Final Four: It's all UAA, NESCAC

More news about: New York University | Trinity (Conn.) | Washington U. | Wesleyan
Mar 15, 2025
With an enthusiastic swing sending particles of string everywhere, Pat Juckem gets the last piece cut to help send WashU back to the Final Four for the first time since 2009.
Photo by Doug Sasse, d3photography.com
 

Did you not get enough Wesleyan-Trinity games? How about another Wash U-NYU meeting? That's what we'll get at the NCAA Division III men's basketball Final Four as those are your four teams left standing: two from the NESCAC and two from the UAA.

Trinity (Conn.) eliminated the last Cinderella team from the tournament, as the Bantams sent the Cardinals of Catholic University home with an 86-63 defeat. Wesleyan survived as Emory had a look to tie the game in overtime before falling 61-58, in a game which would have upset the UAA-NESCAC balance of power heading to Indiana. NYU held off Redlands 75-65 after the Bulldogs made one final charge in the second half, and WashU pulled away from host UW-La Crosse down the stretch to defeat the Eagles 80-66. The Bears were the only team to knock off a host institution in the sectional, as the three remaining No. 1 seeds all advanced.

Trinity is returning to the Final Four for the second consecutive year, while Illinois Wesleyan, Nebraska Wesleyan, Ohio Wesleyan and Virginia Wesleyan have all been to the Final Four, but never Wesleyan. NYU is returning to the Final Four for the first time since losing in the 1994 title game to Lebanon Valley.

Down 10 at the break and 15 early in the second half, the Redlands press got the Bulldogs within four points with 3:02 remaining in the game before Brock Susko and Hampton Sanders each scored a key basket in succession in the final minutes to ultimately ensure a Violet victory. Zay Freeney, who scored the first 13 points of the game for NYU, finished with 25 in the win, while Susko scored 21 as the Violets improved to 28-1.

Down by 12 points at Wesleyan with 7:14 remaining, Emory cut into the deficit and made it a one-possession game with just over three minutes to go. Wesleyan still led by three heading into the final minute of regulation when Emory's Ben Pearce drove the lane and shouldered a heavy foul from Fritz Hauser, making the contested layup and hitting the free throw to tie the score. Jackson Cormier got a good look off in the final ticks of regulation, but the shot hit back rim. After both teams scored on their first possessions of the extra session, with Emory's AJ Harris driving the lane for two and Nicky Johnson pulling up for his fourth three-pointer of the game, both defenses took over as neither side scored until the closing seconds. Nine straight possessions with no points saw the game come down to the end where Emory secured a rebound and chose to hold for a late shot with the shot clock off. Pearce drove the lane and dished to Jair Knight for an open three that hit back rim. Logan Shanahan made a diving play out of bounds to secure the offensive rebound for Knight who saw his layup blocked by Hauser. The loose ball again fell into the hands of an Emory player with Mario Awasum seeing his putback attempt hit iron and this time, Shane Regan secured the rebound who was quickly fouled. Emory, who was not in the bonus when Regan was fouled, was forced to foul Johnson after an inbounds play with 1.6 seconds left. The senior stepped to the line and made the front end of the one-and-one followed by another to make it a three-point game. Emory then skied an inbounds pass right in front of their bench which was secured by Awasum, followed by a quick timeout so the Eagles could set up a catch-and-shoot play with 0.8 seconds left. Coming out of the timeout, it was Knight who got a 30-foot three that just hit off the front rim and out as the Cardinals began to celebrate the 61-58 win.

Drake Kindsvater had a career-high 31 points and 16 rebounds to help lead WashU back to the Final Four for the first time in 16 years as the Bears defeated UW-La Crosse 80-66 in front of a raucous crowd in Mitchell Hall in La Crosse, Wisconsin. The Bears (23-6) put the game away with a key second half run, as they turned a 48-48 tie into a 20-6 run, going up 68-54 on a Connor May three-pointer with 6:38 left. WashU shot 6-for-10 from three-point range in the second half and the Bears outrebounded UWL 43-34 as well, with Jake Davis joining Kindsvater in double-digit rebounding with 11 boards.

Trinity (Conn.) booked its return trip to Fort Wayne after the Cardinals raced out to an early 17-5 lead. The Bantams (28-3) answered with a 15-0 run of their own, and held Catholic to 29 percent shooting in the second half, including just 2-for-14 from three-point range, en route to the 86-63 win. Henry Vetter finished with a game-high 21, while Jarrel Okorougo added 17 and Drew Lasarre 15.