| UW-Whitewater guard Alex Merg
finished with a game-high 11 assists but took this two for himself
in the second half of the Warhawks' 55-53 win at UW-River
Falls. Photo by Pat Coleman, D3sports.com |
UW-Whitewater was all but out of the running when the week started, but the Warhawks won twice and UW-Stevens Point lost twice and No. 9 Whitewater finished with the regular-season crown and the top seed in the WIAC, winning 55-53 at No. 19 UW-River Falls.
Chris Davis hit a baseline jumper with 2.9 seconds left to lift the Warhawks, finishing with a team-high 18 points and six rebounds. Scroll down to see video of the game-winning basket and Davis' postgame comments.
UW-Eau Claire defeated UW-Stevens Point for the first time in more than a decade. The Blugolds had lost 23 consecutive meetings since Feb. 7, 2001, before pulling away to a 77-58 home win against the 12th-ranked Pointers on Saturday behind 23 from Jordan Petersen.
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John Carroll and Capital cap off the season in a tie for first place in the Ohio Athletic Conference, with John Carroll winning the OAC's top seed. John Carroll's Joe Meyer hit a three-pointer with 5.7 seconds remaining to rally past Marietta and win the regular season crown in the Ohio Athletic Conference for the third time in the past four seasons. Capital recovered from a two-game road losing streak to beat Marietta at home and win a share of the conference crown.
Fifth-ranked Mary Hardin-Baylor cruises into the American Southwest Conference tournament on a hot streak, beating Texas Lutheran 60-53 on Saturday afternoon to improve to 24-1. No. 8 Birmingham-Southern does likewise in the SCAC, beating Oglethorpe 92-80 to go to 24-1. Zac Richards went 12-for-15 from the field to finish with a team-high 25 points.
Bluffton celebrated Senior Day in style as the Beavers thumped No. 14 Transylvania 83-65 and secured an HCAC playoff bid. Mychal Hill led five Bluffton players in double-figuring scoring with 21 points. Senior Day was also sweet at Defiance. The Yellow Jackets honored their five seniors before the game and then nipped Franklin 70-68 to grab an HCAC playoff spot. It was also Kyle Brumett's 100th career victory.
No. 25 Hartwick captured the top seed in the Empire 8. The Hawks built a 16-point haltime lead over Stevens and held the Ducks at wing's length the rest of the way in 91-76 victory.
Hampden-Sydney pulled into a tie for third in the ODAC with a 79-71 win against archrival Randolph-Macon. No. 7 Virginia Wesleyan clinched the top seed with an 84-60 win against Emory and Henry, while Randolph-Macon will be the No. 2 seed.
Eastern Connecticut topped Mass-Boston 76-68 to grab the top seed in the Little East Conference. Rhode Island College will be the two seed since the Anchormen sunk Keene State 65-57.
Both sides of the Middle Atlantic Corporation had their playoff races go down to the wire. Will Greene sunk two free throws in the final minute to send FDU-Florham past Delaware Valley 61-60 and into the Freedom Conference playoffs as the four seed. Mike Donatoni rattled in a three-pointer of an Eastern offensive rebound and the Eagles rallied past DeSales 68-66 to complete the Freedom playoff picture.
Albright dumped Widener 87-68 to win its sixth consecutive game and land a Commonwealth playoff spot. Derek Hall scored his 1,000th career point for the Lions who had a 2-6 conference mark to start the month. Lycoming lost to Alvernia 68-60 but still takes the last Commonwealth playoff spot over the Crusaders by winning the fourth tiebreaker (record against Lebanon Valley).
Carroll gets the final spot in the MWC playoffs because of a win and some help. The Pioneers topped Illinois College 76-73 and Beloit picked off Ripon 94-81. Wheaton (Ill.) beat North Park, Augustana beat Carthage in overtime and Illinois Wesleyan defeated Elmhurst, but it still wasn't enough to finalize pairings for the CCIW tournament, which will hings on a Wheaton-Augustana matchup on Tuesday.
Defending national champion St. Thomas will be the top seed in the MIAC tournament. The Tommies rolled over St. Mary's (Minn.) 70-40. Bethel defeated Gustavus Adolphus 68-52 to force the Gusties into sharing the MIAC title and the second seed in the playoffs.
Scranton defeated Moravian 81-77 to secure home court in the Landmark Conference playoffs. Ross Danzig, son of head coach Carl, led the Royals in points, rebounds and assists.
In the NESCAC tournament, top-seeded and No. 2 ranked Amherst got 21 points from Aaron Toomey and 14 from Taylor Barrise to advance past Hamilton into the semifinals, 86-66. Ryan Sharry scored 22 points and Jake Wolfin added 16 to lead fourth-ranked and second-seeded Middlebury past Williams 73-61 in a high-powered conference quarterfinal. Bates knocked off Tufts 57-54 while third-seeded Wesleyan rolled past Bowdoin 78-59.
Sixth-seeded Immaculata knocked off third-seeded Gwynedd-Mercy 94-82 in the CSAC tournament, ending the Griffins' seven-game winning streak. Brandon Smith scored 29 points for the Mighty Macs, who improved to 11-15. Gerald Bryant scored 27 points and Neumann eliminated Rosemont 73-59 in the other CSAC playoff game.
Two of the three lowest seeds in the CUNYAC tournament advanced to the semifinals. Mark Evans hit two three-pointers in overtime to push seventh-seeded York (N.Y.) past Brooklyn 79-73. Malcolm Ellis drilled a three with 22 seconds left to lift sixth seed Medgar Evers over Lehman 63-60 in overtime. A game that went according to the seedings was still a thriller, as fourth-seeded Baruch topped fifth-seeded Hunter in overtime 68-66.
In the NJAC tournament, Mike Shaughnessy's three pointer in the closing seconds helped Kean edge Rutgers-Newark 55-53. Ramapo survived Rowan 76-74 in the other first round matchup.
More to come.