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| Daniel Mbangue shot 8-for-12 from the floor en route to 18 points for Randolph-Macon. d3photography.com file photo by Mike Atherton |
Randolph-Macon wrapped up the top seed in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference tournament, Nebraska Wesleyan clinched the top seed in the ARC, Goucher played its way into the Landmark Conference tournament for the first time and Husson and SUNY-Cobleskill advanced to the NAC final in Saturday's NCAA Division III men's basketball action.
- Saturday scoreboard: Men | Women
- Men's conference tournament tracker
- More men’s headlines
- More women’s headlines
Daniel Mbangue poured in 18 points as No. 3 Randolph-Macon clinched the ODAC regular season title with a 65-44 win against Washington & Lee in the regular season finale. Mbangue had six points in a minute to stop a short W&L run and RMC cruised to the finish, scoring nine of the final 11 points of the game to clinch the 21-point victory. Randolph-Macon has clinched the ODAC regular season title, finishing 15-1 in conference play. Since 2018-19, RMC is 80-3 in regular season conference play, winning the ODAC regular season all but one time in that span. Hampden-Sydney heads into the 10-team ODAC tournament with a 70-59 win against Mary Washington in a non-conference game. Adam Brazil scored a game-high 21 points, including five three-point field goals, while Miles Harris tied his career-high with 14 points.
Nebraska Wesleyan defeated Buena Vista 65-57 on Saturday afternoon, finishing in a tie for first in the American Rivers Conference and claiming the top seed in the conference tournament thanks to a head-to-head sweep of Coe. The Prairie Wolves made seven of eight from the line in the closing minute to secure the win. Carter Glenn scored 23 to lead the way for NWU (22-3, 13-3 ARC). Dubuque, Loras and Central finished in a three-way tie for third in the conference at 11-5 in ARC play, with BVU finished in the sixth spot at 13-12, 6-10.
Jacob Morgan led four Goucher starters in double figures with 21 points as the Gophers never trailed in a 76-55 Landmark Conference men's basketball victory at Wilkes. The win, which completed a season sweep of the Colonels for the Gophers, clinched Goucher's first-ever Landmark Conference tournament berth. The Gophers are 7-7 since Jan. 1 and 10-15 overall. Morgan finished 9-15 from the floor as he reached double figures in scoring for the ninth straight game.
Husson is headed back to the North Atlantic Conference championship game after it defeated rival Maine-Farmington 74-68 in an overtime thriller. Following a Husson defensive stop in the final minute on the ensuing Farmington possession, Riles Neff got fouled and cashed in on one of two free throws to tie the game at 62. The Beavers had one final chance to end regulation, but a step-back three from Zachary Mickle didn't fall and the teams would play an additional five minutes. With Husson leading 68-66 and under 1:30 on the clock, the Eagles got the stop that they needed. On the other end, Neff took advantage of a second-chance opportunity, as he used a ball-screen from Jeremy Moronta on the top of the key and made Farmington pay for going under the screen, as he drilled a dagger from beyond the arc to give Husson (22-5) a 71-66 edge with 41 seconds remaining. The Beavers cut the lead to three, but clutch foul shooting from Moronta, who netted 3-4 down the stretch, salted the game away and sent Husson to the NAC title game against Cobleskill. The Tigers (17-10) won in a close game as well, edging SUNY Delhi 84-82. With time winding down, Kobe Long gave Cobleskill the lead, hitting a long three-pointer to make it 82-79 with only 15 seconds left. The Broncos then pushed the ball up the floor for a three-point attempt that was off the mark with Long rebounding the miss and drawing a foul. Long then pair of free throws with six seconds left to make it 84-79 to seal the victory and the championship.
Connecticut College saw its regular season end in the NESCAC quarterfinals as the Camels lost at home to Amherst, 65-57. The Mammoths, who led by as many as 15 in the first half and 13 in the second, saw the Camels close the gap to two with 4:05 to play. Amherst countered with baskets by Charlie Randall and Chris Hammond to stay in front, outscoring Conn 13-7 down the stretch to seal the victory. Amherst (15-10 overall) advances to next weekend's semifinals, which will be hosted by top-seeded Williams. The Mammoths will face the Ephs while second-seeded Trinity (Conn.) will take on fourth-seeded Tufts. Connecticut College (18-7) is hoping for an at-large bid but odds do not seem to be in the Camels' favor at this time.
Check out the D3hoops.com men's basketball conference tournament tracker for more info on who plays where this week during conference tournaments.