Evan Thomas scored 25 points and Hope got the separation in needed from Calvin in the race for first place in the MIAA. Hope College athletics file photo

Hope and No. 1 Randolph-Macon grabbed victories over their archrivals and the top spots in their conference's upcoming playoffs, while Illinois Wesleyan won the CCIW and WPI secured the top seed in the NEWMAC playoffs in Wednesday night's Division III basketball action.

• Wednesday scoreboard: Men | Women
• More headlines: Men | Women
• Regional rankings: Men | Women
• Conference news: USA South to split in two

Evan Thomas scored 25 points and Hope surged past Calvin, 91-73, in 206^th installment of The Rivalry.

After the teams battled to a 45-all halftime tie, Thad Shymanski ignited a 10-0 run for Calvin that put the Knights in front, 55-47. Hope responded with an 8-0 run and the lead changed hands eight times over the next five minutes.

The Flying Dutchmen finally gained some separation from the Knights at the foul line when Clayton Dykhouse made two free throws that gave Hope a 79-73 lead with four minutes remaining. Thomas followed that with two more free throws and then Tyler George drained a three in front of the Hope student section, putting the Flying Dutchmen in front by 11. Calvin fouled Hope multiple times to extend the game, but the Flying Dutchmen shot 18 for 19 from the foul line in the second half and 26 for 29 overall.

Thomas finished with a double-double (25 points, 10 rebounds) to lead six Hope players who scored double figures. Shymanski paced Calvin with 21 points. The Flying Dutchmen swept the season series with Calvin, claimed at least a share of the MIAA title and secured the top spot in the MIAA playoffs.

There was a lot less drama in Virginia where No. 1 Randolph-Macon cruised past Hampden-Sydney, 74-54. Buzz Anthony notched his fourth double-double of the season (14 points, 10 assists) and the Yellowjackets claimed the ODAC regular season title for the fifth consecutive time. Randolph-Macon (23-1, 15-0 ODAC) has won 17 straight overall and 44 in a row at home.

No. 6 Illinois Wesleyan closed out the CCIW race with a 78-65 win at home over North Central (Ill.). All-American Matthew Leritz scored 17 points and grabbed nine rebounds for the Titans (20-4, 13-2 CCIW) who shot 53 percent from the field and outscored the Cardinals 38-14 in the paint.

No. 15 Elmhurst stumbled at home against Millikin, 74-64, and dropped a game behind No. 11 Wheaton (Ill.) for second place in the CCIW. The Thunder (19-5, 11-4) took care of North Park, 77-67.

No. 16 WPI clinched hosting rights throughout the NEWMAC playoffs with a 76-62 win over Wheaton (Mass.). John Adams celebrated Presidents’ Day early with 18 points and nine rebounds for the Engineers (21-2, 12-1 NEWMAC).

No. 23 Berry avenged its lone loss of the conference season and secured first place in the SAA by beating Oglethorpe, 62-58. After Austin Brooks' layup put the Vikings in front, 61-55, with 3:35 to play, Berry's defense held the Stormy Petrels at bay the rest of the way. Berry (20-2, 11-1 SAA) will open the conference tournament against Millsaps on Sunday.

The Monon Bell wasn't at stake when No. 20 Wabash traveled to DePauw, but the Little Giants still rung up the Tigers, 81-72. Wabash (20-3, 15-1 NCAC) got yet another big night from Jack Davidson who tallied 26 points, six rebounds and five assists. The Little Giants have won 16 straight games. 

On the women's side, No. 13 John Carroll defeated No. 10 Baldwin Wallace, 64-57, and swept the season series with the Yellow Jackets. The Blue Streaks took a 35-15 halftime lead but Baldwin Wallace rallied within five points midway through the fourth period. John Carroll's Nicole Heffington responded with a layup and a three-pointer that pushed John Carroll's lead close to double digits. The Blue Streaks made six of their seven free throws in the final minute to seal the win. Heffington and Olivia Nagy combined for 30 points, 21 rebounds and seven assists for JCU.

John Carroll (19-3, 14-2 OAC) moved back into a first-place tie with Baldwin Wallace (17-4, 14-2 OAC), but the Blue Streaks own the tiebreaker and can clinch the top seed with a home win over Wilmington on Saturday.

Elizabethtown knocked off No. 24 Catholic, 65-57, and the Blue Jays secured the second-seed for the Landmark Conference playoffs. Etown outrebounded Catholic 54-29 as Jessica King and DaniRae Renno rolled up 35 points and 29 rebounds. No. 17 Scranton outscored Susquehanna 24-2 in the first quarter and cruised to a 60-41 win. 

The WIAC title chase is over but UW-Oshkosh showed that its season is not, as the Titans defeated WIAC champs UW-Whitewater, 60-57. UW-Oshkosh outscored the seventh-ranked Warhawks 23-11 in the final period. The WIAC playoffs tip off on Friday with the bottom four seeds meeting in the first round.