| Lamar Lovelace scored a game-high 23 points to lift Keuka to a conference title game for the first time since 2003. Keuka athletics photo |
Keuka, the No. 7 men’s seed in the Empire 8, will play for the conference title, and CUNYAC No. 6 men’s seed CCNY sees its dance continue on as well as MASCAC women’s No. 6 seed Anna Maria and GNAC women’s No. 6 Albertus Magnus moved on in Wednesday’s Division III basketball conference tournaments.
Keuka, the No. 7 seed in the Empire 8, advanced to the conference final by defeating SUNY Geneseo 55-53. Lamar Lovelace scored a game-high 23 points to lead the way for the Wolves (14-13). Keuka led by 13 early in the second half before Geneseo (16-11) scored 13 consecutive points to tie it up at 45, and it turned into a back-and-forth game from there. A fadeaway by Lovelace gave the Wolves a four-point lead with 2:33 remaining. Lovelace later found Makya Morrison for a dunk and one, extending the lead to six. Geneseo hit foul shots over the final minute to make it a 55-53 game in favor of Keuka with 54 seconds left. Keuka’s attempt was off with the ball, but Geneseo missed as well and Keuka was fouled with six seconds left. The Wolves missed the one and one, but Geneseo’s final attempt was off as Keuka held on. It’s the program’s first win at Geneseo in program history, and the first time Keuka has made a conference title game since it was in the old NEAC in 2003. Brockport pulled away from St. John Fisher in the Empire 8’s other semifinal, as Camron Dyer and Jack Clancy each scored a game-high 13 points off the bench.
In the CUNYAC, No. 6 seed CCNY rallied from a seven-point deficit in the final 90 seconds of the first overtime and went on to win in the second OT, defeating Brooklyn 76-72. With the Bulldogs grabbing a 69-68 lead with 2:23 to go in the second overtime, the Beavers would retake the lead for good beginning with a three-point make drained by Abdias Carcamo at the 1:06 mark. Brooklyn cut the lead to as few as point on two separate occasions in the final minute of the second overtime, but was never able to retake the lead as CCNY sealed the contest from the free-throw line. Carcamo had 24 points and nine rebounds on the night. CCNY will face top-seeded Lehman in the conference final.
Carvin Fish scored a game- and career-high 42 points and Minnesota-Morris used a late 26-9 run to help erase a 14-point second-half deficit and get past Crown 85-79 in the UMAC men’s basketball semifinals. Morris, the No. 2 seed in the conference tournament, improved to 14-12 (just 11-12 against D-III opponents) and will host the conference title game after No. 4 seed Bethany Lutheran knocked off North Central (Minn.) on the road on Wednesday night, 92-78.
“We’re getting to the point where we expect it out of him,” Morris coach Paul Grove said of Fish. “He’s one of a kind in our league. He’s tough to stop one-on-one, he’s tough to stop one-on-two, and he’s become a really good passer out of that double team, which gives those guys wide open looks.”
Eli Stoute’s shot from just inside half-court at the buzzer lifted fourth-seeded Misericordia to a thrilling 58-57 upset at top-seeded Arcadia in the MAC Freedom conference tournament. In a back-and-forth contest, the Cougars appeared to lose 57-55 on a buzzer-beating jumper by the Knights. Upon further review, 0.6 was added to the clock and Arvel Chandler threw a strike to Stoute on the inbounds pass in front the MU bench where he turned and drained the game-winner. Matt Prociak led the Cougars with a double-double, finishing with 19 points and 10 rebounds while Jack Gallagher also posted a double-double with 16 points and 14 rebounds.
Three of the top four seeds advanced in the GNAC, with No. 5 Emmanuel joining top seeds St. Joseph’s (Maine), St. Joseph (Conn.) and Albertus Magnus. Eastern Connecticut, the 5 seed, advanced in the Little East along with No. 3 seed Keene State. No. 4 Wheaton (Mass.) advanced past No. 5 Springfield in the NEWMAC, while the other semifinal was postponed for a day because of the tragic death of a Salve Regina football player earlier in the week.
Wednesday women’s: WIAC winners
On the women’s side, the WIAC played down to its final two teams with both home teams winning comfortably.
No. 5 UW-Oshkosh held UW-River Falls to four points in the fourth quarter, took a 20-point lead into the half, and cruised to a 68-41 victory at home. Paige Seckar had another excellent all-around game for the Titans (24-2), tallying 14 points, six rebounds and five assists, and Sarah Hardwick had nearly as many rebounds for UWO (12) as the River Falls starters combined (13).
No. 24 UW-La Crosse emphatically won the rubber game against No. 14 UW-Whitewater, 77-54, ousting the Warhawks from the WIAC playoffs. The Eagles were nearly perfect in the first period, shooting 13 for 15 from the floor and making all four 3-pointers in a 32-point quarter. Grace Knupp paced UW-La Crosse (17-9) with 14 points and seven assists.
Despite the losses, River Falls and Whitewater are in good position to receive at-large bids, as is UW-Platteville which fell in the WIAC tournament first round on Monday night.
The top four seeds in the ODAC are Salem-bound for the semifinals, though not without some drama.
Roanoke led No. 3 Washington and Lee for a half before the Generals pulled away in the fourth quarter for a 73-55 win. Mary Schleusner had four points at the half, but finished with 18 along with 21 boards and four blocks.
Shenandoah took a six-point lead with 19 seconds left and then held on to edge Guilford, 61-60. Emily Williams made three free throws in a five-second span to give the Hornets a 60-54 advantage, but Karly Glahn hit a three to cut Shenandoah’s lead in half. Jessica Littlejohn split a pair of free throws on the Hornets’ next trip, and that proved to be the difference since the Quakers hit a three at the buzzer.
Washington and Lee plays Shenandoah on one side of the bracket, while Randolph-Macon (68-47 winners over Virginia Wesleyan) and Bridgewater (57-47 winners over Hollins) will play in the 2/3 matchup.
Both road teams advanced through the UMAC semifinals, as North Central (Minn.) picked off top-seed Bethany Lutheran, 73-64. Brycelyn Brewster scored 20 points and Kaye Serapio added 18 more for the Rams, who will face three-seed UW-Superior for the title. The Yellow Jackets topped Minnesota-Morris, 68-59.
The three-seed will also host the championship game in the Empire 8 playoffs where SUNY Geneseo upset favorite Nazareth, 54-48. The Knights trailed 46-45 in the final minute until Maggie McGrane’s long inbound pass down the sideline connected with Aliza Whitehead who drove to the rim for a basket and the foul. Whitehead completed the three-point play to put SUNY Geneseo in front, and Grace Galgano made six free throws in the final 16 seconds to secure the Knights’ win.
With Nazareth and Brockport out of the picture, Houghton will host the title game. The Highlanders defeated seven-seed Elmira, 66-48, behind Tabitha DeVries’ double-double (17 points, 12 rebounds) and will go for their first NCAA Tournament bid on Saturday.
Anna Maria, the 6 seed in the MASCAC, advanced to the conference semifinals as Arianna Gonzalez scored 27 and Meaghan Doyle added 23 in a 96-70 win at Westfield State. Gonzalez took over in the third quarter, scoring 13 points in the period as Anna Maria extended its lead to 75-55 heading into the final frame. The AMCATS closed out the game by outscoring the Owls 21-18 over the final 10 minutes to punch their ticket to the semifinal round. Anna Maria will face No. 1 seed Bridgewater State, while No. 2 Framingham will host No. 4 Salem State.