| All-American Jake Rhode and Elmhurst opened their conference season with a dramatic win. Elmhurst University athletics file photo |
Jake Rhode hit a half-court buzzer beater to lift No. 7 Elmhurst over No. 5 Wheaton (Ill.) while No. 3 Randolph-Macon and No. 10 UW-Oshkosh won road games over Top 25 opponents. Elsewhere Williams slowed down its Little 3 rival and Brandeis needed three-plus halves of basketball to beat Tufts.
- Saturday men's scoreboard
- Saturday women's scoreboard
- Saturday women's rap: Comeback kids at Scranton and Emory
- Around the Nation: Back for an extra year
- More headlines: Men | Women
Rhode’s halfcourt buzzer beater capped a wild finish between CCIW contenders Elmhurst and Wheaton. After Rhode hit a foul line jumper to put Elmhurst in front 73-71 with 24 seconds left, Wheaton’s Nyameye Adom put the Thunder up 74-73 with a three-point play. Wheaton got the ball back with 1.6 seconds left but only made one of two free throws. That gave the Bluejays a chance to call timeout and inbound the ball to Rhode who took one dribble and launched the winning shot. Recap
Rhode had 21 points on 9 for 20 shooting in 39 minutes for Elmhurst (7-1, 1-0 CCIW). Cade Alioth posted 30 points and 11 rebounds for Wheaton (7-1, 1-1 CCIW).
No. 3 Randolph-Macon opened the second half with a 19-3 run and pulled away from No. 9 Roanoke for a 62-50 road win early Saturday afternoon. The Yellowjackets outscored the Maroons 44-14 in the paint and outrebounded them by 10. The teams will meet again on Randolph-Macon's court on February 5.
No. 10 UW-Oshkosh made four free throws in the final seven seconds and held off No. 8 UW-La Crosse, 56-53. The Titans (8-1, 2-0 WIAC) shot 10 for 12 from the foul line with no player taking more than three shots. The Eagles (7-2, 0-2 WIAC) went 0 for 15 from three.
Heidelberg had four starters reach double figures, led by Dylan Woods with 24 points, and the Student Princes bounced No. 12 Mount Union, 91-72. Isaiah Young also tallied 16 points, five rebounds and four assists off the bench for Heidelberg (6-2, 2-0 OAC).
Williams weathered a fast start by No. 19 Wesleyan and came back to beat its Little 3 rival, 69-60. Wesleyan built a 17-point lead with five minutes to play in the first half, but the Ephs closed the period strong and went into the halftime break down just seven. Williams scored the first 13 points of the second half and took a 46-40 lead on Nate Karren’s layup. After the Cardinals (7-1) pulled even at 51, Declan Porter hit a three and Jovan Jones followed with a layup to put Williams in front for good. Karren scored 25 points on 11 for 13 shooting for Williams (7-0). The game does not count in the NESCAC standings.
Jordan Powell had 18 points and Jacee Martin had 18 assists as No. 6 St. Joseph (Conn.) crushed Dean 98-67 in their GNAC opener. No. 13 Marietta had a similarly strong performance in its conference opener when the Pioneers blasted Ohio Northern, 94-59.
The game of the day happened in Waltham, Massachusetts where Brandeis outlasted Tufts 108-102 in quintuple overtime. Tufts tied the game at 61 on a buzzer-beating shot by Brennan Morris to force the first of five overtime periods. After a sluggish first overtime, Tufts' Dylan Thoerner hit a late three to tie the game at 76 at the end of the second overtime. Then Chandler Jones had a shot bounce off the back of the rim, up in the air and through to tie the game at 85 at the end of the third overtime. Morris hit a three to deny Brandeis the win at the end of quadruple overtime before the Judges finally put the game away.
Jones racked up 26 points and 16 rebounds in 49 minutes for Brandeis (5-2), which had Dylan Lien and Sam Nassar play 58 minutes apiece. Thoerner finished with 34 points in 47 minutes for Tufts (2-6).
That wasn't the only game of the day with multiple overtimes. Farther south down the Atlantic coast, Stevenson defeated Alvernia 93-89 in triple-overtime. Four Mustang starters reached double figures, led by Cameron Smith with 24 points. Keon Taylor had 29 points in 49 minutes for Alvernia. A little east of that, TCNJ edged Montclair State 88-87 in double overtime behind 37 points by Anthony DiCaro. The Lions (5-2, 2-1 NJAC) won despite shooting 16 for 30 from the foul line.