FORT WAYNE, Ind. – Jake Rhode and Dominic Genco combined for 52 points to lead the Elmhurst University men's basketball team to a convincing 90-68 victory over Wabash College and secure the Bluejays' spot in tomorrow's NCAA Division III Championship game.
Elmhurst (27-6) led for nearly 39 minutes of action and never trailed in the contest.
Elmhurst raced out to a 6-2 lead at the first media timeout. Wabash closed to within two points at multiple points, but never caught up to the Bluejays. Leading 18-16, the Bluejays rattled of a 9-2 run over a two minute span to open up a 27-18 cushion following a jumper from Rhode. After a Wabash bucket, the Bluejays used a 9-0 run fueled by five points from Rhode and buckets from Wesley Hooker and Bryce Drews to extend their lead to 36-20. Wabash's Kellen Schreiber was called for a flagrant II and ejected from the game after a hard foul on Ocean Johnson with 4:30 left to play. Schreiber had scored 10 points for the Little Giants at the time of his ejection.
Elmhurst led by as many as 17 points (42-25) in the opening half after Rhode knocked down another jumper. Wabash managed to slice Elmhurst's lead down to 48-34 at the half. Elmhurst shot 51.4 percent (18-of-35) in the opening half and dominated inside, outscoring Wabash 30-12 in the paint. Rhode had 20 points in the first 20 minutes of play. Wabash was limited to just 35.5 percent (11-of-31) and 28.6 percent (4-of-14) from 3-point range. Wabash's leading scorer, Jack Davidson, was held to only five free throws in the opening half.
Davidson came out quickly for Wabash, hitting driving layups and his first 3-pointer of the contest, helping Wabash cut Elmhurst's lead down to 11 with 14:14 remaining. Elmhurst counted with a 7-0 run with points from Genco, Rhode and Drews, stretching the Bluejays' lead to 18 with 12:36 left on the clock. Elmhurst pushed its lead up 23 midway through the half after buckets from Rhode, Drews and Genco. Wabash (28-4) came no closer than 21 points for the remainder of the contest as Elmhurst led by as many as 30 points and cruised to the 22-point victory.
Rhode was on fire for much of the contest, scoring 32 points and grabbing six rebounds. He shot 10-of-17 from the floor and 4-of-9 from downtown. Genco continued his tremendous postseason run, finishing with 20 points and four assists. He shot 7-of-12 from the floor in the win. Lavon Thomas added 14 points and nine rebounds. Drews had another strong game off the bench, contributing nine points, a career-high 12 rebounds and three steals. Wesley Hooker added nine points and continued his strong defensive play. Jonathan Zapinski added five rebounds, three blocks and two points while Jay Militello contributed four points, five rebounds and two steals.
Elmhurst finished the game shooting 45.1 percent (32-of-71) and 29.4 percent (5-of-17) from downtown. The Bluejays were tremendous on the glass, outrebounding Wabash 53-37.
Wabash, who entered the game ranked second in the nation in shooting (.515), was held to a .343 shooting percentage on the night. The Little Giants hit just 23-of-67 attempts from the floor, including 6-of-28 (21.4 percent) from downtown. Wabash had been averaging 10 3-pointer per game
Davidson, who entered the game ranked third in scoring, finished with 21 points with 10 coming from the foul line. He shot only 5-of-14 from the field, including 1-of-5 from 3-point distance. Tyler Watson added 14 points and five boards while Ahmoni Jones added 12 points and eight rebounds for the Little Giants.
Elmhurst will play in its first-ever NCAA Division III National Championship game, tomorrow (March 19) at 6:00 p.m. (EST). The Bluejays will face #1-ranked Randolph-Macon in the title game after Randolph-Macon defeated Marietta 81-63 in the first semifinal of Friday night.
The game will be stream lived at NCAA.com and also broadcast live on the CBS Sports Network.