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| Stockton athletics file photo by Danna Urias |
The top spot in the NJAC is now held by Stockton alone, with five teams one game back. Stevens Point needed overtime to overcome Stout, while Wesleyan continued its unbeaten run and Ohio Wesleyan handed Wooster its second consecutive loss.
Wesleyan continued its unbeaten run through the season as Shane Regan poured in another 29 points and added seven rebounds in a 72-60 win against Little Three rival Amherst. He scored 17 of those points in the first half on 7-for-9 shooting as the Cardinals (18-0, 4-0 NESCAC) went to the half with a 15-point lead. The Mammoths (10-6, 1-2 NESCAC) got within three possessions on two occasions but never any closer. Oscar Edelman and Nicky Johnson added 12 points apiece.
Ohio Wesleyan sent No. 17 Wooster to its second consecutive loss and its third loss in five games as Henry Hinkle scored a game-high 22 points in a 73-58 win. Jake Lowman and Jessee Battle scored five points apiece during a 15-4 run that put Ohio Wesleyan ahead to stay, and Lowman contributed five points to a later run that helped the Bishops (9-7, 4-3 NCAC) hold on to the lead. The Fighting Scots (13-3, 5-2) rallied in the second half, getting a Jamir Billings three-pointer during a 12-3 run that made it a 57-50 game, but in the span of just over a minute, Tony Carter ended that run with a 3-pointer and Quinn Hart followed with a three-pointer for a 63-50 lead with 7:22 left, and the margin would remain in double digits for the remainder of the contest.
No. 25 Stockton built an 11-point lead in the second half and held off Ramapo for a key 74-72 conference victory. With the win, along with New Jersey City's loss, the Ospreys moved into sole possession of first place at the midpoint of the NJAC schedule. Stockton is 7-2 in conference play at 12-4 overall, while five teams are one game behind at 6-3 in NJAC play. EJ Matthews-Spratley led Stockton with a game-high 31 points, surpassing the 30-point mark for the third time in the last six games. Matthews-Spratley shot 7-for-14 (50%) from three-point range and also grabbed six rebounds. The win snapped Ramapo's eight-game winning streak.
Drew Moore and Nate Tucker combined for 47 points for No. 3 Trine in a 66-56 victory over Albion. Moore hit five three-pointers and Tucker continued his mid-range madness. The duo knocked in 15-18 free throws to cap off their performance. The Thunder still sit atop the MIAA standings at 14-1 (4-0) while Albion is 5-10, 0-4. Trine forced 20 Briton turnovers.
Colin Radcliffe scored 18 points off the bench to lead No. 10 Hampden-Sydney to a 74-69 non-conference road win at Mary Washington. Radcliffe, a transfer from Division II Mount Olive, scored 11 of his points in the second half, shooting 4-for-5 from the floor after halftime. UMW tied it at 42-42 with 16:11 remaining as Kye Robinson made a jumper. The Tigers, though, used a quick 10-2 run to lead 52-44 at 12:53 as McGowan connected on his third three-pointer — Radcliffe started the outburst with another three-pointer of his own, while Shane Fernald scored inside and Radcliffe added a drive to the basket, as well. The Eagles battled back with seven unanswered points to close to within 52-51 with 10:55 left to play following another three-pointer by Robinson, and the home team was within 56-54 at the 8:00 minute mark. The Garnet & Grey, however, were not done battling and put together the 16-7 run to lead 72-61 with just 2:11 on the clock, getting five points from Adam Brazil, including a three-pointer, four points from Radcliffe, three points from Fernald and two points each from Stickney and Tugg Bizzelle — Bizzelle making a steal and left-handed slam dunk.
The three ranked teams in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference all won, although it was not without some drama, as No. 18 UW-Stevens Point needed to survive regulation to get to overtime and defeat UW-Stout. Stout led the Pointers by six, 68-62 with one minute left in the second half after Jacob Walczak hit a three-pointer, giving him 24 points for the game. But UWSP scored 10 points in the final minute, including two free throws with a second left to tie the game at 72. The Pointers (13-3, 3-2 WIAC) scored 15 points, including 9-for-10 from the foul line, in the extra session, to come away with the 87-83 victory. Cal Krohn led the Pointers with a team-high 28 points. Stout fell to 7-9, 3-2. No. 1 UW-Platteville won at UW-River Falls behind 19 from Max Love and 17 from Logan Pearson, and Dustin Derousseau scored 16 with JJ Paider adding 15 to lift No. 13 UW-La Crosse to a 75-62 win against UW-Oshkosh.
Just three days after picking up their first loss of the season, the Gwynedd Mercy Griffins picked up loss No. 2, as Salisbury came to town and rolled out with an 81-54 win. The Sea Gulls (13-5) controlled the opening seven minutes, sprinting out to a 16-2 advantage led by five points from Jordan Oates and four from Leon Elung. Salisbury also had a 16-3 run in the second half to help put the game away. Elung scored a career-high 20 points on 10-for-12 shooting and added seven rebounds, while Oates recorded his 14th double-double of the season, with 18 points and 14 boards. Mazen Sayed led the Griffins (13-2) with 15 points.
AJ Rohosy had another 24 points and 12 rebounds, but it was Neil Owens with the late heroics, as his baseline fadeaway with 4.3 seconds left lifted Claremont-Mudd-Scripps past Chapman 71-69 and into sole possession of first place in the SCIAC. Rohosy made a layup to put CMS ahead 67-64 with 1:08 left, but Blakeley Stoughton knotted it with a three-pointer at the top of the key for Chapman (10-5, 3-0). Rohosy fed Matt Meredith out of a double team, who drew a foul with 36 seconds left and made both foul shots to put the Stags back in front. Stoughton then drove to the basket to knot the score with 13 seconds left, and CMS opted not to use a timeout. Owens dribbled up the floor and attacked the basket, and then retreated along the left baseline, before pulling up for a 15-foot fadeaway as he fell to the floor.
Coming off a 23-point effort on Friday night at Middlebury, Elias Espinosa put in another 23 points as Connecticut College defeated Williams 62-58 in Williamstown. The Ephs (10-6, 1-3 NESCAC) outscored Conn 15-6 over the first eight minutes of the second half to build a 43-36 advantage. The Camels (11-7, 3-1) flipped the script with a 14-2 spurt to pull in front 50-45 with 5:19 to play, holding the Ephs without a field goal for more than seven minutes of game time. Espinosa drilled back-to-back threes during the stretch to give the visitors the lead for good.
York (Pa.) remained unbeaten in the MAC Commonwealth and improved to 11-4 overall as the Spartans rolled to a 27-2 run midway through the second half to put the game away. The stretch, which included 21 consecutive points for York, turned a one-point deficit into a 66-42 lead with just under eight minutes left. Kai Cipalla had 15 points during the run and ended with a game-high 20 points.
North Carolina Wesleyan gave Southern Virginia its first conference loss of the USA South season, defeating the Knights at NCWU, 67-63. James Jones led the way for the Bishops, catching fire from beyond the arc. Jones knocked down six three-pointers en route to a game-high 22 points. The game featured nine ties and 11 lead changes as both teams traded blows in a tightly contested matchup. The Bishops' depth proved to be a significant factor, with 34 points coming off the bench.
After a strong first half that saw Plattsburgh State outscore Oswego 51-30 thanks to seven three-pointers, the Lakers turned the script in the second half, but it wasn't enough as Plattsburgh held on for a close 87-84 State University of New York Athletic Conference win. Kevin Tabb paced the Cardinal offense with 21 points and also had five assists, five rebounds, and two steals. Plattsburgh cushioned its lead to 73-55 but another run from Oswego made the score 75-63 Cardinals at the 5:29 mark. Each time the Cardinals responded, the Lakers continued to chip away, and a 5-0 burst made the score 83-78 and cut the Cardinals' lead to single digits at the 2:17 mark. A free throw from Sasha Vidrini stopped the Lakers' momentum momentarily but the Lakers responded with a 6-0 run and made the score 85-84 Cardinals with less than one minute remaining. The Lakers had a chance to take the lead but a clutch block from Ikechukwu Ezike led to a Franklin Infante fastbreak layup that iced the game.
Rico Powell scored 20 points to lead five scorers in double figures as North Park improved to 6-1 in the CCIW with a 96-84 win against North Central (Ill.) The Vikings, who are 11-5 overall, shot nearly 54% from the floor for the game, led by Powell's 7-for-12 night and 6-for-7 shooting from DJ Wallace, who finished with 13 points. North Park's only loss is to No. 6 Illinois Wesleyan, which was idle on Saturday in the nine-team conference.