Lisle, Ill. - The Alma College men's basketball team continues to dance. The Scots, ranked 13th in the country, advanced to the sectional final with a 70-64 win over No. 7 St. Norbert on Friday (March 11) evening in the sectional semifinal round of the NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Championship.
With the victory, Alma is now one of eight teams remaining in the NCAA III Tournament. The Scots are making their first-ever appearance in the postseason and continue to improve upon their historic season with their 24th win. The Scots also handed St. Norbert (25-3) only its third loss of the season. Alma was responsible for two of the Knights' three losses this year, having defeated St. Norbert on December 30 in DePere, Wis.
Junior Trevor Gernaat (McBain, Mich./Northern Michigan Christian/Mid-Michigan CC) scored a career-high 25 points - including 16 in the first half - to lead all scorers with a career-best four three-pointers. Junior Chase Fairchild (Rockford, Mich./Rockford) netted a season-high 17 points and matched a season-high with five three-pointers.
After an opening basket by the Green Knights, the Scots dialed in from long range, hitting five three-pointers, including three by Gernaat, to take a 17-6 lead. Despite Alma's hot shooting from three-point range, St. Norbert weathered the storm, climbing back into the game in the latter stages of the half, finishing the open frame with a 7-2 run to cut Alma's lead to six points at the half.
In the second half, the Green Knights cut the Alma lead to one behind nine points from D.J. DeValk, who netted 13 of his 21 points in the final 20 minutes. St. Norbert tied the game at 46-46 with 13:25 to play, but a three-point shot by Fairchild, coupled with a layup from sophomore Kevin Gamble (Mt. Pleasant, Mich./Sacred Heart) put the Scots back up by five, 51-46.
St. Norbert fought back and knotted the game at 59-59 with 3:47 remaining, and took the lead when Mitch Winter hit a three-point shot to give the Knights a 62-61 advantage with 3:03 left. Senior Scott Nikodemski (Rockford, Mich./Rockford) scored the Scots' next four points to put Alma up by there with 1:49 left, then after an unfortunate tip-in by Alma into their own basket to cut the lead to one, Gernaat sealed the game with a three pointer with 13 seconds remaining.
The Scots finished the game shooting 46.7 percent from the field and made 10 three-pointers. St. Norbert made 42.1 percent of its shot from the floor and hit 11 of its 12 attempts from the free throw line.
Alma will face the winner of the Benedictine/Ohio Wesleyan matchup on Saturday, March 12, with the winner advancing to the national semifinals in Salem, Va. Tip off is slated for 7:00 p.m. Central time at the Rice Center on the campus of Benedictine University.
NOTES
• Alma is now 7-1 in neutral site games this season.
• The Scots have won back-to-back games against teams from the Top 10 of the D3hoops.com Top 25 polls, defeating No. 5 John Carroll and No. 7 St. Norbert.
• Alma is now 20-2 when leading at the half and 20-2 when scoring 70 or more points.
• When Alma has two players score in double figures, it is 2-0 this season.
• Trevor Gernaat scored a career-high 25 points with a career-high four three-pointers. His previous best was 19 points at Trine on Jan. 20.
• Chase Fairchild netted a season-high 17 points and tied a season-high with five threes. His previous high was 16 points against North Park on Dec. 2.
• Doug Bradfield tied a season-high with four blocks.
• Scott Nikodemski set the single-season assist record with five helpers. He now has 151 for the season, topping Steve Ernst's 147 in 1988-89.