| Blake McCann, Kyle Tuma and Quentin Shields had great games on Friday, and so did several other WIAC players. UW-Platteville athletics photo |
No. 3 Marietta won a back-and-forth battle over Christopher Newport while the top teams in the WIAC thumped their Friday foes. Elsewhere Augustana ended Dubuque's win streak and Salisbury struck a winning blow for D3.
- Friday men's scoreboard
- Friday women's scoreboard
- Women: HSU, CNU come up big late
- More headlines: Men | Women
Jac Alexander scored six points in the final minutes, and Marietta edged Christopher Newport 86-83 in the opening game of Roanoke's weekend event. With two games under their belts, the Captains hit five 3-pointers in the first hald and took a 37-31 lead to the lockeroom. Lukas Isalyi's three-pointer finished a 7-0 Marietta run that pulled the Pioneers even at 48 and the teams stayed within two possessions of each other the rest of the way. Alexander's jumper broke an 80-all tie with 1;25 left and he added four three throws down the stretch to keep the Pioneers in front.
Alexander finished with 16 and Jason Ellis had 18 for Marietta which faces No. 20 Roanoke tomorrow. Jahn Hines led CNU with 18 points and seven rebounds.
On paper, the WIAC's top teams had tough games on Friday. On the court, they made it look easy.
No. 5 UW-Platteville shot 66 percent and had three players score double digits before halftime, and the Pioneers rolled over No. 19 Whitworth, 90-69. Kyle Tuma, who had five points at the break, finished with 21 and 14 rebounds for UW-Platteville (2-0), which finished the game shooting 61 percent from the field (33 for 54).
No. 17 UW-Oshkosh had a similarly scorching shooting performance in an 89-55 rout of St. John's. The Titans (3-0) shot 62 percent and outscorred the Johnnies 64-34 in the paint. UW-Whitewater, which was picked fourth in the WIAC preseason poll, took care of Gustavus Adolphus, 86-65.
Augustana picked up its first win of the season and dealt No. 16 Dubuque its first loss since the 2019-20 regular season finale. The Vikings (1-1) got 18 points from Luke Johnson in an 80-64 win over the Duhawks (1-1). Cody Mitchell and Cory Noe combined for 55 points and Illinois Wesleyan defeated Hope 87-74 in a matchup between two of Division III's most stories programs. Clayton Dykhouse scored 24 points for the Flying Dutch in their season opener.
It was only an exhibition for Salisbury, but it was an impressive performance just the same, as the Sea Gulls beat Division I Delaware State, 91-78. Salisbury took a 12-2 lead early and led by double digits for much of the game. Gary Briddell scored 25 points for the Sea Gulls.
Mary Baldwin just missed winning its first varsity game as a Division III program, as the Squirrels fell in overtime to Gettysburg, 91-84. Mary Baldwin had two 3-point attempts to win the game late in regulation and missed both. Avery Close had a double-double (20 points, 12 rebounds) for the Bullets.