Saturday men: Red Devils, Corsairs come up big

Jan 22, 2022
Andrew Gostovich was efficient from the floor, shooting 4-for-5 from the floor and 3-for-3 from 3-point range for Dickinson.
Dickinson athletics file photo
 

Two Top 15 teams got knocked off, two more played a close game to the final buzzer, and two more ranked teams barely survived on Saturday, Jan. 22, 2022, in Division III men's basketball.

Dickinson picked up just its fourth win of the season, but it was a big one as the Red Devils knocked off No. 11 Swarthmore 52-48, handing the Garnet their first loss in Centennial Conference action. The loss snapped Swarthmore's 35-game win streak in Centennial Conference play, and marked the first time Swat had been held beneath 66 points all season. Ryan Robinson hit a 3-pointer with 5:09 left to give Dickinson (4-9) a 48-47 lead, Chris Bates followed with a layup 49 seconds later and the game remained 50-47 until the final minute. Andrew Gostovich led the way off the bench for Dickinson with 11 points.

Marcus Azor registered his 11th double-double in 14 games and added six assists as Mass-Dartmouth knocked off No. 15 Wesleyan on Saturday, 104-94. The Corsairs, who improved to 12-2, forced 14 turnovers and shot 21-for-23 from the free-throw line in the win. It's their first win against a team in the most recent D3hoops.com Top 25, although the Corsairs beat Tufts and Brandeis, who were ranked in the preseason poll. Wesleyan, which was led by 20 points from Antone Walker, fell to 15-2. The game was tied at 70 with 8:18 left before John Martins Jr. and JC Santos hit back-to-back 3-pointers as part of an 8-0 run. Azor scored 11 of his 23 points down the stretch to help seal the win.

Nyameye Adom split two defenders and scored on a finger roll with 5 seconds left and Wheaton survived a last-second look at the basket by All-American guard Jake Rhode as the No. 14 Thunder defeated No. 12 Elmhurst 84-83. Wheaton had led by as many as 11 midway through the second half before Elmhurst went on a 16-4 run, keyed by three 3-pointers by Rhode, taking an 81-80 lead. Lavon Thomas put Elmhurst back up with 13 seconds left on a jumper in the lane, but Adom drove in from the right corner and found his way to the basket for the winner. Tyson Cruickshank led Wheaton with 21 points while Cade Alioth added 17 and 11 rebounds. Rhode finished with a game-high 23 for Elmhurst, including 6-for-11 shooting from 3-point range.

UW-Platteville narrowly avoided its second consecutive loss, as the No. 2 Pioneers dodged an upset attempt on the road, winning at UW-Stout 74-72. The Blue Devils got a look at a 3-pointer in the closing seconds, but could not get the shot to go down. Quentin Shields had a big game for Platteville (17-1, 6-1 WIAC) with 32 points and six rebounds, shooting 11-for-20 from the floor.

No. 17 Mount Union went on a 30-8 run to close the first half and went on to steamroll No. 21 Heidelberg 82-56. The Purple Raiders limited the Student Princes to 4-for-25 shooting from 3-point range and were led by 19 points off the bench from Andrew Keller. Mount Union improved to 13-2, 7-2 in the Ohio Athletic Conference, while Heidelberg fell to 12-3, 7-2.

No. 19 WPI won its 10th consecutive game but it was not without drama as the Engineers (14-1, 6-0 NEWMAC) rallied from a 13-point second-half deficit to down Wheaton (Mass.) 80-77 on Saturday. Kahleb Downing hit a 3-pointer with under 2.8 seconds to play, as WPI held the Lyons (5-11, 0-5) scoreless over the final 2:56.

J.R. Mazza drained eight 3-pointers and poured in a career-high 28 points to lead Washington & Jefferson to a 90-79 wire-to-wire victory against Westminster (Pa.). The win gave the Presidents a sweep of the regular-season series against Westminster for the first time since the 2013-14 season and lifted W&J into a share of first place in the Presidents' Athletic Conference. W&J is tied in winning percentage with Chatham, which has only gotten 10 games in this season and is 9-1, 4-1 in the league. W&J is 13-4, 8-2.

DeSales remained unbeaten in the other MAC conference, scoring 18 of the game's final 24 points to win 74-63 at Arcadia (6-12, 5-4). The Knights had gone on a 14-3 run of their own to take a lead with 5:53 but Mason Barnes hit a 3-pointer to give the Bulldogs the lead for good a minute and a half later. Elijah Eberly led DeSales (16-1, 9-0) with 16 points.

Mason Wang scored 24 of his game-high 32 points in the second half and Hood closed the game with a 23-10 run to defeat Widener on the road 82-71. The Blazers improved to 8-1 in MAC Commonwealth play and 11-5 overall, moving into first place in the conference with Eastern's 83-73 loss at Messiah. Wang was 7-for-10 from 3-point range and 9-for-10 from the line in the victory.

Keystone went overtime for the second time in as many games as the Giants defeated Clarks Summit 69-67. Albert Pewa was 0-for-4 from the field before making a wide-open 3-pointer off a feed from Jack Anderson with 92 seconds to go in the extra session. Anderson led Keystone (6-11, 4-4 Colonial States Athletic Conference) with 25 points. Clarks Summit fell to 6-12, 3-4. Keystone had lost to Rosemont in double overtime on Thursday.