No. 8 St. Thomas rolled out to a double-digit first-half lead and held St. John's at bay throughout as the Tommies avenged a five-point road loss from exactly a month ago and won by 15 at home, 74-59. It was standing room only at Schoenecker Arena and fans were turned away. On senior day, classmates Mike Keating, Isaac Rosefelt and Bryan Schnettler combined for 59 points and 27 rebounds. Adam Johnson blogged on the wild rivalry.
Allegheny put four scorers in double figures as the Gators upset No. 6 Wittenberg on the final day of the NCAC regular season, 62-57. Allegheny, which nearly upset Wittenberg when the Tigers were No. 1 last season, led by as many as 11 points, paced by 14 from Casey McCloskey and 12 each from Ryan Hollihan and Ben Torsney. No. 3 Amherst, the top men's seed in the NESCAC tournament, survived a stiff challenge from eighth-seeded Bates to win 72-68. And No. 4 Wooster outlasted Ohio Wesleyan despite 20 points from the Battling Bishops' Dustin Rudegeair. More men's scores.
On the women's side, Keene State rolled past No. 4 Southern Maine 62-50, ending the Huskies' 63-game Little East winning streak heading into the conference tournament. Bri Barnes led the Owls with 23 points, including 4-for-7 shooting from 3-point range, as the only Keene State player in double figures. Southern Maine's last conference loss came Jan. 21, 2003, at Plymouth State. Sixth-ranked Scranton trailed by 22 at halftime but rallied behind 16 second-half points from Allison Matt and Casey Thran to beat DeSales 78-71.
No. 19 Illinois Wesleyan, hit with the loss of top scorer Mallory Heydorn to a broken hand earlier in the week, pulled out an important home win against North Park, 64-63. IWU trailed by as many as 12 in the first half but got 18 from Claire Sheehan. More women's scores.
Mike Hoyt went on another rampage for Mount St. Mary and surpassed yet another milestone. Scroll down for more. Immaculata, in just its second season of men's basketball, won a conference tournament game for the first time, beating Wesley to advance in the Pennsylvania Athletic Conference behind 34 points from Jason Hyman. Occidental won at Redlands 116-106 to stay take over the SCIAC lead, as co-leader Cal Lutheran's lost at Pomona-Pitzer. Occidental, which can clinch the automatic bid with wins against 6-18 La Verne and 9-14 Whittier, held off a late charge despite being without the services of Sam Betty. Betty injured his knee in the second half and did not return. New Jersey City and Rowan claimed top seeds in the NJAC tournament.
Elsewhere in women's action, No. 25 Fitchburg State saw its winning streak last one night longer than Cortland State's did, as Bridgewater State downed the Falcons 60-52. Fitchburg had won 23 in a row. Smith and MIT played a winner take all game for the final NEWMAC tournament spot. Smith won 43-41, in double overtime.