NCAASports.com
Tournament Bracket
Tournament Preview
Wheaton College will host NCAA Division III Tournament First and Second Round action on Friday and Saturday (March 6-7) in
King Arena. Saturday’s Second Round game between Wheaton and UW-Platteville will tipoff at 7 PM. Tickets will go on sale in the King Arena lobby at 5:30 PM when the arena doors will open.
Ticket prices are $6.00 for adults and $3.00 for seniors, and students. Children two-years-old and under will be admitted for free. Please note that as a NCAA Championship event no free passes will be accepted. All tickets for the game will be general admission.
Saturday’s game will be broadcast online with live streaming video at
http://www.wetn.org. Live in-game statistics will be available online.
WHEATON 74, UW-PLATTEVILLE 69 (OT) -- GAME RECAP
Wheaton, Ill. – The Wheaton College men’s basketball team defeated UW-Platteville 74-69 in overtime on Saturday night in a Second Round game of the NCAA Division III Men’s Basketball Tournament. With the win, Wheaton advances to the NCAA Division III Men’s Basketball Sectional Semifinal for the second consecutive year. The Pioneers end the year with 22-6 record.
Wheaton (27-3) will host Washington University (25-2) at 8 PM (CDT) on Friday in one Sectional Semifinal in King Arena. Friday's action will open at 6 PM when St. Thomas University (29-0) face University of Puget Sound (25-3).
Wheaton’s Kent Raymond scored a basket with 10-seconds remaining in the first half to give the Thunder a 27-24 lead at halftime. Wheaton had a strong second half, leading by as many as nine points with a 54-45 lead with 5:58 remaining in regulation. The Pioneers scored seven un-answered points to cut Wheaton’s lead to 54-52 with 4:28 remaining in regulation. Wheaton maintained its lead and held a 62-56 advantage with 1:36 left in the second half. The Pioneers’ Curt Hanson made a three-pointer with 1:05 left in the second half to cut Wheaton’s lead to 62-59 and a layup by UW-Platteville’s Charlie Lohoff trimmed the hosts’ lead to 62-61 with 25-seconds left. Wheaton’s Ben Panner made one of two free throw attempts for a 63-61 Wheaton lead with 18-seconds left in the second half. Pioneer All-American center Jeff Skemp gave the guests their first tie of the second half when he put the ball into the basket with 6.8-seconds remaining in regulation. A Wheaton shot attempt fell short as the game went into overtime.
UW-Platteville led 65-64, with 2:05 left in overtime when Wheaton sophomore Andrew Jahns drained a three-pointer to give the Thunder a 67-65 lead. On the Pioneers’ next trip down the court Andy Wiele tipped the ball out to create a Wheaton scoring opportunity that resulted in a basket for Panner as Wheaton led 69-65 with 1:17 remaining in the overtime. A pair of free throws by Skemp cut Wheaton’s lead to 69-67, but a Raymond free throw extended the Thunder lead to 70-67. The Pioneers had an opportunity to cut the Wheaton lead to one-point or tie the game, but Jahns stole the ball with 21-seconds left and was fouled. The sophomore made both free throws to increase the Wheaton lead to 72-67. The two teams traded baskets in the final 13-seconds to account for the 74-69 final score.
Wheaton head coach Bill Harris said of tonight’s contest, “It’s what you expect in a tournament game against a great team. It was back-and-forth and in the first half we were emotionally fighting ourselves. We missed a lot of free throws. It was like leaving the bases loaded in the first five innings; you just think that’s going to come back to haunt you.” The longtime Thunder mentor also noted, “I thought our defense was pretty good, even with their great center getting so many points. To win games like that, you have to hit big shots.” He said of the game’s final five minutes, “In the overtime, I thought we played our best post defense of the game. We got a couple tips. You just battle. All you want is a loose ball. Once we got those tips, I thought we were a little bit quicker.”
Raymond led the Thunder with 24 points. Panner contributed 17 points, with five assists. Wiele scored 11 points, with nine rebounds and Jahns added 10 points off the Wheaton bench.
Skemp led the Pioneers with 38 points on 17-for-21 shooting from the field and eight rebounds. He also blocked three shots and had four steals. Hanson added 10 points, with four assists.
Wiele, Wheaton’s senior center said of defending the 6' 10" Skemp, “That was the most difficult battle I’ve ever had. He’s pretty nimble and moves well, and an unbelievable post-sealer. He had some great spin moves against me. There’s nothing to say other than he’s a great player all around.”
Wheaton shot 44.4% (24-54) from the field, with 40% (4-10) from three-point range and 59.5% (22-37) at the free throw line. The Pioneers posted a 50% (27-54) field goal percentage with 29.4% (5-17) from three-point range and 71.4% (10-14) at the free throw line. Wheaton out-rebounded the guests 36-28, with a 15-8 edge on the offensive glass.
UW-Platteville head coach Paul Combs said of the game, “It was an unbelievable environment and great for college basketball and Division III. I was very pleased with our effort. We talk about having no regrets; I don’t think this team should have any regrets tonight. We certainly laid it all on the floor.” He added, “These are two top-five teams playing in the second round of the tournament in a national championship-type atmosphere. Unfortunately, somebody had to lose.” The Pioneers’ head coach concluded, “Give Wheaton credit. They made more plays down the stretch than we did.”
UW-PLATTEVILLE 83, HOPE 59 -- GAME RECAP
Wheaton, Ill. – The UW-Platteville men’s basketball team advanced to the Second Round of the NCAA Division III Men’s Basketball Tournament with an 83-59 win against Hope College in a First Round matchup on Friday night at Wheaton College. UW-Platteville will play the host Thunder in a Second Round game on Saturday night at 7 PM. Wheaton defeated Fontbonne University 85-58 in the other First Round game of the Wheaton Regional.
The Pioneers led 23-21 with 4:37 remaining in the game when they used a 15-1 run to close out the first half, en route to a 36-22 halftime lead. The Pioneers controlled the game in the second half, leading by as many as 27 points with an 83-56 lead with 1:49 remaining in the game.
Curt Hanson led the Pioneers with 20 points. All-American center
Jeff Skemp scored 18 points, with seven rebounds and five blocked shots.
Mike Shaw contributed 17 points off the Pioneers’ bench, draining four three-pointers.
Jesse Reimink led Hope with 17 points, seven rebounds and four assists.
Peter Bunn scored 12 points and
Zach Osburn contributed 11 points for the Flying Dutchmen.
UW-Platteville shot 67.4% (29-43) from the field, with 70% (7-10) from three-point range and 72% (18-25) at the free throw line. Hope posted a 40% (20-50) field goal percentage, with 27.3% (3-11) from three-point range and 64% (16-25) at the free throw line. The Pioneers out-rebounded Hope 32-20.
UW-Platteville head coach
Paul Combs said after the game, “I think the turning point was our defense. Our guys did a good job of picking the ball up and making every pass and every screen and every cut. Every shot was contested. To do that for three possessions is great, but I thought our consistency was the key…and that really fuelled our offense. I was really pleased with our effort, especially the last 25 minutes of the game.” Combs also noted, ““Our guys really stuck to the game plan and showed great effort defensively. It was just a culmination of five guys trying to get stops and make it a one-possession game.”
Hope coach
Glenn Van Wieren said of the Pioneers’ scoring run to close out the first half, ““The last four minutes of the first half is what really put a nail in the coffin for us. We got the ball where we wanted to get it, but they really challenged us. They had three, four or five blocks – something like that in the first half and that really hurt us. Those are baskets we usually convert, but their size really had a big difference.” The longtime Hope mentor also mentioned, “We played a real good team tonight. I think the way (Platteville) played tonight that they could do a lot of damage in the tournament. They were exceptional against us. All the things that we tried to do that we thought were going to be successful, they found a way to make them not as successful as we would have liked for them to be.”
WHEATON 85, FONTBONNE 58 -- GAME RECAP
Wheaton, Ill. – The Wheaton College men’s basketball team defeated Fontbonne University, 85-58, on Friday night in a NCAA Division III Men’s Basketball Tournament First Round game. Wheaton (26-3) will host UW-Platteville (22-5) on Saturday night a Second Round game of the tournament. The Pioneers defeated Hope College 83-59 in tonight’s other First Round matchup in King Arena.
Wheaton led Fontbonne 15-0 four minutes into tonight’s game and the Thunder held a 31-9 lead with 9:00 remaining in the first half. Wheaton led the Griffins 50-21 at halftime, en route to the victory.
Freshman forward
Tim McCrary led the Thunder with a “double-double” as he scored 18 points and grabbed 11 rebounds. All-American
Kent Raymond contributed 16 points with seven assists. Raymond made four three-pointers tonight to give him 239 in his career as he became Wheaton’s career three-point leader, surpassing the 238 career treys by
Nate Collord (1999-03). Senior center
Andy Wiele tallied a “double-double” with 10 points and 10 rebounds. Guard Ben Panner scored 10 points and junior
David Eseke came of the Thunder bench to contribute 11 points.
Thunder head coach
Bill Harris noted after the game, “We knew (Fontbonne) played with a lot of tough teams really close on the road. I think what happened is that early, we knocked down our shots.” He added, “Our defense that first seven minutes was stifling and I thought that really discouraged them and took them out of what they wanted to do. We were quickly out by 20 and I think that discouraged them.”
Raymond mentioned of the effort by the Thunder, “Playing a team game has been our calling card all year. Across the board, we have a lot of depth as a team. Quite honestly, I think that’s our biggest advantage from last year’s team that went to the Elite Eight, that we’ve got guys that can go 7, 8, or 9 deep and not lose anything…especially on the defensive end.”
Brian Fogerty led Fontbonne with 16 points and 10 rebounds.
Frank Scheetz came off of the Griffins’ bench and contributed nine points and Nolan Zoellner scored eight points.
Wheaton shot 50% (33-66) from the field, 44% (8-18) from three-point range and 61% (11-18) at the free throw line. The Griffins shot 41% (20-49) from the floor, with a 38% (6-16) three-point field goal percentage and 54.5% (12-22) at the free throw line. Wheaton out-rebounded the guests 44-29, with a 13-5 edge on the offensive glass.
TOURNAMENT PREVIEW
FONTBONNE UNIVERSITY GRIFFINS (18-8)
The Fontbonne University men’s basketball team open ed their 2008-09 season with high expectations as the Griffins returned four starters from their 2007-08 NCAA Division III Tournament Team. The Griffins didn’t disappoint as they won their first six games including the Moody Bible Big 4 Tournament Championship. Fontbonne’s first loss came to defending national champion Washington University 89-78, in a game the Griffins trailed by just a bucket with a minute remaining. The Griffins then lost their next five games and opened St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SLIAC) play with a 2-2 record.
Fontbonne won seven of its next eight conference games to put the team in contention for its first SLIAC regular season championship since the 1994-95 season. In the final regular season home game, Fontbonne defeated Westminster College 80-67 to earn a share of the SLIAC regular season championship and the right to host the SLIAC Tournament. In the SLIAC Tournament, Fontbonne defeated Maryville University, for the third time this season, and Westminster, for the third time this season, to earn the automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Tournament. This is the third consecutive year that the Griffins have qualified for the national tournament.
Along the way this season, Fontbonne has witnessed several milestones this season. Junior guard Josh Branch surpassed 1,000 career points, head coach Lee McKinney won his 500th career collegiate game and senior forward Brian Fogerty became Fontbonne’s all-time leading scorer. Fogerty is also the fourth all-time leading scorer in SLIAC history.
Special thanks to Fontbonne University SID, Brian Hoener for providing the season recap
HOPE COLLEGE FLYING DUTCHMEN (21-7)
The Hope College Flying Dutchmen (21-7) are appearing in the NCAA Division III championships for the 20th time in school history.
Hope gained the automatic berth of the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) by winning the conference tournament behind a 69-59 victory over regular season champion Calvin.
A year ago the Flying Dutchmen finished third in the National Championships. One of the victories on that tournament trail was over Wheaton (83-70) in the sectional championship. Earlier this year theThunder defeated Hope 91-79 in a game of the CCIW/MIAA challenge. Hope has an 18-14 advantage in its alltime series against Wheaton. Hope has played UW-Platteville once over the years, bowing to the Pioneers in the 1998 national championship game, 69-56. Hope has no basketball history with Fontbonne.
The Flying Dutchmen are led by senior forward Jesse Reimink who has been voted the player of the year in the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association. Reimink averages 21.0 points and 7.2 rebounds a game and leads the team in steals (62) and blocked shots (28). He is the first player in Hope basketball career to be involved in more than 100 victories (103-19), score more than 1,000 points (1,424) and grab more than 500 rebounds (631).
Coach Glenn Van Wieren is in his 32nd season at the helm of the Flying Dutchmen. He entered the 2008-09 season ranked the fifth-winningest coach in NCAA Division III history, both in victories and winning percentage. His career coaching record is 639-210.
Special thanks to Hope College SID, Tom Renner for providing the season recap
UW-PLATTEVILLE PIONEERS (22-5)
UW-Platteville is making its 10th NCAA III playoff appearance and first since 1999. The Pioneers went 30-5 in tournament play in the 1990s, winning NCAA Division III National Titles in 1991, 1995, 1998 and 1999.
The 2008-09 Pioneers went 22-5 overall and were second in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) with a 13-3 mark. UWP, ranked fifth in the D3hoops.com poll, beat sixth-ranked UW-Stevens Point 55-52 on the season’s last day to earn second place. The Pioneers defeated seventh-ranked UW-Whitewater 77-74 in overtime in the conference tournament semifinals before falling 45-42 to UW-Stevens Point.
UW-Platteville opened the year by beating NCAA Division I Bradley 84-79 in an exhibition game before 8,429 fans in the Peoria Civic Center. UWP then won its first 11 games to capture the top spot in the D3hoops.com poll for the first time since 1999.
Center Jeff Skemp, a 6-10 senior, is one of 10 finalists for the Jostens Trophy. He is averaging 18.2 ppg, has scored 1,410 career points, seventh all-time at UWP, and has made a Pioneer-record 112 starts. He and fellow seniors Charlie Lohoff (G, 9.3 ppg), Bo Richter (G, 3.0 ppg) and Kyle Tetschlag (F, 2.6 ppg) have combined for 418 games and more than 3,000 points. Junior guard Curt Hanson (13.8 ppg) and sophomore swing player Nick Allen (6.0 ppg) join Skemp, Lohoff and Tetschlag in the starting lineup. Richter, junior guard Mike Shaw (10.6) and sophomore forward Eric Wall (4.7) are the top reserves.
Coach Paul Combs won his 100th game at UW-Platteville Feb. 14. In six seasons with the Pioneers, he is 102-55. Counting four years at Lakeland, Combs has compiled a 162-100 career record.
Special thanks to UW-Platteville SID, Paul Erickson for providing the season recap
WHEATON COLLEGE THUNDER (24-3)
Wheaton enters the tournament with a 24-3 record this season. The Thunder won the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (CCIW) Championship with an 11-3 record during the league’s regular season and the team secured the league’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament by winning the CCIW Men’s Basketball Tournament last weekend.
This is Wheaton’s 11th postseason appearance and the sixth time that head coach Bill Harris has led Wheaton into the postseason; he also guided his 1994-95, 1995-96, 1998-99, 2004-05 and 2007-08 Wheaton teams to the NCAA Division III Tournament. Last year’s team advanced to the “Elite Eight” of the Division III Tournament; 12 players on this year’s team participated in last year’s tournament run.
All-American Kent Raymond leads the Thunder with 24.3 points per game. Raymond, one of only three players in league history to earn the CCIW “Most Outstanding Player” award three times, is second all-time at Wheaton and sixth in CCIW history with 2,246 career points. Raymond joins Skemp as a Jostens Trophy finalist. Senior center Andy Wiele has scored 14.5 points per game this season and shot a team-best 63.0% (131-208) field goal percentage. Wiele, a two-time Second Team All-CCIW selection, has a team-high average of 8.5 rebounds per game this year. Wiele is seventh in Wheaton history with 780 career rebounds.
Guard Ben Panner is a Second Team All-Conference selection this year with an average of 12.7 points per game. Panner has shot 47.0% (126-268) from the field this year. Junior forward Jake Carwell has been a versatile contributor. Carwell has shot 51.1% (68-133) from the field, with 4.7 rebounds, 6.2 points and 3.4 assists per game. FreshmAn Tim McCrary has averaged 9.4 points and 5.5 rebounds per game. McCrary has shot 60.4% (99-164) from the field and he leads the team with 1.4 blocked shots per game.
