Saturday is one of the biggest days in Division III basketball - Rivalry Day. Big games such as Hope-Calvin, the biggest rivalry in college basketball, along with Illinois Wesleyan-Wheaton, Catholic-Goucher, Amherst-Williams, Eau Claire-Oshkosh and Gallaudet-Marymount will go a long way toward determining who falls where in Tuesday's first official regional rankings as well as provide bragging rights for the rest of the season.

Calvin Ends 10-Game Losing Streak in Rivalry with Hope

By Pat Coleman
Editor, D3hoops.com

Calvin dominated the second half with a 20-2 run and defeated Hope 74-56 before a full house of approximately 4,500 at Calvin, ending Hope's streak of 10 consecutive wins in college basketball's biggest rivalry.

Trailing 42-32 at the half and 44-32 after the second half's first possession, Hope used a 15-4 run to cut Calvin's lead to one, keyed by three-pointers from Mark Bray, Craig Veldman and Kyle VanderWall. VanderWall's three, however, with about 15 minutes left in the half, was the last field goal the Flying Dutchmen would score until a Kyle Phelps three-pointer with 25 seconds left.

Calvin's run was keyed by sophomore forward Brian Krosschel, who had six points in that stretch, while senior guard Scott Plaisier, who led all scorers with 20 points, added five. Hope, which returns only one starter from last year's national runner-up team, made six of 10 free throws in the second half but made only six field goals.

Knights junior forward Aaron Winkle, who was a member of the most recent Team of the Week, punctuated the victory with just over a minute remaining with a slam dunk for his 1,000th and 1,001st career points. "I was really excited for our coach (Kevin Vande Streek, who was 0-5 against Hope before Saturday). . . . Our hard work over the summer really paid off in the second half and down the stretch."

Calvin, which shot 28-for-56 from the floor and outrebounded the younger Hope squad 32-25, improved to 12-2 in a game televised locally and beamed via satellite to 23 gatherings sponsored jointly by the schools' alumni associations. Eduardo Romero, Calvin class of '89, watched the game with a gathering of about 100 people at Rampart's, a restaurant in Alexandria, Va. "I was glad it was a Calvin-Hope event. It was obviously a spirited game and it's obvious it won't be the last time they have this."

Calvin took a 71-70 lead in the all-time series and the Knights also lead the all-time scoring tally by one point, 9,245-9,244. Hope (6-8) led by 17 points coming into the contest.

Catholic Wins for Fourth Straight Time in Goucher Rivalry

By Ray Martel
D3hoops.com

Catholic's Jim McNiff (left) and Goucher's Bakari Ward were All-CAC first-teamers last season. Ward was conference MVP, however, while McNiff is recovering from a knee injury.

The first rematch of last year’s thrilling 74-73 CAC championship thriller, which put Catholic in the NCAA Tournament and left Goucher on the outside looking in was just that. . . a thriller. Catholic came home with a hard-earned, albeit sloppy, 76-72 win on Goucher’s home court.

Catholic (10-3, 4-0 CAC) chose to go the long route in the first half, hitting 5-for-13 from three-point range. Sophomore guard Tim Judge was 3-for-3 in the first half from behind the arc. Goucher’s balanced attack was lead by senior point guard Bakari Ward. Catholic took the lead for good at 9-7 with 13:42 left in the first half and looked like they were going to pull away at the break, leading by as many as 14 points with 2:18 left, but a late run by Goucher (10-3, 2-1) put them down only 40-31at the break.

Goucher battled back to cut the lead to two at the 12:57 mark on a layup by center Ernie LoCascio, in the game after Bernard Threatt separated his shoulder in the first half. But Catholic extended it back to 12 points, netting five free throws and a three-pointer by Pat Maloney.

Poor ball handling by the Cardinals (21 turnovers on the game) and Goucher defensive pressure would fuel another Goucher charge. A Darrian Lee layup would cut the lead to two with 4:41 left before Catholic junior guard Dan Harrington hit a free throw and a jumper to make it 69-64. The Cardinals added another two points before Ward could answer with a pair of free throws, followed by a Catholic turnover and a Todd Sykes layup to cut the lead to 71-68. But Catholic would hold onto the ball the rest of the way, and only below-average free-throw shooting down the stretch (Catholic was 3-for-6 in the final minute) kept Goucher in position to tie the game at the end.

Goucher’s best chance was with under 30 seconds left. Shawn Kane missed one of two free throws and Lee answered at the other end with a long basket, but had a foot on the line. Those 71st and 72nd points were the last Goucher would score.

"We knew that going in it would be close," said Catholic head Coach Mike Lonergan. " I really didn’t feel good about the game, we haven’t played well lately, even though we came in 9-3, 3-0 in the conference, but I think Goucher and ourselves play the toughest out of conference schedule. So I told our team, we could be in a situation like Goucher last year."

Catholic was held in the second half to 1-for-6 from three-point range, keeping the Cardinals from pulling away. Lonergan added, "I don't want to live and die by the three, but Goucher’s defensive pressure was great in the second half."

Goucher, on the other hand, couldn’t make up for their miscues. "We made an unbelievable amount of mistakes," said head coach Leonard Trevino. "I don't understand why we weren’t more aggressive. I think our guys were up for the game, maybe we were just too tight. We dug ourselves in a huge hole, and we were much more aggressive down the stretch, in the last 10 minutes, but you need to play 40 minutes against a good team. It was a case of key breakdowns on offense and on defense at key times."

Goucher wasn’t helped by the loss of Threatt. "That was big for the main reason that he was playing aggressively. We needed that. We needed someone to step up aggressively and he was doing that very well in the first half, but you have to play through that. Injuries are just part of the game."

Amherst Shocks Williams at Chandler

By Jim Stout
D3hoops.com

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. -- Pat Mulvey scored 22 points and Chris Ingram and Brian Daoust added 18 and 16 apiece as the Amherst College men's basketball team surprised Williams, 90-67, in a NESCAC game Saturday night at the Chandler Athletic Center.

The loss was the first this season by Williams (8-1). Amherst improves to 8-3.

Amherst led by only 35-32 at intermisison before pulling away over the final 10 minutes of the contest.

Mike Holland of Williams led all scorers with 23 points while Jim Frew added 16.

As a team, Williams converted just 26 of 70 shots from the field (37.1%), and only 12 of 21 (57.1%) from the free-throw line. Amherst shot 18-for-30 from the floor in the second half (60%). Holland also grabbed 11 rebounds for the Ephs while Chris Smith and Charles Field each grabbed seven to lead Amherst.

Williams had won 15 of the last 18 games from Amherst. The teams have now split their last four decisions, with the home team winning all four games.

Wheaton Edges Illinois Wesleyan on Moo's Last-Second Free Throws

WHEATON, Ill. -- Wheaton posted an 83-81 come-from-behind victory against defending conference champion Illinois Wesleyan University Jan. 16 at Wheaton's Centennial Gym. Wheaton improved its records to 10-3 with 5 consecutive victories and wins in 9 of its last 10 games and is 2-0 in conference, and Illinois Wesleyan fell to 8-5 and 1-1 in conference. Wheaton has defeated the Titans 5 of the last 6 seasons at Wheaton.

Wheaton trailed 71-67 with 3:10 left in the contest before senior co-captain Charles Ridley, the CCIW's leading scorer (22.3 ppg) hit a three-pointer at the 2:40 mark to slice the lead to 71-70. Illinois Wesleyan went up 74-70 on a three-pointer by reserve guard Adam Osborn with 2:09 left, but senior co-captain Rob Hamann hit a three-pointer to cut the lead to 74-73 with 1:55 remaining.

Guard Nathan Hubbard scored for IWU with 1:28 left, but Hamann tied the game at 76-76 with his fourth three-pointer of the game with 1:11 remaining. Osborn hit a jumper with 0:59 left, but Ridley hit his third three of the game with 45 seconds left, and Hamann scored 2 free throws with 31.1 seconds left for an 81-78 Wheaton lead. After the teams exchanged turnovers, Hubbard was fouled by Hamann behind the three-point arc with 11.8 seconds left and drained all 3 free throws to tie the game at 81.

Wheaton brought the ball into the frontcourt, and sophomore center Luke Moo drove to the hoop and was fouled with 2.5 seconds left, and made both free throws for an 83-81 lead. Hubbard's off-balance three at the buzzer never made it to the basket.

The rest of the game was an emotional one characterized by big shifts in momentum. In the first half, Wheaton scored 13 consecutive points to lead 16-7 with 14:41 left, but the Titans countered with a 19-6 run in a span of 7:44 to lead 37-31 with 3:12 left before intermission. The Titans held a slim 39-38 halftime lead. With junior point guard Travis Senik scoring Wheaton's first 7 points of the second half, Wheaton took a 47-41 lead with 16:35 remaining, and with Moo scoring 7 consecutive Crusader points, Wheaton gained its biggest lead of the game, 53-43, with 13:30 left.

However, IWU scored the next 15 points to lead 58-53 with 9:50 left. Wheaton scored 6 consecutive points to lead 59-58 and led 65-64 with 5:05 left before IWU scored 7 consecutive points to lead 71-67 with 3:10 remaining, setting up the exciting closing minutes.

Hamann led all scorers with 21 points, and hit 4 of 5 three-pointers and 9 of 10 free throws. He also grabbed 5 rebounds and had 4 assists, 4 blocked shots, and a steal. Ridley totalled 20 points, hitting 8 of 16 shots and 3 of 7 three-pointers, and Moo totalled 15 points on 5 of 7 shots and 5 of 7 free throws, and had 4 assists, a steal, and a team-high 8 rebounds.

IWU guard Korey Coon, an All-CCIW first team selection last season, led the Titans with 19 points, 15 in the first half, and made 4 three-pointers and 5 of 5 free throws, but made no field goals in the second half. Hubbard totalled 15 points, 11 in the second half, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 steals, and reserve forward Todd Wente hit 6 of 7 shots and totalled 14 points and 4 rebounds in 14 minutes of action.

Oshkosh Ends Eau Claire's Winning Streak at 14 Games

EAU CLAIRE - Wisconsin-Oshkosh scored 23 of the first 26 points in the game and held on for a 76-66 victory against the Wisconsin-Eau Claire women's basketball team Jan. 16 at W.L. Zorn Arena. Oshkosh scored the first 11 points of the game and 23 of the first 26 as Eau Claire could only muster a three-pointer by senior Jacquie Vinje over the first 8:30. The two teams traded baskets for the rest of the first half as the Blugolds trimmed the lead to 15 points on two occasions and Oshkosh built as big as a 21-point advantage.

The Blugolds again trimmed the lead to 15 four minutes into the second half but the Titans used a 16-6 run to take its biggest advantage of the game at 59-34 with 10:27 to play. The 'Golds remained in the game, however, as sophomore Jessie Brantner scored nine of her career-high 21 points, all of which came in the second half, during a 20-7 Blugold run.

The run cut Oshkosh's lead to 66-54 with 4:49 to play but a three-pointer by the Titans' Sara Hegge, the only shot she made in the game, stopped the momentum and the Titans quickly rebuilt an 18-point lead. The Blugolds scored 10 of the next 11 points but time ran out on any attempt at completing the comeback.

Oshkosh, ranked third in the Columbus Multimedia ranking, remains unbeaten at 15-0 overall and assumes sole possession of first place in the WIAC at 8-0. Eau Claire, ranked No. 9, falls to 14-1 overall and 7-1 in the WIAC and had their winning streak snapped at 14 games which ties the school record originally established during the 1996-97 season.

Brantner was eight of 13 from the field in scoring her 21 points but she was the only scoring threat for the Blugolds on the night. Sophomore Jayme Anderson, who entered the game as the top shooter and second-leading scorer in the conference at 66% shooting and 20.3 points per game, was held to a season-low 10 points on 4-for-18 shooting. Anderson did have six rebounds, four assists and four steals.

Oshkosh, the top-rated defense in the WIAC, also held senior Allison Berg to two points on just one of five shooting, 11 points below her average. The Titans were led by Rachel Lachecki, the conference's second-leading shooter and top rebounder, who had 17 points on 8-for-9 shooting and 15 boards. Kelly McNiff added 11 points and 13 assists and Kelly Warnke had 11 points and six boards, the majority of which came in the first half.

After shooting just 27% from the floor in the first half, the Blugolds shot a blistering 57% in the second but the Titans also shot 57% in the half, 55% for the game. The Titans have won the last four meetings between the two teams and eight of the last 11.

EAU CLAIRE (FG-FGA FT-FTA PTS) Brantner 8-13 4-4 21, J. Anderson 4-18 1-2 10; Vinje 2-6 3-4 8, Berg 1-5 0-0 2, Murphy 4-5 1-2 9, Smieja 0-2 1-2 1, Schley 2-4 0-1 4, Burlingame 2-4 1-4 5, Hughes 2-3 0-0 4, Felmlee 0-0 2-2 2, Team 25-60 13-21 66. OSHKOSH (FG-FGA FT-FTA PTS) S. Warnke 3-6 2-4 9, Steckmesser 3-9 0-0 8, Lachecki 8-9 1-2 17, McNiff 4-9 2-5 11, K. Warnke 5-6 1-2 11, Sager 0-0 0-0 0, Turtenwald 0-0 0-0 0, Hegge 1-6 2-2 5, Deuster 4-4 0-0 8, Vosters 3-7 1-1 7, Team 31-56 9-16 76.

Three-Point Shots: Eau Claire 3-13 (Brantner 1-4, J. Anderson 1-3, Vinje 1-5, Berg 0-1); Oshkosh 5-14 (S. Warnke 1-3, Steckmesser 2-7, McNiff 1-2, Hegge 1-2). Rebounds: Eau Claire 31 (J. Anderson 6, Murphy 5, Burlingame 4, Hughes 4); Oshkosh 38 (Lachecki 15, K. Warnke 6, Vosters 4, S. Warnke 4). Assists: Eau Claire 12 (J. Anderson 4, Vinje 3); Oshkosh 24 (McNiff 13, Steckmesser 4). Steals: Eau Claire 13 (J. Anderson 4, Vinje 3, Murphy 3); Oshkosh 5 (Hegge 2). Turnovers: Eau Claire 15, Oshkosh 20. Halftime: Oshkosh 39, Eau Claire 20.

Gallaudet Women End Drought at Marymount

Gallaudet University (Washington, D.C.) and Marymount University (Arlington, Va.), separated by the Potomac River, are bound by a history of games dating back to 1970. The two teams met Jan. 16 at Marymount, with Gallaudet prevailing 99-89. It was the first win for the Bison in Arlington since 1983. The game was hard-fought, literally, as 53 personal fouls were assessed in the 40 minutes. Gallaudet improved to 9-3, 2-1 in the CAC while Marymount fell to 8-5, 1-3. Both teams were in the Top 10 in the Atlantic region in the Columbus Multimedia rankings.

"Whenever there are two teams close together, geographically, there is a chance a rivalry will develop," says Gallaudet head coach Kitty Baldridge. "It’s almost assured to happen if the teams play in the same conference and have a history of close games. Usually, it brings out the best in the players, too."

Indeed. Gallaudet’s Ronda Jo Miller, a Team of the Year First-Teamer who sat out much of the first half in foul trouble, scored 27 points in the second half to change the tide of the game. Gallaudet’s 65 second-half points set a school record. Additionally, Marymount’s Sandi Hutko grabbed a career-high 18 rebounds, and was one of four Saints who scored 17 or more points.

Marymount holds a 32-12 won loss record against Gallaudet. The Bison won the first eight matchups with the Saints, but only three of the next 35. Marymount’s domination included 24 wins in a row between 1986-97. But that 24th contest, the 1996-97 CAC championship game, helped fuel today’s existing rivalry.

Marymount, the four-time defending conference champions, hosted the surprising Bison, who had advanced to the championship game despite losing the two regular season games to the Saints. At the box office, many Gallaudet fans were turned away outraged and without tickets to the game that was not completely sold out. The reason: Marymount allotted half the tickets for the Bison fans, keeping the remainder for their own students. With Marymount in the middle of spring break, several seats on the Marymount side of the gym were empty, while some of the Gallaudet faithful were left out in the cold. Marymount prevailed, 81-74. Both teams were invited to the NCAA Tournament, Gallaudet for the first time ever.

The next time the teams met, Gallaudet won 91-75, ending Marymount’s streak. The rivalry, however, is alive and well. This year’s rematch will be held at Gallaudet Feb. 6.

Game Previews

Hope at Calvin

The two teams meet Saturday afternoon for the 141st time in the biggest rivalry in college basketball. How big is the rivalry? The Game drew 11,442 to Van Andel Arena in Grand Rapids, Mich., or 25 times the average Division III attendance. What other rivalry can claim that?

The teams are tied at 70 wins apiece after 10 consecutive wins by Hope. Calvin, which had won 15 of the previous 17 meetings, comes in at 11-2 and has its best chance in years to beat Hope (6-7).

How big is the rivalry? The game is being broadcast on satellite (commerical satellite "KU" band ("SBS-6" and transponder number "xpdr 8.") and the home satellite "C" band (satellite "Galaxy 7," with the transponder number "xpdr 10"). Game time is 3:00 p.m. EST.) and 23 alumni groups are gathering in major cities across the country to watch.

Hope's Rivalry Page

Amherst at Williams

The schools will meet for the 170th time in men’s basketball, with the tipoff at 8:00 PM. The Ephs are ranked fifth nationally at 8-0 and Amherst team is 8-2. Williams leads the series with a 103-66 record and the Ephs have won 15 of the last 18, but have split the last four. Amherst won the first two games played in Chandler, but has yet to win in Chandler in the 90s.

Wisconsin-Oshkosh at Wisconsin-Eau Claire

Everything points to an epic women's basketball showdown when the unbeaten UW-Eau Claire Blugolds and the unbeaten UW-Oshkosh Titans square off in Eau Claire's W.L. Zorn Arena Saturday night. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. for a game that will put oneteam in the driver's seat in the WIAC race at the midpoint of the conference schedule. Oshkosh is ranked No. 3 and Eau Claire No. 9 in the most recent Columbus Multimedia poll. Both teams are 14-0 overall and 7-0 in the WIAC.

Eau Claire has tied its school consecutive game win streak set by the 1996-97 team. Oshkosh has won 38 regular season games in succession since losing its season opener last year to the University of St. Thomas. The Titans, who have won four of the last five WIAC championships, have won 24 straight league games since losing to UW-Stout in the second to last game of the 1996-97 season. Eau Claire has won or shared five league titles with four runner-up finishes in the past 10 years under veteran coach Lisa Stone. Both teams have cruised past their first 14 opponents this year, Eau Claire winning by an average of 29 points a game and Oshkosh by an average of 27 points. No team has come closer than 11 points to Eau Claire and eight points is the closest anyone has come to Oshkosh.

Both teams have experienced squads with great depth and both emphasize defense. Both are led by a marquee player -- Eau Claire by 5-10 sophomore transfer Jayme Anderson who is averaging 20.3 points and 6.2 boards a game and Oshkosh by 5-10 senior Rachel Lachecki who is averaging 12.9 points and 8.9 rebounds per outing. Both players are shooting over 64% from the field. The Titans won all three meetings with the Blugolds last year as they did in 1995-96 while the Blugolds won all three games from the Titans in 1996-97.

Illinois Wesleyan at Wheaton (Ill.)

Check out Bob Quillman's Web site for a game preview.