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| Nate Dodge scored 20 points to help UW-Stevens Point win its fifth consecutive game. File photo by Larry Radloff, d3photography.com |
UW-Stevens Point beat rival UW-Whitewater on the road to tighten its grip on first place in the WIAC while Williams and Swarthmore survived scares from their archrivals. Elsewhere the OAC remained chaotic, Wittenberg kept rolling and MIT started a big week on the wrong foot.
UW-Stevens Point erased an eight-point deficit early in the second half and then used a 12-0 run to blow past No. 2 Whitewater 75-69 on Wednesday night. The Pointers trailed 39-31 at the break but Nate Dodge hit back-to-back 3-pointers to pull Stevens Point even with Whitewater three minutes into the second half. The teams traded leads until Stevens Point shut out the Warhawks for nearly six minutes in a 12-0 spurt that put the game away. Box score
UW-Whitewater (13-3, 3-2) shot 54 percent from the field (21-for-39) but its 20 turnovers resulted in 32 points for the Pointers. Nate Dodge (20 points) and MJ Delmore (19 points) led the way for UW-Stevens Point (11-5, 5-0), which hasn't lost a game since it went 0-2 at the D3hoops.com Classic.
The other two ranked WIAC teams didn't fare any better. UW-Platteville held No. 6 UW-Oshkosh to 17 points on 6-for-29 shooting in the first half and cruised to a 72-57 win at home. Five Pioneers reached double figures, including four starters, and Clay Gerds posted a double-double (13 points, 12 rebounds). UW-La Crosse beat visiting No. 13 UW-River Falls 62-54. Those results leave Stevens Point a game up on Platteville and at least two up on everyone else in the WIAC standings.
James Heskett's 3-pointer with 14 seconds left was the difference as No. 11 Williams held off Amherst 72-69. Heskett's three gave the Ephs a 72-67 lead, which Amherst quickly cut to three points on a Grant Robinson layup. The Mammoths fouled Williams' Cole Teal with four seconds left and he missed his free throw, giving Amherst a chance to tie but Michael Riopel's 3-pointer was off the mark. Heskett scored 22 points for the Ephs (13-3) while Riopel tallied 22 for Amherst (9-6). This is the first of two meetings between the Little Three rivals, which does not count in the NESCAC standings.
No. 9 Swarthmore got a scare from Haverford before finally finishing the Fords 65-60 in overtime. The Garnet (13-2, 7-1) committed 18 turnovers and shot 36 percent (21-for-59) before pulling away from Haverford (6-9, 2-6) in the extra period. That win plus Dickinson's 55-50 home victory over No. 21 Franklin and Marshall puts Swarthmore alone in first in the Centennial Conference.
No. 5 Wittenberg remained red-hot and blasted No. 23 Ohio Wesleyan 93-72, upping its record to 16-0, 9-0 in conference. Jacob Bertemes rolled up 27 points and seven assists and Chad Roy added 22 points and nine rebounds for the Tigers who outrebounded Ohio Wesleyan 42-23. Wittenberg has a three-game lead on Ohio Wesleyan, Wooster and Hiram in the NCAC standings.
The OAC race is shaping up to be a lot more interesting with a three-way tie for first after Wednesday's results. Baldwin Wallace beat No. 20 John Carroll 88-79 to pull the Blue Streaks back to the pack. Jake Fetherolf scored 17 points and grabbed 13 rebounds for the Yellow Jackets who are now tied for first with John Carroll and No. 18 Marietta, which topped Capital 82-68. Heidelberg beat Ohio Northern 84-80 to knock the Polar Bears out of the first-place logjam for the moment.
No. 9 MIT opened its big week with a loss at home to Springfield, 68-65. Jake Ross, who won the national Rookie of the Year last season, led the Pride (10-6, 4-1) with 26 points and 11 rebounds. MIT (14-2, 4-1) heads to Babson on Saturday, and the Beavers will also enter the game off a loss. Ryan Fogarty scored 31 points and Wheaton (Mass.) beat the Beavers 89-77, snapping a 27-game regular season conference win streak that dated back to January 2016.
No. 22 Eastern Connecticut won its battle for first place in the LEC over Keene State 70-64 and moved a game in front of the Owls in the conference standings. The Warriors (14-2, 6-0) outscored Keene State 15-0 from behind the arc in the second half. Kendall Marquez and Carlos Gonzalez made three 3-pointers a piece for Eastern Connecticut.
Isaac Masters and Tyler Semenas combined for 46 points and Ripon won at St. Norbert, 69-61. The Green Knights (12-4, 7-2), who have lost two straight conference games for the first time since 2011, dropped into a three-way tie for first with Lake Forest and Monmouth. Ripon (9-5, 6-3) sits one game back of the tri-leaders.
The IIAC also has a three-way tie for first after Nebraska Wesleyan rolled over Wartburg, 99-60. Nebraska Wesleyan (15-2, 6-2) shot 75 percent and scored 60 points in the second half. The Prairie Wolves are tied for first with Buena Vista, which beat Luther 87-69, and Loras.
Olivet pulled itself into a tie for first in the MIAA with a win at Adrian, 65-62. Jalen Adams' free throws gave the Comets the lead with 2:05 to play and Olivet made the lead stand up. Adams finished with 22 points and 10 rebounds for Olivet (9-7, 4-1).
Austin DeWitz just missed a triple-double for Occidental and the Tigers defeated Chapman 70-60 to stay alone in first in the SCIAC. Deryl Bagwell notched a triple-double (19 points, 17 rebounds, 10 assists) for Cabrini in the Cavaliers' lopsided 105-76 win over Neumann. Christian Fioretti (15 points, 10 rebounds, 10 assists) also achieved that feat for Oberlin in a 76-61 win over Allegheny.
Women's recap: Amherst streak hits 50
Amherst extended its winning streak to 50 consecutive games, tying the program record, while Thomas More's conference run continued and Scranton got a key performance on a big night.
Amherst (17-0) trailed for most of the game against its archrival, including by 10 points in the third quarter, but put together a 10-0 run to tie the game, capping the surge with a Jackie Nagle layup. Emily Peckham answered with a layup to put Williams (10-7) back in the lead, 33-31, but Maeve McNamara answered with a 3-pointer with 1:19 left in the third and the Mammoths were able to pull away for a 52-43 win. Madeline Eck scored 15 and Hannah Fox added 12, while Jackie Nagle came off the bench and played a season-high 26 minutes, scoring eight.
St. Vincent kept the game close against Thomas More -- at least by PAC opponent standards -- but Thomas More pulled away to an 86-61 victory. Temple Madison scored seven of her 13 points in the fourth quarter as the Saints (15-1, 9-0) outscored St. Vincent 27-14 in the final period. Nikki Kiernan and Abby Owings scored 22 points apiece. Thomas More's last loss in a PAC game came at St. Vincent on Jan. 14, 2012.
No. 11 Trine started the fourth quarter on a 12-0 run and pulled away from Albion in a 67-50 win. The Britons (11-5, 5-3) made just four field goals in the final 15 minutes of the game. Brandi Dawson led the Thunder (15-2, 7-1) with 22 points and nine rebounds.
Bridgette Mann scored a career-high 30 points, including the 1,000th of her career. And Scranton needed every one of them as the Lady Royals defeated Moravian 98-94 in overtime. The lead changed hands 16 times befre Scranton (15-1, 4-1 Landmark) came away with its 10th consecutive win. Maddie Capuano, who hit two free throws with two seconds left in regulation to force the extra period, lead Moravian (12-4, 2-3) with 27 points.
No. 14 UW-Whitewater had a huge second half, outscoring UW-Stevens Point 42-14 to push their way past the Pointers, 67-43. The Warhawks (14-2, 4-1 WIAC) shot 60.7 percent from the floor after halftime while holding the Pointers (7-9, 1-4) to 20.8 percent and only five made field goals after the break. Olivia Freckmann registered a career-high 20 points along with 10 rebounds.
An even match in the Little East standings quickly became a mismatch on the floor, as Mass-Dartmouth remained unbeaten in the conference, rolling over Mass-Boston 79-49. Nakira Exmond had game-highs of 24 points and 13 rebounds in the win, as the Corsairs improved to 12-3, 6-0 in the league. Mass-Boston (14-2, 5-1) shot just 18-for-65 from the floor.
No. 12 Christopher Newport held Mary Washington to just 11 field goals and hammered the Eagles, 98-43. The Captains (14-2, 8-1) turned 33 Mary Washington turnovers into 38 points, led by Kiana Kirkland who had 18 points. Laura Pullins scored eight of her 16 points in the fourth quarter and No. 19 Marietta rallied past Capital, 58-54. All sixteen of the teams in the D3hoops.com Top 25 that played on Wednesday night won.