Ashland, VA (March 8, 2014) – Seniors Mike Coleman and Kyle Hash combined for 55 of DeSales' 76 points leading the Bulldogs to a 76-70 win over #20 Randolph-Macon College in the opening round of the NCAA Division III Tournament on Friday evening in Krenshaw Gymnasium.
The Bulldogs (19-9 overall) advance to play the University of Mary Washington (23-5 overall) who also advanced defeating Springfield College, 78-58. Game time for Saturday evening is set for 7:00 pm with the winner advancing to the Sweet 16 next weekend.
Coleman and Hash each recorded new career-highs with Coleman totaling a game-high 29 points, including 23 in the second-half and overtime, while Hash netted 26 points. Coleman also grabbed 10 rebounds for his first career double-double and Hash had eight boards.
RMC (20-7) was led by Chris Hamilton with 13 points and Connor Sullivan also with 13 points. Trent Walker added 10 points but the Yellow Jacket's leading scorer Andre Simon was held to just six points in the loss.
A slow start to the game saw RMC take control near the end of the half using a quick 6-0 run to take a 27-18 lead with 4:14 left in the half but then went cold as DSU closed the half on a 7-0 run to pull within two (27-25) at the break.
Neither team shot well in the opening half with DeSales hitting just 32.1 percent and the Yellow Jackets connecting on only 30.6 percent from the field.
At the start of the half the Bulldogs just wouldn't go away as RMC took a six point lead early and led by five twice before a 14-6 DeSales run started by a banked three-pointer from junior Michael Guldin and finished off by a three from Coleman and lay-up from Hash gave DSU its first lead of the half, 44-41, with just under 10 minutes to go.
The two teams wrestled for control over the next few minutes until the five minute mark when Hash and fellow senior Paul Pammer hit back-to-back three's giving DSU a 58-50 lead with 4:43 to play.
A jumper by Hamilton cut it down to a six-point lead before both teams came up empty over the next few possessions including 4-of-5 missed free throws from the Yellow Jackets.
It was a five-point game (60-55) after two freebies from Coleman at the 2:59 mark when the two squads combined for five straight missed shots before RMC's Trent Walker went to the line for two with 54 ticks left. He connected on both making it a three-point game.
After two DSU timeouts, Coleman pulled up for a deep three as the shot clock wound down but his attempt was short as the Yellow Jackets called timeout to set-up a play. Out of the timeout, RMC got Hamilton coming off a screen and he buried a fall-away three-pointer to tie the game with 4.3 seconds left. After a DSU timeout, Coleman took the inbounds and raced down the court, getting off a good look at the game-winner but his shot rolled off the front rim as the game went into overtime.
In the extra period two charity tosses by Hash and junior Travis Bryan gave DSU a 64-60 lead before a Coleman lay-up and step back three-pointer at the 1:32 mark pushed the lead to seven (69-62) and this time RMC didn't have an answer as Hash hit 4-of-4 from the line down the stretch to help DSU complete the upset win.
The undersized Bulldogs dominated the glass, out-rebounding RMC, 49-36, for the game. DSU also did a terrific job at the foul line hitting 25-of-28 as a team, including 23-for-24 from both Coleman and Hash.
The Bulldogs have now won three straight opening round games in the NCAA Tournament and are 6-3 all-time in the Big Dance. DSU is also the only Freedom Conference team to win an NCAA Tournament game over the last six years. A win on Saturday would give DeSales its 10th 20+ win season in the last 12 years.