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| Caleb Cox was perfect from the floor en route to 25 points for Capital on Wednesday night at Marietta. Photo by Joe Maiorana, Impact Action Sports Photography, for Capital athletics |
Capital and Wabash find themselves at the top of their conferences after wins against higher ranked teams, Emerson took down No. 7 MIT, Oshkosh won a key WIAC battle and the Luther women pulled off a significant upset in Division III basketball action from Wednesday, Jan. 9.
Capital took over sole possession of first place in the Ohio Athletic Conference as the Crusaders, receiving votes in the most recent D3hoops.com Top 25, came from behind to win at No. 10 Marietta, 82-78.
Marietta (12-2, 6-1 OAC) trailed 76-71 when Jason Ellis hit a 3-pointer and Caleb Hoyng scored to tie the game with 2:47 left. But Hoyng fouled Caleb Cox, who hit both of his free throws, and Dan Auble added a pair in the final minute to make the lead four points. Cox finished with a game-high 25 points on 10-for-10 shooting from the floor. Capital (12-2, 7-0) shot 61 percent from the floow for the game.
Capital has won 11 consecutive games since a 1-2 start which included a loss to Wittenberg.
No. 5 UW-Oshkosh used hot three-point shooting to pick up a key road victory, as the Titans hit 12 of their 24 three-point attempts in a 78-68 victory at No. 9 UW-Stevens Point. Adam Favert went 4-for-4 from behind the arc for Oshkosh (13-1, 3-0 WIAC), which took only seven free throws. The Pointers (10-3, 2-1 WIAC) made 17 of 22 free throws, but just five three of their 21 three-point attempts.
La Crosse kept pace with Oshkosh in the WIAC standings by limiting Eau Claire to 15 field goals in a 58-39 victory. Ben Meinholz scored 21 points for the Eagles (10-4, 3-0 WIAC), which was just one point less than Eau Claire's starting lineup combined.
The NEWMAC has two teams tied for first palce after three conference games, but not the two expected. Emerson improved to 3-0 in conference by dominating No. 8 MIT 84-65. Geoffrey Gray poured in 30 points on 11-for-14 shooting and Zach Waterhouse added 22 more for the Lions (8-6 overall). The Engineers (12-2, 2-1 NEWMAC) lost leading scorer AJ Jurko to a serious injury in Saturday's game. Emerson is joined atop the conference standings by Babson which beat Coast Guard 85-76.
Wabash improved to 7-0 in the NCAC for the first time in two decades in the league as the No. 20 Little Giants (13-1 overall) defeated No. 13 Wittenberg 96-83. Five Wabash players scored in double figures, led by the 20-point effort of Jack Davidson. The sophomore shot 6-of-13 from field, playing through an illness. Harrison Hallstrom and Tyler Watson each added 18 points. Alex Eberhard chipped in 13 points by going 3-of-3 from the field including a 2-for-2 effort from 3-point range. Connor Rotterman, who missed Wabash's last game with a back injury, came off the bench to score 10. Wittenberg (11-3, 5-2) got 34 points from Mitchell Balser as the Tigers lost for the second time in three games.
No. 23 Pomona-Pitzer rallied past Whittier 77-75 and upped its record to 11-1, 3-0 in the SCIAC. Whittier (5-8, 2-2 SCIAC) scored 11 straight points to flip a six-point deficit to a five-point lead with five minutes to play. Pomona-Pitzer answered with a 7-0 run keyed by Alex Preston's dunk and the Sagehens built a 75-72 lead with 1:15 to play. Conner Longmire's three-point play pulled Whittier even at 75 with 21 seconds left, but Micah Elah answered with a game-winning jumpshot with three seconds left.
Claremont-Mudd-Scripps prevailed in a similarly close game and the Stags dealt Occidental its first loss of the season, 63-60. Claremont made enough free throws and withstood two late threes from the Tigers, improving its record to 9-4, 3-1 in the SCIAC. Nicolas Segura Dobjanschi led the Stags with 23 points. Occidental's loss leaves just three undefeated teams -- Nebraska Wesleyan, Hamilton and Williams. The top-ranked Prairie Wolves fended off Simpson 96-84 as Nate Bahe errupted for 39 points on 13-for-16 shooting.
Scranton lost its second game in a row after a 12-0 start as the Royals fell at Moravian, 80-67. Moravian hit on 10 3-pointers and had three players in double figures led by senior forward Oneil Holder, who netted 22 points to go with five rebounds, five steals and a pair of assists. "I thought it was a good game from two teams that have a chance to have really good years," Moravian coach Justin Potts said. "I have the ultimate respect for coach (Carl) Danzig and his program. I thought our guys did a good job of fighting through some stuff and got the tempo and pace where we wanted. Our pressure was really good, and we turned them over 28 times, which led to some easy baskets."
Mary Washington followed up Saturday's upset victory with another as the Eagles knocked off No. 19 Salisbury 84-70. Mary Washington (10-4, 2-1 CAC) got 23 points from freshman Johnny Cronin and shot 52 percent from the field. Baruch stayed alone atop the CUNYAC with a 56-53 win over Brooklyn.
Wartburg falls; Scranton rolls
Luther used a strong start and a strong finish to defeat No. 16 Wartburg 75-63 and end the Knights' 32-game winning streak against conference opponents. The Norse (5-7, 4-1 ARC) took the lead 21-10 at the end of one period on the strength of a 12-2 run. Wartburg (11-3, 4-1) eventually fought back to pull even at 42 with three minutes to play in the third quarter and entered the fourth period with a 48-49 lead. But Luther used a 9-0 run to regain control in the final quarter and closed the Knights out.
Luther forward Laura Hamilton had an unusual stat line with 12 points, seven steals and seven rebounds in 40 minutes. Wartburg committed 23 turnovers in the loss, which was its first to a conference foe since Luther beat the Knights back in January 2017.
Guilford handled No. 22 Emory & Henry 77-57 and pushed the Wasps further back in the chase for first place in the ODAC. The Quakers (10-4, 7-1 ODAC) shot 8 for 14 from the field in the second quarter, including five threes, broke out to a 43-25 lead. Lindsay Gauldin scored 38 points and grabbed 12 rebounds in 38 minutes for Guilford, which played four of its five starters for at least 38 minutes and the fifth for 33 minutes in the blowout. Emory and Henry dropped to 11-3, 5-3 in the ODAC.
The showdown between the top two teams in the Landmark was no contest as No. 3 Scranton trounced Moravian, 72-45. The Lady Royals (14-0, 4-0 Landmark) held the Greyhounds to 15 points in the first half and 24 percent shooting for the game. Makenzie Mason filled up the stat sheet with 17 points, eight rebounds, five assists and three steals for Scranton.
Millikin fell one point short of a remarkable comeback at No. 24 Wheaton (Ill.) where the Thunder edged the Big Blue 76-75. Millikin trailed 73-65 with 43 seconds left when Aubrey Staton made the game interesting by hitting a three and scoring a layup for the Big Blue. After Wheaton missed two free throws, Millikin made two, cutting the deficit to 74-72 with 16 seconds left. The Thunder (12-3, 6-0 CCIW) split two free throws on its next two possessions and needed every point because Yanni Saddler sank a three with one second left for Millikin (5-10, 1-5 CCIW).
Outside the Top 25 Southern Virginia continued its hot start with a 63-54 win at home over Frostburg State. Katie Garrish tallied 14 points and 19 rebounds for the Knights (12-1, 3-0 CAC) who have already equaled their win total from last season. Southern Virginia hosts CAC title contenders Salisbury and Christopher Newport in its next two games.
Misericordia rolled over Delaware Valley 76-41 to keep its perfect record intact and set up a showdown with Manhattanville in the MAC Freedom on Saturday. The Valiants topped King's 66-60 to stay unbeaten against Division III foes, with their only loss coming to Division II Nyack.
In the WIAC La Crosse hit 11 three-pointers and defended its home court in a 72-62 victory over Eau Claire, boosting the Eagles' record to 13-1 and 2-1 in conference. Elsewhere Amber Fabeck scored a career-high 24 points in Stout's 78-68 win over Whitewater and No. 15 Oshkosh shut down Stevens Point 66-43.