One more game. Powered by a career high 30 points from
junior forward KJ
Evans (Beloit/Beloit Memorial), 20 of those
when UW-W took the lead in the second half, propelled UW-Whitewater
to the championship game of the NCAA Division III men's basketball
tournament with a 71-63 win over Illinois Wesleyan University
Friday evening at the Salem Civic Center in Salem, Va. UWW, 28-4,
will face Amherst College or Williams College, the participants in
Friday's other semifinal, in the Division III championship game
Saturday at 4:30 Central in Salem.
There wasn't much to separate the Warhawks and Titans in the
first half. Whitewater's KJ
Evans (Beloit/Beloit Memorial) opened the
scoring with a pair of free throws at 18:27. Andrew Ziemnick
of IWU tied it with a driving layin, and Titan Victor Davis
followed with a three to put IWU in front 5-2.
Whitewater's Alex
Merg (Greendale/Greendale) nailed a three
from left of key to tie the game at 5-5 and the pattern was
set. Mike Marietti's layup at 13:29 gave Illinois Wesleyan
its largest lead of the half, 14-7, but a 6-0 Whitewater run that
ended with a Quardell
Young(Kenosha/Bradford) free throw line jumper
with 10:59 left pulled UW-W within one, 13-14. Whitewater
regained the lead at 9:17 on Steve
Egan (Omro/Omro)'s rebound put back that made
the score 17-16. Marietti's jumper put the Titans back in
front 18-17 at 8:34, but Reggie
Hearn (Milwaukee/Marshall) made one of
two free throws for the Warhawks to knot the score at
18-18.
The team tied again at 20, and 22, then with 2:50 on the
clock Cody
Odegaard (Poynette/Poynette) drilled a
three from left of the key to put UW-W up 25-22. Typical of
the first twenty minutes, Wesleyan's Bryce Dolan deadlocked the
contest again at 2:21 with a three pointer from the left baseline
on an inbounds play. Evans' layin for Whitewater and a pair
of Pat Sodemann free throws for IWU produced another tie,
27-27. Dylan Overstreet hit a short jumper for a 29-27 Titan
lead with 0:54 remaining, and Steve
Egan (Omro/Omro) closed the scoring with
a free throw with four ticks left to pull Whitewater within one,
29-27, at intermission.
The halftime statistics mirrored the play, with little to
separate the teams. Whitewater shot 44% from the floor,
Illinois Wesleyan 39%. UW-W was 2-6 from beyond the arc, IWU
3-10. Both teams went 4-8 from the line. Evans was the
leading scorer with ten points. Marietti topped the Titans
with eight points.
Prophetically, Evans scored the first basket of the second
half, giving UW-W a lead it would never relinquish. Merg, one
of the holdovers from the 2012 championship team hit a pair of free
throws at 18:07, followed by a three pointer from the left angle
that put UW-W in front 39-33 with 17:19 left.
Fate almost intervened, as senior center Reggie
Hearn (Milwaukee/Marshall) picked up his
fourth foul and his backup, Steve
Egan(Omro/Omro), hurt his shoulder within a thirty
second span with more than 16:00 left.
IWU pulled within two, 41-39, on Jordan Nelson's free throw
with 13:58 on the clock --- and then Evans went off. The
Beloit Memorial product scored seven points in a 10-0 Whitewater
run that pushed the Warhawk bulge to 51-39 at 10:49.
Odegaard, another of the holdovers from 2012, contributed a three
pointer in that run.
Odegaard's layin, off an Alex
Merg (Greendale/Greendale), one more of the
2012 veterans gave UW-W its largest lead of the game, 55-40 at
9:42.
The Titan defense clamped down, with IWU fashioning a 7-0
run, part of an 11-1 streak that tightened the difference to
62-59 with 2:26 in the game. Eight of Whitewater's last ten
points in the last eight minutes of the game came at the free throw
line. Facing that shrinking lead, Evans hit two free throws
with 2:00 left to make it 64-59. That was followed
by Eric
Bryson (Elkhorn/Elkhorn)'s (one more 2012
returnee) layin off a length of the court touchdown pass from Hearn
for a 66-59 lead. Young, another of the Warhawks with
championship experience, made a free throw with 1:09 left for a
67-61 lead, and Evans made it 68-61 with a charity toss at
0:53. Senior forward Eric
Bryson (Elkhorn/Elkhorn) (also a 2012
champion) grabbed two crucial rebounds, and made a pair of free
throws, in the final 0:31 to seal the win.
Whitewater's defense limited the Titans to 31% (9-29)
shooting in the second half. Included in that mark, IWU went
5-23 (22%) from three point range. The Warhawks shot 48% on
field goals and 50% (5-10) from beyond the arc. Both teams
made 18 free throws, with IWU having one more
attempt.
Evans, whose previous career high of 27 came in the
sectional final against Emory, hit 10-19 from the floor and 9-10
from the line. Merg and Bryson chipped in with ten points
each, with Bryson and Hearn collecting nine boards apiece.
Young topped both teams with six assists. Senior forward
Andrew Ziemnik led IWU with 13 points, with senior center Victor
Davis chipping in with ten points and a team high eight
rebounds. Junior guard Pat Sodemann was also in double
figures with ten points.
UW-Whitewater will be looking for the school's fourth men's
basketball championship. UW-W won NCAA III titles in 1984,
1989 and two years ago. Five members of that 2012 team will
be looking for their second title.
Illinois Wesleyan, the 1997 Division III national champions,
ends the season 27-5.
Williams enters Friday semifinal with a 27-4 record.
Amherst College, 27-3, won the NCAA III title last year.
Amherst and Whitewater will be both be seeking their fourth NCAA
men's basketball crown.