| Pierce Peters was 9-for-12 from the line en route
to 22 points at St. John's. d3photography.com file photo by Ryan Coleman |
Macalester got 22 from Pierce Peters and Justin Wasik shot 5-for-7 from 3-point range en route to 17 points as Macalester snapped a 26-game losing streak and a 52-game MIAC skid in winning 90-81 at St. John's on Wednesday night.
Macalester, which hired coach Tim Whittle after an 0-25 season, hadn't won an MIAC game since Jan. 30, 2008, at St. Mary's (Minn.). The Scots led by as many as 21 in the second half en route to the victory. The victory was the Scots' first against over SJU since Jan. 12, 2005 (66-45) and first against a conference opponent since Jan. 30, 2008, against St. Mary's (68-65).
Calvin got 30 points from Danny Rodts on 5-for-5 shooting from 3-point range as the Knights took down archrival Hope 95-81 in front of 3,653 at DeVos Fieldhouse. It was the first Rivalry head coaching outing for Matt Neil, longtime Hope assistant. Hope took three of four from the Knights last season but Calvin cut the Flying Dutchmen's lead in the best rivalry in Division III basketball to 90-87.
| Tyler Nicolai's three-pointer beat the buzzer and
saved No. 5 St. Thomas from an upset loss in its new
home. St. Thomas athletics photo by Greg Smith |
Tyler Nicolai hit a three-pointer as time expired to lead lift No. 5 St. Thomas to a 62-59 home win against Carleton. The Tommies trailed 59-57 and Carleton had the ball with 38 seconds left but the Knights couldn't finish off the upset. No. 10 Eastern Mennonite led for most of the game but couldn't hold on down the stretch and lost 93-92 at Washington and Lee. J.D. Ey has probably the shortest name in Division III basketball but otherwise filled up the stat line with 21 points on 9-for-11 shooting for the Generals.
Edgar Martinez didn't make the baseball Hall of Fame today, but his namesake got 15 points and nine rebounds to lead Elms past No. 22 Plattsburgh State 70-58. No. 24 Marietta defended its first national ranking in more than a decade well, beating Mount Union 64-54 on the road. No. 19 MIT, which has struggled since losing preseason All-American Noel Hollingsworth for the season, rallied behind Will Tashman's late heroics to beat Tufts 71-69.
Cal Lutheran led by as many as 10 points late in the second half before No. 20 Chapman pulled to within three points in the final seconds of regulation. But Aaron Van Klaveren hit both free throws to ice a 58-53 upset win.
Wabash and Amherst resisted looking ahead to Saturday's big showdowns as the No. 7 Little Giants beat Denison 73-57 and the No. 17 Lord Jeffs topped Wesleyan 87-74. Wes Smith scored 28 points for Wabash.
New Jersey City beat St. Joseph's (Bklyn.) to improve to 4-6. The Gothic Knights' four wins have come by an average of 41 points with the six losses by a total of 16. William Paterson won its first NJAC game in three tries, knocking off Rutgers-Newark 77-60. Rutgers-Newark is 12-2 but its best win is against Baruch (7-5).