| Jabril Robinson scored 24 points on 10-for-15 shooting in Randolph-Macon’s emphatic win over Hampden Sydney. File photo by Randolph-Macon athletics |
Conference play began across the country with No. 2 Randolph-Macon blitzing No. 8 Hampden Sydney in the ODAC, Chapman tripping No. 5 Redlands in the SCIAC, and No. 10 Illinois Wesleyan holding off Carthage in the CCIW. Elsewhere, No. 1 Trinity survived its trip across town to St. Joseph’s, and the Ohio Wesleyan women topped John Carroll in their Top 25 showdown.
Randolph-Macon made Hampden-Sydney look completely out of sorts in the first meeting of the rivals this season, as the No. 2 Yellow Jackets rolled over the No. 8 Tigers 85-50. The Randolph-Macon pressure got to the Hampden-Sydney backcourt early and often, as the Tigers (4-2, 0-1 ODAC) turned the ball over 27 times, and the resulting points accounted for almost the entire margin, with R-MC outscoring H-SC 38-5 in points off turnovers. Jabril Robinson led Macon (5-0, 1-0) with 24 points, while Ty Showalter had 13 points and seven rebounds off the bench in the win.
In other ODAC openers, No. 14 Roanoke went on road and defeated Guilford, 98-79, behind a career-night for sophomore Tyler Barnes. He had 16 points, nine rebounds, and four assists and the Maroons shot 54 percent from the field. No. 13 Virginia Wesleyan held off Eastern Mennonite, 70-65, behind 15 points apiece from Malcolm Velmar and Khai Seargeant.
Chris Schlesinger took the rebound of a missed free throw and took it coast-to-coast in five seconds, finishing with a layup that hit high off the rim and bounced around before falling through and tying Carthage up with No. 10 Illinois Wesleyan at the buzzer in regulation, 73-73. The Firebirds never led in the extra session, however, as Casen Lawrence hit two three-pointers in overtime to help keep Carthage (3-3, 0-1 CCIW) at bay in the teams’ CCIW opener. Mason Funk led IWU (6-1, 1-0) with 35 points as the Titans garnered the 85-81 overtime victory.
Millikin also improved to 1-0 in the CCIW, and 7-1 overall, by downing North Central (Ill.), 55-50. The Big Blue shot just 29 percent from the field but made 16 of 19 free throws and converted 13 North Central turnovers into 16 points.
On opening night in the ARC, Loras won its fifth consecutive game, and left crosstown rival Dubuque with its first loss of the season, as Loras got it done on the road, defeating the Spartans 84-69. Kyle Kober tied for the game high and led the Duhawks (5-2, 1-0 ARC) with 24 points on 9-for-14 shooting, while Jack Haynes added 12 points and 17 rebounds in the win. Dubuque (5-1, 0-1) got 25 points from Jacob Williams, but the rest of the Spartans combined to go 15-for-42 from the floor and 5-for-23 from three-point range in the loss.
SCIAC play opened with an upset, as Chapman knocked off No. 5 Redlands, 75-63, behind a flurry of three-pointers. The Panthers outscored the Bulldogs 36-9 from behind the arc, with four different Chapman players hitting multiple threes. Joe Keegan racked up 13 points, seven rebounds, five blocks and four assists for Chapman (3-2, 1-0 SCIAC), which was picked fourth in the conference preseason poll.
In non-conference action, top-ranked Trinity (Conn.) came within a key possession of losing for the first time in 20 games, but the Bantams held on with their defense and got past St. Joseph (Conn.) on the road, 72-68. Jared Berry had missed two free throws with 14 seconds left, leaving Trinity (6-0) clinging to a 70-68 lead. But the Bantams forced a turnover, Henry Vetter made a pair of free throws, and the Bantams did not allow the Blue Jays (3-4) to even get off a final shot. St. Joseph turned the ball over 22 times, more than overcoming a 42-27 rebounding edge. Jarrel Okorougo scored a game-high 19 points while Drew Lazarre added 18 for Trinity.
Mary Washington, the No. 6 team in the latest D3hoops.com Top 25 poll, improved to 7-0 and secured the best start in the history of the program as the Eagles defeated Gettysburg 65-52. The Bullets (3-5) got as close as one point midway through the second half, but UMW went on an 8-0 to push the lead back to nine. Kye Robinson led Mary Wash with 19 points, shooting 9-for-15 from the floor. Gettysburg’s 3-5 record includes four losses to teams in the current D3hoops.com Top 25 poll.
Stockton shut down No. 19 TCNJ, 80-64, and picked up a big win in the NJAC. The Ospreys held TCNJ almost 20 points below their scoring average, and the Lions only made 5 of their 31 three-point attempts. Tayvon Gaither scored an efficient 18 points on 7-for-11 shooting in 20 minutes off the bench for Stockton (2-3, 1-1 NJAC).
Austin Finarelli scored 33 points and Zuri Harris added 26 more, and Elizabethtown dealt No. 20 Drew its first loss of the season, 95-93 in overtime. Finarelli made a layup to tie the game at 81 with one second left to play in regulation, and then he sank the game-winning free throws in the closing seconds of overtime. Eli Yusavage and Andre De Los Reyes scored 21 points each for the Rangers (6-1, 2-1 Landmark).
In women’s action, No. 24 Ohio Wesleyan opened its conference season with a 65-63 buzzer-beating win over previously unbeaten No. 7 John Carroll.
After Ohio Wesleyan built a 10-point lead at the half, John Carroll rallied and kept the game within two possessions the rest of the way. Carmen Heuker scored a three-point play that put JCU ahead by five with three minutes left, but the Battling Bishops scored the next eight points and led 63-60 in the final minute. After Carly Perusek’s layup pulled John Carroll even with eight seconds left, Ohio Wesleyan called time out to set up its final play. The Battling Bishops got the ball to Kendall Dieringer and her jumper lifted OWU to victory.
Macy Miller and Alyssa Griner each had double-doubles for Ohio Wesleyan (5-1, 1-0 NCAC) while Perusek led John Carroll (5-1, 0-1 NCAC) with 12 points.
The top two teams in the NCAC preseason poll also faced off, and Denison stayed perfect with a 59-52 road win at DePauw . The Big Red were outrebounded 47-34, but scored 16 points off 22 Tiger turnovers. Abby Cooch paced Denison (8-0, 1-0 NCAC) with 19 points.
No. 13 Illinois Wesleyan overcame a halftime deficit and overtook Augustana, 74-70, on the road in the teams’ CCIW opener. The Vikings shot 77 percent in the first period (10 for 13) and led 35-31 at the break, but the Titans’ defense and balance won out in the second half. Illinois Wesleyan (5-2, 1-0 CCIW) scored 27 points off 25 Augustana turnovers and had four players score double digits, led by Ava Bardic (22 points).
Jaycie Christopher scored 21 points for Southern Maine, and the Huskies held Mass-Boston’s starting lineup to 16 points in USM’s 64-47 victory. Christopher also outscored the Beacons from behind the arc, as she hit five 3-pointers to Mass-Boston’s four.
Clare Cronley’s layup in the final minute proved to be the game winner as Dickinson dropped McDaniel, 59-57, in a back-and-forth Centennial Conference opener. Victoria Zerbe flirted with a triple-double for the Red Devils (4-3, 1-0 Centennial), racking up 16 points, eight assists, and eight rebounds. The Green Terror slipped to 7-1, 0-1 in conference.
Immaculata also crossed Widener off the list of unbeaten teams, as the Mighty Macs rolled over the Pride, 75-52. Carly Coleman led Immaculata (5-2) with 21 points and Olivia Ettore scored 17 more, including buzzer beaters at the end of the first and second quarters.