Bridgewater State hadn't won an NCAA Tournament game since 1983. DeSales hadn't even played an NCAA Tournament game since 1996, when it was known as Allentown College.
But both schools put those streaks to rest on Thursday night. Bridgewater State got 26 from Nicholas Motta and 23 from Judah Jackson to lead the Bears past St. Joseph's (Maine) 95-79 at home.before a standing-room only crowd. Darnell Braswell scored 23 and had 10 rebounds, while Ed Lapinski added 21 and 11 to lead DeSales past St. Joseph's (L.I.) 86-78. Trinity (Texas) made the home court hold up, holding off Maryville (Tenn.) 68-64. The Tigers will host Texas-Dallas on Saturday, while Bridgewater State goes to Middlebury and Ithaca hosts DeSales. Whitworth advanced to the second round as well, as Ross Nakamura scored 22 and Nate Montgomery added 16 in an 81-63 win against Claremont-Mudd-Scripps. Thursday night's men's scores.
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&&g-boxr&&Who will be the Cinderella teams? Who will be the disappointments? Who will make the Final Four, and from there, which team will win it all? Get Pat Coleman's take in our annual Division III men's NCAA Tournament preview. Plus, get a jump on Friday with this week's Around the Nation.
On Wednesday night, the women's tournament tipped off with one game, as Chapman knocked off Occidental 70-65 in overtime to advance. The Panthers travel to undefeated George Fox for a Saturday night game.