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Notables

News and notes from around D-III

Dec. 16-31, 2002

Guilford, Carroll men add D-I transfers
Former Wisconsin high school basketball player of the year Julian Swartz has transferred to Carroll and Brandon Clifford, a former Mr. Basketball runner-up in North Carolina, is transferring to Guilford.

Swartz, a native of Waukesha, Wis., and the state's player of the year in 1999, transferred to Carroll from UW-Green Bay where he was working as a student-assistant with the basketball team after deciding not to play due to personal reasons. Prior to UW-Green Bay, he was member of the UW-Madison basketball team.

Clifford, a native of Greensboro, is a 6-9, 230 pound center transferring in from UNC-Wilmington. The sophomore, who played in 40 games for the Seahawks, is expected in the lineup for Guilford's Jan. 4 ODAC home game with Lynchburg.

"I hope he's able to give us an inside presence," Estes said. "His size and maturity will help stabilize our inside game."

Clifford averaged 2.3 points and 1.2 rebounds per contest in one-plus seasons with the Seahawks. He played five games in 2000-01 before undergoing season-ending ankle surgery and receiving a medical redshirt. As a redshirt freshman in 2001-02, Clifford averaged 2.6 points and 1.2 boards in 31 games off the bench. He helped the Seahawks capture last year's Colonial Athletic Association championship and upset USC in the NCAA Tournament before falling to Indiana in the second round. Clifford averaged 3.8 minutes in four reserve appearances this season before taking a leave of absence from the team and opting to transfer.

"Guilford is close to home and I've played with more than a few guys on the team," Clifford said. "Being comfortable here and being around family and guys I know made it easier than going somewhere else."

Clifford compiled 1,600 points and 1,000 rebounds in his scholastic career and recruiting analyst Bob Gibbons touted him as the 97th-best senior in the country in 2000.

The Yellow Jackets (6-5) led 52-49 with 3:21 to play when Leslie Cooke drained a 3-point basket to tie the score for the sixth time. Sharmion Selman put back an offensive rebound with 2:02 to play giving the home team back the lead.

Walker responded again tying the score again on an assist from Melissa Cote with 47 seconds to play before her winning basket.

AIC’s Michelle Ransom lifted a trey from the right corner with four seconds to play and sophomore Anna Lashway grabbed the rebound and her seven-foot jumper to tie the game was blocked by Walker.

Walker led the Owls (7-2) with 16 points and eight rebounds, while Brenda Knott was also in double figures with 14 points, including four triples.

For the Yellow Jackets, Lauren Clancy and Selman each tallied double-doubles. Clancy finished with 14 rebounds and 14 points, while Selman scored 13 and grabbed 12 boards. The Yellow Jackets outrebounded the Owls 45-32 including a 22-7 advantage on the offensive glass.

Kalamazoo knocks Wooster from unbeaten ranks
WOOSTER, Ohio — Dirk Rhinehart canned a 3-pointer with less than 30 seconds to play to give Kalamazoo College a 77-72 lead and Kalamzoo went on to win the championship game of the E.M. "Mose" Hole/Wooster Kiwanis Classic 79-72 over host Wooster on Dec. 29.

Wooster (9-1) had made it a two-point game (74-72) on the previous possession, when Matt Smith picked Jevon Caldwell-Gross and converted it into a fast break layup.

But Rhinehart came right back down the floor, made an individual move to get an open look, and buried the shot to seal the win for the Hornets (8-1) and tournament Most Valuable Player honors for himself.

Kalamazoo held a single-digit lead most of the way, in spite of a career-best effort from the Scots' Bryan Nelson. Playing with a brace on his leg that had caused him to miss one game and see just 31 minutes of action the last two, the 6-4, 230-pound forward made 13 of 17 field goals and 10 of 11 free throws for 36 points, and grabbed a team-high eight rebounds. It marked the most scoring by a Wooster player since Mike Trimmer had 38 at Denison on Jan. 30, 1988.

Nelson gave the Scots a 59-58 lead their first of the second half with a little more than 10 minutes to play. After nearly two minutes of scoreless ball, Matt Schlingman made one free throw for a two-point Wooster advantage, however, Caldwell-Gross answered with a 3-pointer to give Kalamazoo the lead for good.

The Hornets built it up to an eight-point game (72-64) their biggest lead of the contest with under three minutes remaining. The Scots had one last run in them before succumbing by seven.

While Dirk Rhinehart contributed team highs in both points (18) and rebounds (8) to secure one MVP, his brother, Erik Rhinehart, earned the defensive MVP award. Offensively, Erik had 16 points in the championship game, while joining him in double figures were Caldwell-Gross with 13, including another 3-pointer when the Scots had cut it to a one possession game with four minutes left, and Nathan Burns, who spurred Kalamazoo to an early lead with 10 of his 12 points in the first half.

In that half, the Hornets bolted out to leads of 10-3 and 16-9 before Wooster stormed back to tie it at 21 and later took the lead by as much as four (32-28). However, Kalamazoo finished with a late 15-6 run to go into halftime with a 43-38 edge.

Joining Nelson as the Scots only other double-digit scorer was Smith, who finished with 10 points while playing just 16 minutes due to foul trouble. Wooster struggled from the field (24-of-66), but especially from 3-point land where it connected on just five of 22 (.227). The Hornets, on the other hand, made 11 of 23 3-pointers (.478).

The consolation contest was also close, as Illinois College edged Benedictine 61-60 on a pair of free throws by Chad Tobin with :02 left. That came after Bryan Uselding made a pair from the stripe to give Benedictine a 60-59 lead with :07 remaining. Ingram scored a game-high 23 points and grabbed 10 boards to lead Illinois College, while Uselding and Ron Wellkomer paced Benedictine with 21 and 17 points, respectively.

In addition to the MVP awards, all-tournament team recognition went to Schlingman, Caldwell-Gross, Nelson, Ingram, and Chris Hebeler of Benedictine.

Mary Washington upsets VMI
LEXINGTON, Va. — Senior forward Dan Dupras, right, scored a team-high 21 points to lead four Eagles in double figures as Mary Washington defeated Division I Virginia Military Institute 60-56 in men's action Dec. 20. The win is the first ever over a D-I opponent in the 30-year history of the Eagle basketball program, and extends MWC's school-record win streak to nine games.

It's the third win for a D-III school against a Division I school this season.

The Eagles (10-1) stayed close throughout the first half, as the Runnin' Roos could only push the lead to as many as five points on one occasion in the first 20 minutes. The Eagles knotted the score at 30 with 1:33 left in the half, but a free throw by Jason Conley (the D-I national scoring leader last season) and a half-court shot at the buzzer gave the hosts a four-point halftime advantage.

Unlike last season, in which MWC held the halftime lead but then was outscored 46-18 in the second half, the Eagles came out strong for the second half, tying the score at 36 and then again at 38 with 16:53 remaining. After a Cris Hairston jumper put the Eagles ahead, 40-38, MWC would not lose the lead for the final 15:56 of the game. The Eagles would extend the lead to as many as seven points, as Brett Lively's jumper made the score 55-48 with 4:25 left.

VMI was unable to cut the deficit to any closer than two points, as the hosts missed six free throws in the final eight minutes of play. The Eagles connected for seven of nine free throws in the waning minutes to seal the victory.

Dupras led the Eagles with 21 points, with Cris Hairston and Brett Lively scoring 12 apiece and Jon Hurd adding 10 points. Conley led VMI with 24 points.

Baldwin-Wallace hands Mount Union first loss
BEREA, Ohio — Baldwin-Wallace head coach Steve Bankson won his 600th career game tonight spanning three levels as Baldwin-Wallace handed Mt. Union its first loss of the season 87-83 in an Ohio Athletic Conference game at the Rudolph Ursprung Gymnasium.

Bankson, now 600-386 overall, including 318 victories at B-W, has been a head coach for 38 years. In addition to having a 318-271 record at B-W, Bankson was 232-90 in 12 seasons as the head coach and athletic director at Lorain County CC (1968-79) and had a 49-25 record in the three seasons at the high school level (1965-68).

Sophomore forward Thad Davis led the Yellow Jackets (5-2, 2-1 OAC) in scoring with a game-high 20 points and a game-high nine rebounds. He was joined in double figures by sophomore guard Tom Harrington with 19 points, senior forward Shawn McCormick with 14, senior guard Jon Carroll with 13 and junior forward Eric Reminder with 12. Sophomore guard Chris Blakely led four Purple Raiders (6-1, 2-1) in double figures with 19 points.

In the first half, B-W led by as many as 18 points, at 21-3, with 13:08 left when Harrington scored on a layup. B-W also led at halftime, 41-37. In the second half, B-W again forged ahead and led by as many as 14 points, at 59-45, at the 14:09 mark on a layup by Carroll. Mt. Union would then outscore B-W and take its first lead of the game at 81-80 with 1:18 left when Blakely canned a foul shot to complete a three-point play. But B-W would receive the game-winning jumper from McCormick with 59 seconds left to make the score 82-81. He then canned a 3-pointer with 13 seconds left to make it 85-81, and he canned two foul shots with one second remaining for the final margin.

The Mount Union women's team, on the other hand, returned the favor in Alliance with a 66-63 upset of the No. 6 ranked Baldwin-Wallace women.

Notables 2003-pres.

2003 Notables
February 15-28
February 1-14
January 16-31
January 1-15

2002 Notables
December 16-31
December 1-15
November
October-early Nov.
September-October
June-August
May
March-April
February 22-28
February 15-21
February 8-14
February 1-7
January 22-31
January 15-21
January 8-14
January 1-7

2001 Notables
December 16-31
December 1-15
October-November
July-September
June
May
April
March

Notables 1998-2001

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