder took care of Carroll, 97-92.
A pair of West Region teams trying to keep their momentum rolling from the end of 2017 hit speed bumps. Central couldn't carry over its two wins at the D3hoops.com Classic as No. 18 Wartburg beat the Dutch, 80-65. Augsburg followed up its two wins at the Classic, including an upset victory over Wartburg, by cooling off Hamline, 92-81. Trinity (Conn.) tried to build some momentum heading into NESCAC play. The Bantams, who host Amherst and Hamilton this weekend, beat Keene State, 86-73, for their fifth straight win.