The gym was packed, not for Duke-North Carolina, but for Division III's version of an in-state showdown, and Greensboro rewarded its home fans with a 71-66 upset of crosstown No. 3 Guilford on Wednesday night. R.J. Smith scored 22 points for Greensboro, which has earned wins over 2007 NCAA participants in its last two games (the previous one was against York (N.Y.). Ben Strong scored 28 for Guilford, but it would not be enough on this night. The Quakers fell to 1-1.
"Our goal was to play good perimeter defense," said Greensboro coach Bryan Galuski. "(Ben's) going to get his points, but we tried to discourage easy passes to him in the paint, and we did a pretty good job of that."
That wasn't the only big win over a top-five team. Unbeaten UW-La Crosse won at No. 4 Augustana, 66-64. A potential game-winning 3-pointer for Augustana was waved off by an offensive foul call with one second remaining. Tony Mane and T.J. Nereng combined for 42 points in the win. More men's scores on the Scoreboard.
The marquee game on the women's side featured No. 10 UW-Whitewater winning at No. 19 Chicago, 62-53. It was the second win over a ranked opponent by the Warhawks, who toppled Millikin on opening night. For No. 3 Messiah, the tenth time was the charm as the Falcons finally beat No. 23 Scranton 61-53, their first win all-time against the Royals. More women's scores.
Chicago's men couldn't quite finish off a rally, allowing No. 22 Wheaton to squeeze out a 75-73 win, but there were a pair of gargantuan comebacks by unranked teams. Grove City erased a 21-point deficit in the final 12 minutes to beat Juniata, 64-63. The Wolverines shot 8-for-10 from 3-point range in the second half and won on Luke Tomaselli's steal and free throw with 0.4 seconds remaining. Ohio Northern's rally from 12 points down with 12 minutes to go doesn't quite match up to that, but it did give the Polar Bears a 59-57 win at Wittenberg. The Tigers fell to 1-3.
It was again a good night for buzzer beaters, with UW-Oshkosh leading the way in an 88-86 win over No. 13 Elmhurst, in another game pitting the WIAC against the CCIW. D.J. Marsh scored with 0.5 seconds left to end a game that featured 21 lead changes. Wilkes improved to 3-0, beating Susquehanna in overtime on Steve Kline's game-winning basket. Jake Schechtman's follow shot in the closing seconds lifted Skidmore over Paul Smith's. And on the women's side, volleyball All-American Corinne McCormack showed a deft touch, sinking a layup as time expired to give Coast Guard a one-point win over Western New England. The Bears are 4-0 for the first time since 1997-98.