| Trey Barber came up big in the second half as No. 1 Christopher Newport evened its record at 2-2 with a home win over No. 16 Randolph-Macon. Photo by Sydney Smith, Christopher Newport |
No. 1 Christopher Newport defeated No. 16 Randolph-Macon in a rare meeting of Division III men’s basketball’s last two national champions while No. 5 Mount Union and No. 12 Johns Hopkins left Pennsylvania with narrow victories. On the womens' side, No. 11 Gustavus Adolphus and No. 17 Trine impressed in their openers, and Natalie Bartle made big news for the Roos.
- Wednesday night’s scoreboard: Men | Women
- Carleton WBB cancels season
- More men’s headlines
- More women’s headlines
- D3hoops.com Team of the Week returns!
The 2023 national champions used a strong second half to top the 2022 national champions, as Christopher Newport defeated Randolph-Macon, 64-54.
After a tight first half, Daniel Mbangue’s jumper sent Randolph-Macon into the locker room with a 24-23 lead. Christopher Newport (2-2) started to pull away midway through the second half when Hasan Hammad hit a couple of threes that staked CNU to a 46-38 advantage. Trey Barber scored four points in a short span to take the Captains’ lead to 51-38. After Randolph-Macon (1-2) pulled within five, Christian Wilson scored five straight points to push CNU’s lead back to double digits, where it remained the rest of the way.
Christopher Newport shot 58 percent from the field (15 for 26) in the second half, and All-American Barber finished one rebound shy of a double-double (12 points, nine rebounds).
Farther north, Christian Parker’s big night lifted No. 5 Mount Union to an 80-76 overtime win over Scranton in Northeast Pennsylvania.
Parker’s layup with under two minutes left in regulation put Mount Union in front 68-65, but the Royals responded with a game-tying three pointer from Jon Spatola. In overtime, Parker scored six straight points and gave the Purple Raiders a 75-69 advantage. Scranton pulled within one on Cameron Khoza’s three pointer, but the Purple Raiders made enough free throws down the stretch to seal the win.
Parker posted 33 points and 13 rebounds for Mount Union (3-0) while Scranton (1-2) got double-figure scoring performances from four of its starters.
No. 12 Johns Hopkins erased a nine-point deficit with seven minutes left and then held off York (Pa.), 64-62. The Blue Jays seized the lead when Sydney Thybulle blocked a York shot and then Carson James hit a three, snapping a 58-all tie. Johns Hopkins, which starts the season with five straight road games, improved to 2-2 while York slipped to 2-1. The Blue Jays play Christopher Newport next.
DJ Ardoin’s late free throw was the difference as Texas Lutheran knocked off No. 15 Mary Hardin-Baylor, 78-77. TLU flipped a two-point deficit into a one-point lead on Mason Wallace’s three-point play with 42 seconds remaining. Josiah Johnson split a pair of free throws that pulled Mary Hardin-Baylor even at 77 but Ardoin was fouled with four seconds left. He also split his free throws, and then the Crusaders missed their final shot.
Ripon jumped out to a big lead at home and then held on to upset No. 18 Carthage, 76-71. The Red Hawks led 46-30 at the break and pushed their lead as high as 20 points early in the second half. The Carthage whittled Ripon’s lead down to 70-69 with less than two minutes to play, only to see Cade Tackmier sink six free throws in the final two minutes and ice the game for Ripon (1-2).
On the women’s side, No. 17 Trine opened its season with a 62-60 win at home over fellow 2023 NCAA Tournament participant Baldwin Wallace. After Sidney Wagner’s free throw gave Trine a 62-57 lead with 1:14 left, Baldwin Wallace responded with a Carolyn Wochele three-pointer. The Thunder turned the ball over on its next possession, but played lockdown defense and denied the Yellowjackets a good look at a game-tying or go-ahead shot.
Wagner scored 16 points for Trine (1-0) while Erin Sherwood added 16 more off the bench for the Thunder.
No. 11 Gustavus Adolphus looked impressive in a 76-58 win over WIAC title contender UW-Stout. The Gusties jumped out to a 22-7 lead after one period and led comfortably the rest of the way. Kylie Baranick led five Gustavus players in double-digit scoring with 16 points.
Dickinson hit seven 3-pointers and rolled over No. 25 Messiah, 61-45, for its first victory over its local rival since at least 2008. The Red Devils doubled up the Falcons on the glass, 38-19, and shot 46 percent from the field. Caitlin Blackmon posted eight points, 10 rebounds and four assists for Dickinson (1-1).
Natalie Bartle had a record-setting performance for SUNY Canton, and the Roos edged Clarkson, 74-72. Bartle tallied 46 points and 26 rebounds, both of which are SUNY Canton records. She also went 17 for 17 from the foul line, with eight of those coming in the closing minute.