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| Randolph-Macon athletics file photo |
Randolph-Macon extended its home run to 62, Carleton won the MIAC title outright for the first time in more than a century, Calvin secured a share of the MIAA title.
No. 2 Randolph-Macon pulled away from Roanoke, 69-50, for its 62nd consecutive home win, tying the Division III record previously set by North Park. The Yellow Jackets put the game out of reach with an 18-0 surge in the second half capped by Miles Mallory’s jumper that pushed Randolph-Macon to a 52-36 lead.
Mallory was one of four Yellow Jackets who scored double figures and also grabbed nine rebounds. Randolph-Macon (23-1, 15-0 ODAC) finishes the regular season against at Guilford and then will play all of its ODAC playoff games at the Salem Civic Center, so their chance to set a Division III record would have to come in the NCAA Tournament. Josh Talbert had 16 points and four steals while Mallory added 14 points with nine rebounds. Roanoke fell to 18-6, 11-4 in the conference.
Ty Henderson scored 17 points to lead the third-ranked Captains of Christopher Newport over Salisbury, 85-73, at the Maggs Center. Henderson was one of five CNU players to reach double digits as the Captains won their sixth straight game, and improved to 21-3 on the season. Matthew Brodie and Jahn Hines tallied 13 each, junior Trey Barber scored 12, and Caleb Furr added 11 as Christopher Newport won its second game of the year over the Sea Gulls, who fell to 11-13.
No. 13 Calvin secured a share of the MIAA title with a 67-53 win over No. 21 Trine in Grand Rapids. Calvin led by 10 at the half and, after Trine closed with four early in the second half, the Knights went on an 11-1 run that gave them control for good. Freshman center Jalen Overway finished with 20 points and seven rebounds for Calvin (20-3, 12-0 MIAA), which can win the title outright with a win over archrival Hope on Wednesday night.
Top-ranked St. Joseph (Conn.) continued to cruise, rolling past Dean 87-60. Sixteen players scored for the Blue Jays, led by Jalen Samuels, who shot 6-for-8 and finished with 12 points in 18 minutes. The Blue Jays are four games ahead of Emmanuel in the Great Northeast Athletic Conference standings and have not lost a conference game since Feb. 14, 2019, against Suffolk.
UW-Oshkosh’s top seven players played all but four minutes of the game as the No. 19 Titans edged UW-La Crosse 91-88. A Hunter Plamann layup gave UW-Oshkosh a 76-74 advantage with 4:43 remaining and the Titans would not trail the rest of the game. The Eagles cut the deficit to 80-78 with 2:06 left on a Will Fuhrmann layup, but Plamann’s three-pointer and Will Mahoney’s free throw gave the Titans an 84-78 lead. Steckbauer went 4-for-4 at the free throw line as UW-Oshkosh took an 88-82 lead, but Steele hit a 3-pointer to cut the lead to 88-85 with 20 seconds remaining. Borchert made one of two at the line with 0:14 left and Gross’ 3-pointer for UWL cut the lead to 89-88 with seven seconds remaining. The Eagles forced a jump ball on the ensuing possession, but the Titans held possession of the ball. Mahoney was fouled with two ticks left and made both free throws for the final margin. Plamann scored a game-high 25 points, while Borchert added 24 and Mahoney 22.
Carleton claimed the MIAC title outright as the Knights won 74-70 at Macalester. The Knights made 15 3-pointers in the game, and the victory gives them the top seed in the upcoming MIAC tournament. It’s the first outright MIAC title for Carleton in more than a century, as the previous two were shared with St. Thomas, who has since left for Division I. Carleton big men Jeremy Beckler and Matt Banovetz combined for 49 points, thanks in part to an impressive 11-for-17 showing from beyond the arc. Carleton was a member of the Midwest Conference from 1924-1982.
After a two-hour delay at the beginning of the second overtime, North Park came out and outlasted Elmhurst 93-90. The Blue Jays’ Ocean opened the second overtime with a thundering dunk that shattered the backboard, and much later, the game resumed.
OMG!!! Ocean Johnson of Elmhurst shatters the backboard!!!!#why3 #d3hoops pic.twitter.com/DmXCG3bBNa
— Bob Quillman (@IWUhoopscom) February 12, 2023
Quillin Dixon hit a 3-pointer to give the Vikings an 89-86 lead with just over a minute remaining. Jonathan Zapinski then netted two free throws before sending Jordan Boyd to the line where he did the same. With under forty seconds left, the Vikings’ defense locked down the Blue Jays and forced a long possession that resulted in a missed three-pointer. Elmhurst managed to grab a clutch offensive rebound, but they again missed the follow-up chance. Jalen Boyd secured the rebound, and after getting fouled, went to the line to make it a 4-point game with seconds remaining. While Elmhurst did score on their next possession, there wasn’t enough time left on the clock for them to get another look, and the score went final at 93-90 over four hours after tipoff.
Shea Cupples hit a 30-foot 3-pointer as time expired to send the game to overtime and North Central (Ill.) went on to defeat Illinois Wesleyan 85-78 in overtime. The win pulled the Cardinals within one game of the .500 mark and knocked the Titans back to 12-12 overall, 7-7 in the CCIW. Matt Helwig led all scorers with a season-high 38 points, making 13 of 26 shots from the floor and eight of eight free throws. He scored 29 of his points after halftime. Cupples put up 14 points.
Washington & Jefferson tallied the final six points as the Presidents earned a hard-fought 88-86 victory against Waynesburg on the road in a Presidents’ Athletic Conference game. W&J trailed for a large portion of the game, including by double digits in the second half. Trailing by four points with just 1:14 to play, Matt Seidl drained a 3-pointer and Nick Gearhart gave W&J the lead for good with a pair of free throws with just 22 seconds to play. A pair of late defensive stops and a split at the free throw line by Seidl helped W&J walk away with the narrow win. W&J remained in sole possession of first place in the PAC, a half-game ahead of Allegheny, which defeated Grove City 70-64.