CCC, UEC champs pick up first-round wins

More news about: Lancaster Bible | Nichols | St. Joseph -Conn.-
Mar 03, 2023
Nichols had a celebration-worthy second half against Rochester.
Middlebury athletics photo by Will Costello
 

Nichols rallied from a big deficit to knock off Rochester, Lancaster Bible gave the United East a first-round win for the third consecutive NCAA Tournament, and the program that Jim Calhoun built finally got a Division III NCAA Tournament victory in men's basketball first-round action. The UAA, which had five teams selected to the tournament, lost its first three of the night but rallied to win its last two.

Nichols rallied from a 20-point deficit, including a 16-point deficit at halftime, to get past Rochester 74-71. Nichols started the second half on an 11-4 run to cut the lead to nine with 13:32 remaining. Out of the under-12 timeout, Matthew Alectus drained a three to pull the Bison within seven, then later buried another three following a Rochester layup to make it 61-56. After three free throws by Nichols and a miss by the Yellow Jackets, Ferebee drove to the hoop and slammed it home, plus the foul. Ferebee nailed the free throw to give the Bison their first lead of the game.

Rochester responded later with an 8-0 run and went up 71-68 with under a minute remaining, but a Jakigh Dottin layin was followed by Rochester missing the front end of a one-and-one. Dottin hit two free throws, Alectus blocked a shot, and Tavon Jones hit two foul shots to make it 74-71 with 15 seconds left. Alectus blocked a Mitchell Kershner 3-point attempt, and Ryan Algier missed a 3 off the inbounds pass, allowing Nichols to advance.

Jalen Watkins put in 21 points and pulled down 21 rebounds but it was not enough as Arcadia fell at Case Western Reserve, 82-76. The Spartans did lead by as many as 15 points with 3:31 left before the Knights (15-11) got within four with 12 seconds left on a Justin Money layup. Nas Johnson had a game-high 24 points for Arcadia, while Cole Frilling led Case (22-3) with 20 points and 12 boards. Mitch Prendergast was held to 10 points on 2-for-11 shooting.

NYU went on an 11-0 run to tie the game against Lancaster Bible, but Jordan Shewbridge came up big with a deep three from the top of the arc with 6 seconds left and the UEC provided a first-round stunner for the third tournament in a row, as Lancaster Bible topped NYU 67-64 in a first-round game at Mount Union. NYU trailed 41-29 at the half after Lancaster Bible ended the first half on a 17-4 run. The Chargers opened the second half on a 10-2 run as well, putting the Violets down 20. Shrewbridge finished with a game-high 20 points, including 5-for-11 shooting from 3-point range. Grant Sareyka added 17 for Lancaster Bibile, which improved to 21-7.

"I just knew that I was going to get the rock," Shewbridge said after the game. "I knew that I was going to have to make a play. And I knew the moment I saw our big come up and set the screen, I knew I had to make a play, so I just went up and I do what I do best -- I shoot the three. And I'm just thankful it went in."

After losing in the first round for two consecutive NCAA Tournaments, St. Joseph (Conn.) finally broke through, as the Bluejays rolled past Chatham 76-53. St. Joe's had lost to Hobart and to Penn State-Harrisburg on neutral floors in its first two NCAA Tournament trips. Jaecee Martin scored a game-high 16, while Chaylyn Martin scored 12 off the bench. Chatham (17-12) shot just 5-for-23 from 3-point range.

Emory faced its largest deficit at 41-36 with 14:16 to go but 3-pointers from Logan Shanahan and Albert Fallas helped give the Eagles first lead since the opening minute of play, leading 42-41 at 12:33. From there, the game at Hampden-Sydney stayed within a single possession and eventually found itself tied again at 55 when Johnson knocked down a triple with 6:17 to play. HS-C had an answer each time however, scoring the next four points before another three from Fallas brought the Eagles back to within one at 4:20. Brazil countered with a made jumper but Benjamin Pearce came down the floor and sank one of his five 3-pointers, knotting the score again at 58 with 3:24 to play. Adam Brazil came through again for the Tigers, putting Hampden-Sydney back ahead 61-58 just under the three-minute mark. The Eagles had several chances at the end for the win with Jair Knight, Cade Martens and Pearce each getting looks at the basket but none of their shots could fall and Brazil hit two free throws with 2.5 seconds left to secure the 63-59 win.

Five players reached double figures as Mary Washington defeated St. Lawrence 69-42 in the first round at Stockton. The game quickly snowballed in the first half as a 13-9 lead turned into 41-16 at the half. The Eagles (20-8) were led by Daniel Peterson and Greg Rowson, who each scored 14 points, while Cook scored 11 and Emmanuel Aghayere and Dorian Davis each netted 10. Mary Washington will face host Stockton, who rolled past La Roche.

Tufts went on an 11-0 run early in the second half to pull away from Widener for a 78-66 win, as the Tufts returned to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since their run to the Sweet 16 in 2020 was cut short by the spread of COVID-19. Widener (19-9) pulled to with 10 on seven different occasions, but the Jumbos were able to hit 12 free throws over the final two minutes to seal the victory. The Jumbos (20-7) were led by Theo Henry's 19 points off the bench, including 12-for-12 shooting from the foul line. Tufts will play Keene State, which improved to 27-1 with an 89-78 win against Baruch. Octavio Brito went off for a game-high 30 points, shooting 6-for-12 from 3-point range, and added 13 rebounds in the win. It was Keene's first NCAA Tournament home game since 2007.

Cartier Bowman continued his dominant streak, recording another double-double as Oswego State sailed past Marymount 80-62, booking a trip to the second round with their 22nd consecutive victory. Bowman scored 12 and added 12 rebounds, while Ahkee Anderson scored a game-high 24 points on 10-for-13 shooting. The Lakers (26-2) will face John Carroll, which got 28 points from Luke Chicone in getting past Albertus Magnus 91-80.

Top-ranked Randolph-Macon extended its home winning streak to 63 games, setting the NCAA Division III record for consecutive home wins with a 73-36 win against Wilson. The Yellow Jackets (28-1) held Wilson to eight first-half points, and to the third-lowest recorded point total in the Division III men's basketball NCAA Tournament. Josh Talbert scored a game-high 15 points, while Miles Mallory had 10 rebounds.

The Yellow Jackets broke the Division III record of 62, set by North Park from 1984-1988.

Trailing by 10 points with less than 10 minutes remaining in regulation, Scranton made a huge surge to complete a 65-64 comeback win over N.C. Wesleyan in first-round action at Randolph-Macon. It's Scranton's first NCAA Tournament win since 2013. Jackson Danzig came up clutch for Scranton with a free throw in the final 15 seconds to secure a one-point lead, and Will McLoughlin used his size and athleticism to block a last second layup attempt from the Bishops.

In its first trip to the NCAA Tournament since 2010, Carleton dropped an 81-77 tilt to St. Norbert despite a heroic 35-point effort from Jeremy Beckler. The Knights (24-4) trimmed the deficit to five points on multiple occasions but could never get within a single possession. St. Norbert led by nine with less than a minute to go, but missed free throws gave Carleton a chance. Beck Page hit a three with ten seconds left to set the score at 81-77, and Carleton fouled quickly. There was excitement as the Green Knights (20-7) missed both at the charity stripe, but the Knights' final attempt from deep was well defended, and time expired before either team collected the rebound. Carter Gebler scored 20 to lead St. Norbert.

St. Norbert will play Wheaton, which defeated Illinois College 79-66 as Tyson Cruickshank scored a game-high 22 points. He added seven rebounds, seven assists and two steals. TJ Askew scored 14 points on 6-of-7 shooting from the field. Askew also grabbed seven rebounds and blocked three shots. Andrew Williams scored 12 points, with five assists, with four rebounds. Nick Schiavello tallied nine points, while Connor Braun and Eddie Scott each scored six points.

Ja'Zere Noel had a game-high 29 points as Rowan held off Cal Lutheran 83-77. The Profs didn't take a second half lead until 9:19 remained after back-to-back buckets by Noel as Cal Lutheran, the upset winners of the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference at 13-13, went across the country and went toe-to-toe with the New Jersey Athletic Conference champ. In the first half, Cal Lutheran made nine 3-pointers to own a 46-38 lead at halftime, while it finished the game shooting 14-of-32 from beyond the arc. By contrast, Rowan connected on only two 3-pointers in the win, while both teams struggled from the foul line with Cal Lutheran hitting 5-of-10 and the Profs making 13-of-20.

Rowan will host Utica, which got 21 points from Darius Hopkins in defeating Babson 72-60. The Pioneers (23-4) broke the game open in the second half, going on an 13-0 run. Babson was able to come within six points at the 4:57 mark but a 6-0 Utica run backed by a Hopkins three and a Morreale basket propelled the team back up by 12.