IWU Titans - 2004 NCAA Division III Playoffs
IWU's streak comes to a halt
Shooting woes plague Titans in sectional defeat to Wooster
By Randy Reinhardt
rreinhardt@pantagraph.com
WOOSTER, Ohio -- Illinois Wesleyan's first-half offensive deficiencies were brilliantly masked by a superior defensive performance Friday at Timken Gymnasium.
But as the Titans' uncharacteristic shooting woes stretched deep into the second half, the College of Wooster began flashing its perimeter power.
The Fighting Scots followed up a 16-point first half with seven second-half 3-pointers to oust IWU from the NCAA Division III Basketball Tournament, 58-53, before a crowd of 3,400.
"It wasn't one of our better games, but that is attributable to Wooster," IWU coach Scott Trost said. "You can be analytical, but the second half they hit their shots. The first half they missed their shots."
The Titans' 12-game winning streak ended on a season-worst 32.7 percent shooting effort from the field. No. 19 Wesleyan (21-7) was eliminated in the round of 16 for the second straight year.
"I had higher expectations," said sophomore guard Adam Dauksas, the lone returning starter from last season. "I think we could have won this game and gone to the Final Four. It leaves a bad taste when you don't accomplish something you think you could have."
Fourth-ranked Wooster (26-3) meets John Carroll today at 6 p.m. (CST) for the sectional championship. John Carroll defeated Maryville, 76-74, in the opening sectional semifinal.
The Scots shot 26 percent in the opening half and 58 percent over the final 20 minutes, while holding the Titans below 35 percent in each half.
"We played pretty good defense the first half," said Wooster coach Steve Moore, whose team finished third nationally last season. "We played pretty good defense the entire game."
The Titans matched their first-half season low of 24 points but still led by eight. Keelan Amelianovich scored nine points and set the school record for 3-pointers in a season (finishing with 82) on the second of four from beyond the arc.
"We felt fortunate only to be down eight at the half after the way we shot and the way we played," Moore said. "The second half we loosened up. A lot of it was the mental part. We quit worrying about losing and that changed things around."
IWU enjoyed a 28-17 lead early in the second half before Wooster connected on four consecutive 3-pointers --- two by Rodney Mitchell -- to seize a 29-28 edge.
"We got our confidence and once we got our confidence, we started making the extra pass and knocking shots down," said Mitchell, who had 17 of his 19 points in the second half. "We stayed calm and poised and played team basketball."
Another Mitchell 3-pointer extended the Scots' lead to 43-38 and a Kyle Witucky 3-pointer at the 3:23 mark saddled the Titans with a 48-39 deficit that would reach 11 at 54-43.
Dauksas brought the Titans to the brink of a miracle comeback with a 3-pointer, two free throws and another 3-pointer in a frenzied final-minute span of 14 seconds.
IWU scrapped back within 54-51 with 23 seconds left before Witucky and Mitchell each nailed two free throws to turn the Titans away.
"I'm proud of the guys. We fought back," said Trost, who stuck with a zone defense throughout because of Wooster's inside muscle.
"This experience is invaluable. It was a helluva year. Nine of our top 10 are freshmen and sophomores, so the future is bright."
Amelianovich was limited to one 3-pointer in the second half and finished with 12 points.
"Definitely give credit to (Tom) Port. He did a great job on me the second half," Amelianovich said. "But it was more me not getting hard cuts and a lack of execution as a team."
The Titans outrebounded the No. 1 rebounding margin team in Division III, 42-33, as Zach Freeman grabbed 12 and Amelianovich 10.
Cory Jones paced IWU with 15 points and Dauksas added 11 in the Titans' lowest scoring game of the season.
"They always had a hand up and a body on us," Dauksas said. "But it was more about us. We didn't execute. Six (team) assists is terrible. If we execute better, it's a different outcome."
Port chipped in 11 points and a team-high seven rebounds, while Witucky had 13 points for the Scots.
John Carroll-Maryville
A three-point play from David Gibbons with five seconds remaining snapped a 74-74 tie and John Carroll held on for the victory.
Gibbons paced No. 13 John Carroll (25-5) with 17 points, while Brandon Mimes chipped in 16.
No. 22 Maryville (23-6) got 16 points apiece from Raul Placeres and Sidney Ellis.
IWU (21-6, 12-2 CCIW) @ Wooster (25-3, 14-2 NCAC)
Friday March 12, 2004 - 7:00pm CST
| Broadcast Info:
The game will be aired on WJBC, AM-1230 - 6:30pm CST pregame. Click here to listen live. (Should the Titans advance, Saturday's game will be on WJBC as well.) Also, D3hoopsNet will be broadcasting all 3 games from the Sectional. Click here to listen. |
| Online Information: |
| Common Opponents:
Wooster 68 Hanover 61, 12/30/03 Hanover 63 IWU 54, 12/8/03 IWU 77 Hanover 67, 3/6/04 Wooster 71 Wabash 50, 1/24/04, Wooster 68 Wabash 45, 2/7/04, IWU 94 Wabash 67, 1/7/04 |
Probable Starters (conference stats - CCIW, NCAC)
|
||
G |
Adam Dauksas (6-3/190, Soph) 12.6 pts, 3.8 reb, 4.9 assists, 23-54 3-pt (.426) |
Rodney Mitchell (5-10/160, Sr) 14.0 pts, 4.9 reb, 3.5 assists, 30-65 3-pt (.462) |
G |
Jim Lehan (6-0/175, Sr) 10.5 pts, 3.5 reb, 3.8 assists, 12-30 3-pt (.400) |
Kyle Witucky (6-0/160, Soph) 7.6, 2.9 reb, 2.8 assists, 26-62 3-pt (.419) |
F |
Keelan Amelianovich (6-6/215, Soph) 18.2 pts, 5.7 reb, 36-54 3-pt (.486) |
Tom Port (6-5/215, Soph) 13.3 pts, 6.9 reb, 3.6 assists, 84-186 FG (.452) |
F |
Zach Freeman (6-7/190, Fresh) 11.6 pts, 6.7 reb, 60-107 FG (.561) |
Blake Mealer (6-5/235, Jr) 7.7 pts, 5.6 reb, 49-103 FG (.476) |
C |
Cory Jones (6-6/213, Soph) 11.5 pts, 5.3 reb, 68-111 FG (.613) |
PJ McLoud* (6-6/205, Sr) 6.1 pts, 3.4 reb, 41-66 FG (.621) |
Top Reserve |
Jason Fisher, G (6-2/204, Soph) 4.9 pts, 17-30 3-pt (.567) |
Matt Schlingman*, C( 6-7/220, Jr) 11.1 pts, 4.8 reb, 60-102 FG (.588) |
* Schlingman started Wooster's first 22 games, before suffering an ankle injury on February 14. He appears to be nearing 100% again.
Team Averages (in-conference stats, CCIW-NCAC)
|
Illinois Wesleyan (12-2 CCIW) |
Wooster (14-2 NCAC) |
Points Scored Per Game |
78.0 |
77.1 |
Points Allowed Per Game |
68.7 |
57.9 |
Field Goal % Avg FG Attempts Per Game |
.501 55 |
.501 58 |
Opponent's Field Goal % |
.425 |
.385 |
3-point % Avg 3-pt FG Att/Game |
.444 15 |
.376 13 |
Opponent's 3-point % |
.319 |
.306 |
Free Throw % |
.720 |
.729 |
Rebounds Per Game |
36.6 |
41.1 |
Rebounds Allowed Per Game |
32.0 |
26.1 |
Assist to 1 T.O Ratio |
1.0 |
1.6 |
Opponent's Assist to 1 T.O. Ratio |
1.0 |
1.0 |
Titans too much for Hanover
IWU knocks off No. 2 Panthers with solid play at both ends of floor No. 2 Panthers with solid play at both ends
By Randy Reinhardt
rreinhardt@pantagraph.com
HANOVER, Ind. -- The scoreboard clock insisted the NCAA Division III Tournament second-round basketball game had entered its final minute.
So what in the name of strategy was Illinois Wesleyan doing sprinting down the court when it could have been passively protecting its hard-earned lead?
It had worked for 39 minutes, and IWU made it work for 40 Saturday at Collier Arena.
Employing a relentlessly aggressive offense and a 2-3 zone defense that practically banned Hanover from the lane, No. 19 IWU knocked off the second-ranked Panthers, 77-67.
A crowd of 1,250 split almost equally between IWU and Hanover backers saw the Titans advance to the tournament's round of 16 for the second straight season and for the third time in the past four years.
"Our guys played fantastic," said Wesleyan coach Scott Trost. "They played great on the road in a tough environment for 40 minutes."
IWU (21-6) won its 12th straight game and will play the College of Wooster (25-3) Friday in sectional play at a site to be determined today.
For the second straight season, the Titans upset the No. 2-ranked team in Division III on the road in the second round.
"Coach harped on controlling the tempo and we did that from the get go," said sophomore guard Adam Dauksas. "We played this game to win. When we had the lead, we tried to play hard for 40 minutes."
Hanover, which cut a 19-point second half deficit as low as six, saw its 17-game winning streak snapped and its record drop to 26-2. The Panthers had won their last 44 home games against nonconference foes.
"I'm real impressed with Illinois Wesleyan. They are much improved from the first time," said Hanover coach Mike Beitzel, whose team downed IWU 63-54 on Dec. 18 at Shirk Center.
"They are a very talented team. We could not handle them physically at all. We hung in there, but their zone was very effective. They neutralized our inside game completely."
Hanover did nail 12 3-pointers but hoisted 39 of its 65 shots from beyond the arc and was outscored 38-10 in the paint.
"We didn't get the ball inside much so we couldn't get easy points that way," said Hanover guard Matt Moore, who sank six 3-pointers and led all scorers with 28 points. "We settled for the outside shot and that helped them out because we were not making all our shots."
Conversely, Wesleyan saw all five starters reach double-figure scoring led by the career-high 21 points of sophomore Cory Jones.
"They were geared more to our perimeter shooters. I knew I could score down there," Jones said. "I basically took it up and made my shots (8 of 12). They are extremely strong players so we had to play tougher."
Jones grabbed nine rebounds as the Titans enjoyed a 40-32 margin on the boards.
"We're a different team when CoJo is in there," Trost said. "He's matured a lot. He's strong, athletic and he can finish. When he does that, we're very, very good."
IWU extended a four-point edge early in the second half to a 19-point bulge with a 20-5 spurt. A Jones basket with 7:40 remaining gave the Titans a 66-47 margin.
"We talked about getting back on defense, but we couldn't get back. They pushed it so well," Beitzel said. "Their inside guys are so much better and more confident. They make you shoot perimeter shots and collect most of the missed shots because they're so big."
A Thad McCracken 3-pointer shaved the IWU lead to 71-65 with 1:21 remaining. Hanover's lone senior, McCracken was 5 of 16 from 3-point range for 15 points.
Dauksas nailed two critical free throws at the 1:18 mark and Jones dropped in two more with 49 seconds to play to hold off the pressing Panthers.
The Titans shot 56 percent from the field as Dauksas added 16 points, Keelan Amelianovich 12, Jim Lehan 11 and Zach Freeman 10.
"We talked a lot about making it a fullcourt game," Trost said. "We didn't think they could guard us off the bounce and we got to the rim a number of times."
The Titans started quickly and led 13-5 after a Freeman 15-footer. Two consecutive 3-pointers from Moore brought Hanover back into a 20-20 tie.
Amelianovich was held scoreless until putting back his own miss at the 6:03 mark of the first half.
Rapid-fire 3-pointers from Dauksas, Amelianovich and Steve Schweer boosted IWU into a 39-38 margin that Hanover closed to five by halftime (39-34) on threes from Moore and Ryan Lanning.
The other sectional semifinal Friday will pit Maryville (Tenn.) against John Carroll with the sectional title game the following evening.
IWU (20-6, 12-2 CCIW) @ Hanover (26-1, 14-0 HCAC)
Saturday March 6, 2004 - 6:00pm CST
| Broadcast Info:
If Bradley defeats Illinois State Friday, the Titans will be on WJBC, AM-1230 - click here to listen on net If Illinois State defeats Bradley, the Titans will be on Thunder 93.7 - click here to listen on WJBC-2.com |
Boxscore from 12/18/03 IWU-Hanover game
FLASHBACK: Wash U @ IWU, 12/8/02 -- IWU @ Wash U playoff game, 3/8/03
Probable Starters (season overall)
|
||
G |
Adam Dauksas (6-3/190, Soph) 13.8 pts, 3.7 reb, 5.4 assists, 41-99 3-pt (.414) |
Thad McCracken (5-10/185, Sr) 11.8 pts, 2.2 reb, 2.2 assists, 71-178 3-pt (.399) |
G |
Jim Lehan (6-0/175, Sr) 7.7 pts, 2.5 reb, 2.6 assists, 18-40 3-pt (.450) |
Matt Moore (6-0/185, Jr) 10.6, 4.0 reb, 3.9 assists, 48-120 3-pt (.400) |
F |
Keelan Amelianovich (6-6/215, Soph) 18.4 pts, 4.7 reb, 76-151 3-pt (.503) |
Ryan Lanning (6-5/205, Jr) 9.9 pts, 3.3 reb, 1.4 assists, 98-202 FG (.485) |
F |
Zach Freeman (6-7/190, Fresh) 11.5 pts, 7.0 reb, 108-201 FG (.537) |
Brian Chrin (6-3/295, Jr) 11.0 pts, 4.7 reb, 93-159 FG (.585) |
C |
Cory Jones (6-6/213, Soph) 9.8 pts, 5.9 reb, 108-195 FG (.554) |
Tommy Dennis (6-5/220, Jr) 10.3 pts, 6.7 reb, 122-227 FG (.537) |
Top Reserve |
Jason Fisher, G (6-2/204, Soph) 6.1 pts, 1.2 reb, 33-57 3-pt (.579) |
Ben Lye, F (6-4/205, Soph) 10.0 pts, 5.5 reb, 116-214 3-pt (.542) |
Team Averages (season overall)
|
Illinois Wesleyan (20-6) |
Hanover (26-1) |
Points Scored Per Game |
78.7 |
69.7 |
Points Allowed Per Game |
68.4 |
55.5 |
Field Goal % Avg FG Attempts Per Game |
.482 57 |
.477 54 |
Opponent's Field Goal % |
.415 |
.383 |
3-point % Avg 3-pt FG Att/Game |
.449 16 |
.373 18 |
Opponent's 3-point % |
.321 |
.336 |
Free Throw % |
.740 |
.679 |
Rebounds Per Game |
37.5 |
34.1 |
Rebounds Allowed Per Game |
32.7 |
31.2 |
Assist to 1 T.O Ratio |
1.0 |
1.3 |
Opponent's Assist to 1 T.O. Ratio |
.90 |
.75 |
IWU sloppy, but successful
Titans get past Maryville; face Hanover next
By Randy Reinhardt
rreinhardt@pantagraph.com
BLOOMINGTON -- Careless turnovers, botched layups, wayward free throws and ...
... an NCAA Division III Tournament victory.
That final component of Thursday's first-round game at Shirk Center was of some, but little comfort to Illinois Wesleyan basketball coach Scott Trost after his team's uninspired 82-73 victory over Maryville before a crowd of 2,100.
"Great teams don't do that. Great teams don't play to the level of the competition," an agitated Trost said. "Maryville played harder than we did. They outhustled us. It just wasn't an overall good performance."
The 19th-ranked Titans (20-6) did escape with their 11th straight victory and travel to Hanover, Ind., to meet second-ranked Hanover (26-1) Saturday at 6 p.m. (CST) in the second round.
IWU led by 12 at halftime and by 22 at 77-55 with 4:37 remaining. Pesky Maryville clawed back within eight points in the final minute before Trost could safely exhale.
"We got away with one, but more importantly we know we didn't play well," said Titan guard Adam Dauksas. "If we play like that Saturday, we're going to get beat pretty badly."
IWU committed a season-high 22 turnovers and surrendered 18 offensive rebounds to the smaller Saints (15-11).
"We're proud of ourselves, but as the boys just told me it wasn't good enough. A nine-point deficit is not enough to make us happy," Maryville coach Matt Rogers said."We know if we run our game plan like we're supposed to in the first half and keep the ball out of (Keelan) Amelianovich's hands, it's a different ballgame."
Amelianovich scored a game-high 21 points and sparked the Titans to a 13-2 run in the first half and a 22-10 spurt in the second half.
"There is everything to improve on in that game," Amelianovich said. "But the thing is, it's a win. We've got to forget about that and prepare for Hanover."
The Titans finally seemed to brush off Maryville when Jim Lehan connected on a 19-footer for a 75-53 advantage.
But Maryville closed out an 18-4 streak on a Stephen Bash rebound basket and trailed by only eight at 79-71 with 42 seconds left. Amelianovich nailed two free throws at the 34-second mark to dash the Saints' hopes of a miracle comeback.
"He (Amelianovich) is a great player. He may be the best player we've seen and he's a heckuva shooter," Rogers said. "He was never in a rush out there. When he was open, he took his shot. And when he wasn't, he got rid of it and kept in the motion. That's the sign of a truly great player. Not many players his age at this level can pull that off."
Bash finished with 20 points and 13 rebounds, nine of which came off the offensive board. Marcus Henderson had 19 points for the Saints.
"We got away from playing our game," Amelianovich said. "We didn't run and we didn't rebound as well as we should have. But we eked one out."
Daukas added 14 points, while Lehan contributed 11 points and seven assists.
Jason Fisher chipped in 11 points off the bench. Fisher and fellow reserves Steve Schweer and Chris Jones combined for 22 points and 16 rebounds.
While Amelianovich and Schweer were 10 of 10 from the free throw line, the rest of the Titans shot a dismal 7 of 18 for an overall mark of 61 percent (17 of 28).
"It's a win. We played good enough to win," said Trost. "We need to play a lot better on Saturday, and they (the Titans) know it."
IWU shot 64 percent in the second half and 50 percent overall, but had 14 turnovers after the break.
Wesleyan reserve guard Mike McGraw did not dress because of an ankle injury.
Maryville (15-10, 12-2 SLIAC) @ IWU (19-6, 12-2 CCIW)
Thursday March 4, 2004 - 7:00pm
Click here to listen to WJBC broadcast - coverage starts at 6:45
Probable Starters (in-conference stats, CCIW-SLIAC)
|
||
G |
Adam Dauksas (6-3/190, Soph) 12.6 pts, 3.8 reb, 4.9 assists, 23-54 3-pt (.426) |
Tim Elwell (5-7/145, Soph) 5.0 pts, 2.4 reb, 4.2 assists, 9-39 3-pt (.231) |
G |
Jim Lehan (6-0/175, Sr) 10.5 pts, 3.5 reb, 3.8 assists, 12-30 3-pt (.400) |
Matt Regan (6-2/175, Soph) 11.8, 4.5 reb, 43-101 FG (.426) |
F |
Keelan Amelianovich (6-6/215, Soph) 18.2 pts, 5.7 reb, 36-54 3-pt (.486) |
Marcus Henderson (6-1/168, Jr) 9.7 pts, 3.1 reb, 1.8 assists 20-43 3-pt (.465) |
F |
Zach Freeman (6-7/190, Fresh) 11.6 pts, 6.7 reb, 60-107 FG (.561) |
Matt Damrell (6-6/225, Jr) 6.1 pts, 2.2 reb, 31-51 FG (.608) |
C |
Cory Jones (6-6/213, Soph) 11.5 pts, 5.3 reb, 68-111 FG (.613) |
Stephen Bash (6-5/220, Jr) 14.5 pts, 9.7 reb, 64-98 FG (.653) |
Top Reserve |
Jason Fisher, G (6-2/204, Soph) 4.9 pts, 17-30 3-pt (.567) |
Ben Hebl, G (6-2/175, Soph) 10.9 pts, 2.1 reb, 52-115 FG (.452) |
Team Averages (in-conference stats, CCIW-SLIAC)
|
Illinois Wesleyan (12-2) |
Maryville (12-2) |
Points Scored Per Game |
78.0 |
84.0 |
Points Allowed Per Game |
68.7 |
73.8 |
Field Goal % Avg FG Attempts Per Game |
.501 55 |
.464 63 |
Opponent's Field Goal % |
.425 |
.441 |
3-point % Avg 3-pt FG Att/Game |
.444 15 |
.344 20 |
Opponent's 3-point % |
.319 |
.377 |
Free Throw % |
.720 |
.697 |
Rebounds Per Game |
36.6 |
38.8 |
Rebounds Allowed Per Game |
32.0 |
32.5 |
| Assist to 1 T.O Ratio | 1.0 | 1.2 |
| Opponent's Assist to 1 T.O. Ratio | 1.0 | .90 |