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Salem

About the 2002 Division III
men's basketball tournament

Hope 54, St. Norbert 53
DE PERE, Wis. — Travis Spaman's 18-foot jumper with 0.8 seconds left gave visiting Hope, the 10th seed in the West bracket, a stunning 54-53 win over sixth-seeded St. Norbert in a first-round NCAA Division III tournament game at Schuldes Sports Center. Hope (21-8) advances to play Carthage, ranked No. 1 in the country, on Saturday, while St. Norbert ends one of its best seasons 21-5.

St. Norbert took a 53-52 lead with 10 seconds left after Drew Demerath drove the baseline and found a wide-open Nathan Hoffmann for an easy layup and a brief lead. Following a timeout, Hope drove the lane and found Spaman at the elbow for a wide-open jumper shot first the game-winning points.

As expected, the game was a war from the start. St. Norbert was able to take two seven-point leads in the first half, but the Green Knights did not score from the field in the final 6 minutes 59 seconds of the half. Cody Fleming's jumper at the buzzer of the half put Hope down just 27-26 at intermission.

Hope then went on a 7-0 run to start the second half, and St. Norbert would not get a tie until 42-42 at the 9:34 mark. Hope promptly went on a 5-0 run, but St. Norbert answered with a 7-0 run to go ahead 49-47 at the 3:44 mark. Hope's Mike VanHekken made a 3-pointer at the 2:51 mark, and St. Norbert would go back ahead on a 16-footer by Hoffmann at 1:26. VanHekken made two free throws with 24 seconds left to put Hope back up 52-51 with 24 seconds left to set up the game's final dramatic moments.

Don Overbeek had 18 points and 10 rebounds to lead all players. VanHekken added 13 points for the Flying Dutchmen.

Hoffmann led St. Norbert with 17 points, but was held to 7-for-19 shooting from the floor.

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