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| Mike Murray had 10 points,
five assists and seven rebounds for Hampden-Sydney in its win vs.
archrival Randolph-Macon, the ODAC's top seed. Hampden-Sydney athletics photo |
Needing a win to keep its postseason hopes alive, eighth-seeded Hampden-Sydney came out fired up against its archrival, rolling out to a 28-8 lead and then holding on to knock off Randolph-Macon 68-55 in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference quarterfinals.
The Yellow Jackets were the top seed in the tournament and came into the week the No. 1 team in the NCAA's South Region rankings. Randolph-Macon should be safely in the NCAA Tournament, but if someone other than R-MC or Virginia Wesleyan wins the ODAC automatic bid, it might precent someone else from getting an at-large bid.
Hampden-Sydney will play Eastern Mennonite, which defeated Lynchburg 93-81. Ryan Yates came off the bench to score 34 for the Royals (16-10), while dunking demon David Falk corralled a conference-record 28 rebounds, 24 of them on the defensive end as Lynchburg went 30-for-84.
The Tigers weren't the lowest seed to advance, either. No. 11 seed Washington and Lee moved on in the ODAC as well, defating third-seeded Guilford 77-70.
York (N.Y.) snapped No. 18 Staten Island's 24-game winning streak and put the Dolphins out on the bubble, winning the CUNYAC title game 87-84. York nearly celebrated too soon, losing the ball with a couple of seconds left and Staten Island threw up a heave that missed.
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| Dave McHugh spoke with South Region chair Jeff Burns, Randolph-Macon's AD, at the ODAC tournament. |
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| Pat Coleman spoke with David Arseneault Jr. of Grinnell about the Pioneers' win, how teams are attacking them differently and whether they feel differently about their early-season pursuit of individual records. |
Cabrini used a 19-2 second half run to pull away from Neumann and capture its fifth consecutive CSAC title, 96-79. The Cavaliers' Camden Connection, Aaron Walton-Moss and Vinny Walls, combined for 57 points on Friday after scoring 67 in the semifinal on Tuesday. Walton-Moss and Walls played together at Camden High School in New Jersey.
Mary Hardin-Baylor saw its eight-game winning streak snapped as Louisiana College won an American Southwest Conference tournament game for the first time in program history, knocking off last year's national runner-up 81-71 in the ASC quarterfinals. UMHB was the No. 3 seed in the tournament. Doc Welch led the Wildcats with 17 points, while Dylan Brewer and Kevin Lewis added 16 points apiece. The Cru's season ends at 17-9.
Grinnell advanced to the Midwest Conference championship game for the first time since 2011, starting with a 3-point barrage and surviving one from Ripon in the second half to defeat the Red Hawks 122-115. Luke Yeager led the Pioneers with 29 points, including 12-for-12 shooting from the foul line, while Julian Marx added 25 and Kyle Parker 20. Grinnell hit 10 of its first 12 3-pointers, while Ripon was 11-for-21 from beyond the arc in the second half. Photo gallery.
The Pioneers will face top seed and fifth-ranked St. Norbert, which trailed by 17 points in the first half but rallied to down Carroll 73-68. The Green Knights fell behind 36-19 in the first half but rallied to cut the lead to seven at the break and took their first lead at 59-56 when Kam Cerroni hit a 3-pointer with 8:06 left in the game. Brandon Gries led all scorers with 24, while Andrew Schwoerer added 22 off the bench on 9-for-10 shooting. Photo gallery.
Fourth-ranked Illinois Wesleyan, the top seed in the CCIW tournament, held off fourth-seeded Carthage 76-71. The Titans led by as many as 11 in the second half before the Red Men battled back and had a shot to tie in the final 30 seconds. Jordan Nelson led IWU with 17 points. The Titans face Wheaton for the conference's automatic bid on Saturday night after the Thunder rolled past Augustana 66-55.
St. Thomas and St. Olaf will meet for a third time, this one with the MIAC automatic bid on the line. The Oles defeated Gustavus Adolphus 66-53, turning the ball over just eight times on the night. The No. 12 Tommies took care of the ball even better, turning it over just three times in a 74-59 win vs. Bethel. St. Thomas is in the title game for the eighth time in nine seasons.
Edward Correa scored 20 and Ezra Hodgson and John Perez added 18 apiece as Plattsburgh State advanced to the SUNYAC title game, defeating Geneseo 73-69. Brockport advanced to the title game as well, as Aaron White scored 18 points including 12 in the second half to lead the Eagles to a convincing 77-56 victory over Oswego.