Tough Wednesday night for men's favorites

Jan 26, 2022
WPI struggled offensively in New London, Connecticut.
By Peter Meshanic, d3photography.com | More photos from this game
 

Losses by No. 2, No. 4, No. 10, No. 17 and other Top 25 hopefuls such as DeSales, Keene State and Clark made it an interesting night on Wednesday, Jan. 26, 2022, in Division III men's basketball.

Tyler Perez led three Coast Guard players in double figures with a game-high 16 points and a game-high tying eight rebounds as the Bears handed No. 17 WPI its first NEWMAC loss of the season, 77-55. It's just the fifth win for Coast Guard on the season, while WPI falls to 16-2. Garrett Drummond added 14 points and a game-high six assists while Cameron Brown came off the bench and finished with a career-high 14 points to go with a team-high tying eight rebounds for Bears. WPI shot just 3-for-18 from 3-point range.

Illinois Wesleyan jumped out to a 7-2 lead, but Elmhurst pulled ahead to a 29-19 advantage in the first half and the No. 19 Bluejays went on to take down the No. 2 Titans 74-66. Illinois Wesleyan cut the Bluejays' lead down to two (47-45) with 12:35 left. Elmhurst ran the lead back to nine, but the Titans answered back again, pulling to within two with seven minutes left. Elmhurst used a 12-2 run over the next 4:30 to open up a 68-56 lead after Jake Rhode connected on a 3-pointer from the wing. Illinois Wesleyan would not go away as the Titans scored eight straight points, including six from the foul line, to bring Elmhurst's lead down to four with less than a minute to play. Elmhurst was able to put the game away from the foul line, hitting all six of its free throws in the final minute.

No. 4 UW-Oshkosh lost as well, as Brock Voigt shot 8-for-11 and scored a game-high 23 points to lead UW-Eau Claire to a 74-72 home win in overtime. Voigt scored six of the Blugolds' 10 points in the extra session, but it was Caleb Hanke who got the call on the final shot as he got the ball at the arc, drove to the lane, and sunk a fadeaway to seal the game with seconds remaining. Hanke finished the game with a career high 14 points.

No. 5 UW-Plattevile picked up a second consecutive narrow win as the homestanding Pioneers defeated No. 10 UW-La Crosse 76-72. Quentin Shields poured in 32 points, albeit it on 9-for-23 shooting, in the win. Ben Probst hit a layup with a minute and a half left to give Platteville a 69-68 lead, and he followed with a 3-pointer 36 seconds later. The Pioneers (18-1, 7-1) went 4-for-4 from the line down the stretch to secure the win. UW-La Crosse fell to 15-3, 6-3.

No. 7 Yeshiva returned from its break by earning a convincing Skyline road victory over Mount St. Mary, 89-49. Yeshiva is now a perfect 8-0 in conference play and bumps its overall record to 15-1. Ryan Turell put in 28 points for Yeshiva, which shot 62.3% from the floor and 5-for-11 from 3-point range. It's the first game for Yeshiva since the home loss to Illinois Wesleyan on Dec. 30, 2021.

Wilkes won for just the sixth time, but it was the Colonels' third win in a row as they got past DeSales on the road, 46-44. Trent Fisher had 19 points (and 14 rebounds) and Drake Marshall added 13 as the two combined for 70% of the team's points in the win. DeSales, which shot just 26% from the floor at home, fell to 16-2.

Clark won its first 12 games and had people clamoring for Top 25 status, but the Cougars lost for the third consecutive game and fourth time in the last six as Babson left Clark with a 71-68 win in overtime. Colin Bradanese scored a game-high 21 points and Spencer Cline added 17 off the bench in the win. Bradanese scored eight points in overtime to help lift the Beavers (13-6, 6-1 NEWMAC).

Keene State missed 13 of its last 15 shots and committed four turnovers in the final 8:23 while watching Plymouth State roll to a 68-56 win by closing on an 18-6 run at Spaulding Gymnasium to snap a four-game losing streak and avenge an 86-62 rout earlier this season. Nate Siow got to the basket with 8:24 left to tie what had been a back-and-forth game at 50, but the Owls then could not convert on offense for most of the remainder of the game, making just two field goals and one free throw the rest of the way as Plymouth State's Yansel Reyes scored nine points in that span.

Wooster closed the game with a 19-0 run, rallying from a 13-point deficit and defeating Oberlin 69-63. Wooster (13-4, 9-1 North Coast Athletic Conference), which maintained a half game lead over Wabash (13-3, 8-1) atop the conference standings. After Wooster was within a possession, Brandon Styers denied Oberlin's (5-12, 3-8 NCAC) Anastasis Spyroglou from getting across midcourt, and that resulted in a 10-second violation. The Scots continued from there, with Billings passing out assist No. six on the night to junior Turner Kurt, whose layup made it a 63-62 game with 1:58 remaining. Kurt was fouled on the next offensive possession, tied the game with his first free throw with 1:12 remaining, then got the friendly bounce for the go-ahead point.

Justin Collins beat the regulation buzzer with a three-point basket that forced overtime in an Atlantic East Conference contest at Marywood. In the extra frame, a 7-0 Gwynedd Mercy (10-6, 2-2) run and a pair of clutch buckets from graduate guard Keith Otto kept the Griffins at a safe distance from any Pacer (7-10, 2-3) threat in an 86-83 conclusion.