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| Aaron Jones hit a bunch of key shots and assisted on the winning basket for North Central. North Central (Ill.) athletics file photo |
Aaron Jones poured in 28 points to lift North Central (Ill.) to 15-3, someone not named Aston Francis poured in 47 points, and someone who is named Aston Francis scored 45 in Division III men's basketball action on Wednesday night.
North Central and Millikin combined to sink 27 shots from beyond the arc in the game, the last of which left Cardinal guard Mike Pollack's hand from the left wing just before the buzzer sounded in overtime, lifting the visitors to a 93-92 victory on the road. Pollack was fed the ball for the game-winner by guard Aaron Jones, who enjoyed his finest performance yet in a North Central uniform with 28 points (including a 7 of 10 effort from 3-point range) and five assists. Jones connected on a 3-pointer with 1.3 seconds left in regulation to tie the score at 82-82 after the Cardinals (16-3, 8-2 CCIW) had trailed by as many as five points in the final minute.
Melvin Brown Jr. scored a program-record 47 points as UW-Whitewater got past UW-Platteville 88-80 on the road. Brown hit on 18 of 26 shots and was 4-for-4 from 3-point range in the win. The Warhawks shot 56.7 percent in the first half, but the Pioneers took advantage of 11 points off six UW-W turnovers, and the game was tied at 40-40 after the first 20 minutes. The teams traded leads in the second half before Brown put the Warhawks (14-4, 3-4 WIAC) ahead for good with 2:52 left, sending Platteville to 11-7, 4-3.
Aston Francis scored 45 points tonight for Wheaton (Ill.), his eighth 40-point game and his second in a row as his team defeated Illinois Wesleyan 86-77, marking the Thudner's first sweep of the Titans since the 2009-10 season. Francis was 6-for-15 from 3-point range and a perfect 15-for-15 from the foul line. Francis entered the night leading NCAA Division III in scoring with 32.4 points per game.
Kyler Gregory scored a team- and career-high 25 points and added 12 rebounds in Guilford's 88-82 overtime ODAC win at No. 14 Lynchburg. The Quakers (14-5, 8-2 ODAC) dealt the ODAC co-leading Hornets (17-2, 8-2 ODAC) their second loss of the season and ended Lynchburg's 10-game winning streak, sweeping the season series. Lynchburg had trailed by 14 in the second half and had to score the final nine points just to force the overtime.
Micah Elan scored a game-high 17 points and James Kelbert added 11 off the bench on a perfect 5-for-5 shooting night as No. 16 Pomona-Pitzer knocked off archrival Claremont-Mudd-Scripps 73-57. P-P (17-1, 9-0 SCIAC) led by 14 at the half. CMS started the second half on a 15-5 run to get back into it, but the Sagehens pushed the lead back out and the Stags (13-5, 7-2) never got closer than eight points in the final 9:50.
After 11 lead changes, No. 15 Christopher Newport ended up on top last as the Captains edged Salisbury 67-64. The Sea Gulls (13-5, 3-4 Capital Athletic Conference) led by seven midway through the second half before CNU went on a 20-5 run to take an eight point lead. The Sea Gulls stormed back yet again, cutting the lead to 63-62, with 2:27 to go. The game remained a one-point difference until Cutch Ellis connected for two free throws to give CNU a 67-64 lead with 30 seconds remaining. Following a Salisbury turnover, the Captains (16-2, 6-1) went back to the line but missed twice with seven seconds left, making the final seconds uncomfortably close.
Darryl Williams went 7-for-8 from the floor for a season-high 16 points as 12th-ranked Randolph-Macon outlasted Virginia Wesleyan 62-50 in ODAC action. The Marlins (8-11, 5-4) got within five in the second half before the Yellow Jackets pushed the lead out to 13 with 4:00 left and cruised to 17-2, 9-1.
Steve Moore picked up his 750th career win at Wooster and his 837th as a Division III head men's basketball coach as the No. 18 Scots downed Allegheny 81-72. Allegheny hung around and was within two at 68-66 with 5:59 to go after Brian Roberts' layup, but Contae Williams had his way with a pair of answer-back lay-ins. Sandwiched in between there was a fine defensive play, during which the sophomore stepped around his man, and was rewarded with the steal. Wooster led by at least six the rest of the way. Danyon Hempy scored 25 points and Williams added 20.
No. 24 Wittenberg went to overtime for the fourth time in six games, and lost for the fourth time in seven games, as DePauw defeated the Tigers 77-75. DePauw trailed by two points with less than 30 seconds left in overtime, but Nick Felke hit a 3-pointer with 22 seconds left and added two free throws with eight seconds remaining to seal the win.