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The NCAA News -- March 29, 1999

First double-overtime title game goes to Wisconsin-Platteville

All championship games are special. Call this one extra special.

It took two overtimes before Wisconsin-Platteville could clinch its second consecutive Division III Men's Basketball Championship, 76-75, over Hampden-Sydney March 20. It was the first double-overtime game in Division III championship-game history and the second in men's basketball in any division. The other was in the 1957 Division I championship game, when North Carolina beat Kansas in three overtimes.

When the buzzer sounded for the last time, the championship-game record crowd of 4,461 had watched the Pioneers become the second team to win consecutive titles. The first was North Park, which won three straight from 1978-80.

"We know what kind of team we beat tonight," said Pioneers coach Bo Ryan. "Hampden-Sydney is one of the best-coached teams I have ever seen. But we had something special tonight."

Hampden-Sydney held a 37-34 lead heading into the intermission after hitting 53.3 percent from the field. The game was tight for the entire half, with neither team taking more than a five-point lead. There were eight ties until the 4:26 mark, from which Hampden-Sydney outscored Platteville, 7-4, to take the half-time lead.

When Alex Robbins hit a free throw with 14:23 left in regulation, the Tigers held a six-point lead, but Platteville went on a 16-3 run over the next six minutes to grab a seven-point advantage. A free throw by the Panthers' Brian Murphy with 1:01 left tied the score at 61 and sent the game into overtime.

In the first overtime, Chris Fox knocked down a jumper with 36 seconds left to put the Tigers ahead, 66-63. Platteville's Mike Jones then responded with a three-pointer to tie the score at 66 and send the game to its second overtime.

The lead changed hands two times in the second extra frame before Jeremy Harris hit a short jumper to give the Tigers a 75-74 lead. Just 28 second later, Colin Gassner hit the game-winner, a reverse layup to give the Pioneers the 76-75 lead they never relinquished.

"That shot wasn't luck," Ryan said. "That was a read in the offensive scheme. Colin made a read, made a drive to the base line and hit a nice reverse layup."

Hampden-Sydney had two chances to win, but both shots rimmed out to end its chance for a first national championship.

"I think the players did a fantastic job defending that last play," Ryan said. "(Hampden-Sydney) had a couple of looks at the basket, but they weren't good looks. Our defenders had a hand in their face."

Jones led the Pioneers with 21 points and 16 rebounds, both game highs. Merrill Brunson added 20 points.

Chris Fox's 18 points were tops for Hampden-Sydney (29-3), while Harris chipped in 16 points and seven rebounds. After shooting better than 50 percent in the first half, the Tigers shot 36 percent the rest of the way.

Wisconsin-Platteville, which finished 30-2, earned its fourth national crown of the decade, having also won in 1991 and 1995.

Brunson, the tournament's most outstanding player, was joined by teammates Jones and T. J. Grimes on the all-tournament team, along with Hampden-Sydney's Harris and Horace Jenkins of William Paterson.

The third-place game was another overtime endeavor, as Connecticut College came back from an eight-point half-time deficit to post a 92-82 win.

CHAMPIONSHIP SUMMARY

Sectionals: Northeast -- Trinity (Conn.) 89, Hamilton 73; Connecticut Col. 80, Cortland St. 66; Connecticut Col. 73, Trinity (Conn.) 70.

South -- John Carroll 78, Mississippi Col. 57; Hampden-Sydney 74, Wooster 66; Hampden-Sydney 68, John Carroll 51.

Atlantic -- Richard Stockton 60, Wilkes 58; Wm. Paterson 79, Catholic 71; Wm. Paterson 50, Richard Stockton 49.

Midwest -- Wis.-Platteville 74, Manchester 65; Gust. Adolphus 66, Franklin 65; Wis.-Platteville 61, Gust. Adolphus 47.

SEMIFINALS

Wis.-Platteville 75, Wm. Paterson 51

Wm. Paterson: Hasain Gorrell 0-1, 0-0, 1, 0; Horace Jenkins 11-25, 3-5, 7, 27; David Coleman 1-3, 0-0, 3, 3; Chris Lauer 1-1, 0-0, 0, 2; Mufeed Thomas 2-2, 0-0, 1, 4; James Bryant 0-0, 0-0, 0, 0; Danny Jennings 1-2, 0-0, 3, 2; Kevin Kinckle 0-1, 0-0, 0, 0; Ray Ortiz 2-7, 0-0, 6, 4; Kelvin Fleming 2-5, 1-2, 2, 6; Anthonly Kalafut 1-1, 0-0, 0, 3. TOTALS: 21-48, 4-7, 26 (3 team), 51.

Wis.-Platteville: Aaron Olson 0-2, 4-6, 3, 4; Merrill Brunson 9-11, 1-2, 0, 25; Dan Wargolet, 6-14, 2-2, 10, 17; Blake Knutson 1-4, 1-2, 6, 4; Mike Jones 2-6, 0-0, 4, 4; Will Ryan 0-1, 0-0, 0, 0; Brad Stangel 0-0, 0-0, 0, 0; Colin Gassner 2-4, 2-4, 3, 6; Brian Murphy 4-5, 1-3, 1, 9; Brian Berger 0-0, 0-0, 0, 0; Beau Buchs 0-0, 1-2, 3, 1; Nick Nordin 0-0, 0-0, 0, 0; Tim Duffy 2-2, 1-2, 2, 5; Ben Schambow 0-0, 0-0, 0, 0. TOTALS: 26-49, 13-23, 33 (1 team), 75.

Half time: Wis.-Platteville 38, Wm. Paterson 23. Three-point field goals: Wm. Paterson 5-11 (Jenkins 2-5, Coleman 1-1, Fleming 1-2, Kalafut 1-1); Wis.-Platteville 10-16 (Olson 0-2, Brunson 6-7, Wargolet 3-4, Knutson 1-2, Murphy 0-1). Disqualifications: Coleman. Officials: Jerry Stone, Chuck Pitts, Kyle Neve. Attendance: 3,729.

Hampden-Sydney 74, Connecticut Col. 58

Connecticut Col.: Mizan Ayers 3-10, 4-4, 3, 10; Kareen Tatum 7-12, 1-1, 8, 17; Zach Smith 1-5, 0-0, 2, 2; Dwayne Stallings 2-5, 0-0, 3, 6; Chris O'Leary 1-5, 0-0, 4, 2; Vaidas Natautas 1-3, 1-2, 2, 3; Aaron Taylor 4-9, 3-4, 3, 11; Rich Futia 0-1, 1-2, 4, 1; Jason Ashur 1-2, 4-6, 3, 6; Jason Shea 0-2, 0-0, 1, 0; Tope Adekanbi 0-2, 0-0, 0, 0. TOTALS: 20-56, 14-19, 36 (3 team), 58.

Hampden-Sydney: T. J. Grimes 6-13, 1-2, 1, 18; Alex Robbins 1-6, 4-4, 5, 6; Kevin Garst 3-6, 0-0, 5, 7; Jack Jirak 5-9, 7-11, 5, 17; David Hobbs 0-2, 2-3, 13, 2; Jeremy Harris 2-8, 7-8, 3, 11; Chris Fox 3-11, 3-4, 5, 11; Bobby Jackson 0-1, 0-0, 1, 0; Brett Thompson 1-2, 0-1, 3, 2. TOTALS: 21-58, 24-33, 45 (4 team), 74.

Half time: Hampden-Sydney 33, Connecticut 20. Three-point field goals: Connecticut Col. 4-15 (Ayers 0-4, Tatum 2-3, Stallings 2-5, Natautas 0-1, Taylor 0-2; Hampden-Sydney 8-19 (Grimes 5-8, Robbins 0-3, Garst 1-2, Fox 2-6). Disqualifications: Smith. Officials: Tony Garton, Mike Fox, Kyle Ingram. Attendance: 3,959.

THIRD PLACE

Connecticut Col. 92, Wm. Paterson 83 (ot)

Wm. Paterson: Horace Jenkins 6-12, 2-2, 6, 16; David Coleman 8-16, 5-6, 9, 24; Kelvin Fleming 5-10, 1-2, 3, 11; Chris Lauer 2-7, 0-2, 6, 4; Mufeed Thomas 3-5, 0-0, 6, 6; Danny Jennings 0-1, 0-0, 3, 0; Hasain Gorrell 0-0, 0-0, 0, 0; Kevin Kinckle 0-0, 0-0, 0, 0; Ray Ortiz 9-17, 1-2, 9, 22. TOTALS: 33-68, 9-14, 43 (1 team), 83.

Connecticut Col.: Mizan Ayers 2-5, 2-2, 5, 6; Kareen Tatum 6-13, 6-7, 4, 21; Zach Smith 9-15, 10-10, 2, 32; Dwayne Stallings 7-15, 0-2, 2, 20; Chris O'Leary 0-2, 1-2, 2, 1; Vaidas Natautas 0-2, 0-0, 2, 0; Aaron Taylor 0-1, 2-2, 2, 2; Rich Futia 4-4, 0-0, 3, 8; Jason Ashur 0-0, 0-0, 1, 0; Jason Shea 1-5, 0-0, 5, 2; Tope Adekanbi 0-0, 0-0, 0, 0. TOTALS: 29-62, 21-25, 32 (4 team), 92.

Half time: Wm. Paterson 40, Connecticut Col. 32; End of regulation: tied at 72. Three-point field goals: Wm. Paterson 8-19 (Jenkins 2-6, Coleman 3-6, Jennings 0-1, Ortiz 3-6); Connecticut Col. 13-20 (Ayers 0-1, Tatum 3-8, Smith 4-7, Stallings 6-13, Natautas 0-1). Officials: Craig Griffith, Steve Trout, Bill Ek. Attendance: 4,031.

CHAMPIONSHIP

Wis.-Platteville 76, Hampden-Sydney 75 (2 ot)

Wis.-Platteville: Aaron Olson 2-6, 3-4, 3, 7; Merrill Brunson 7-15, 5-5, 0, 20; Dan Wargolet 1-6, 2-2, 3, 4; Blake Knutson 3-9, 2-3, 8, 8; Mike Jones 9-15, 2-3, 16, 21; Colin Gassner 5-9, 0-0, 4, 12; Brian Murphy 0-5, 2-2, 4, 2; Beau Buchs 0-0, 2-2, 1, 2; Tim Duffy 0-2, 0-0, 0, 0. TOTALS: 27-67, 18-21, 43 (4 team), 76.

Hampden-Sydney: T. J. Grimes 5-15, 1-2, 7, 13; Chris Fox 5-11, 4-4, 0, 18; Kevin Garst 2-3, 0-0, 0, 4; Jack Jirak 5-9, 0-0, 6, 10; David Hobbs 2-2, 0-0, 6, 4; Alex Robbins 2-8, 2-2, 4, 6; Jeremy Harris 8-14, 0-0, 7, 16; Bobby Jackson 1-3, 0-0, 2, 2; Kevin Swann 0-3, 0-0, 1, 0; Andy Habenicht 0-0, 0-0, 0, 0; Brett Thompson 1-2, 0-0, 0, 2. TOTALS: 31-70, 7-8, 36 (3 team), 75.

Half time: Hampden-Sydney 37, Wis.-Platteville 34; End of regulation: tied at 61; End of first overtime: tied at 66. Officials: Bill Boutilier, Larry Last, Bob Martin. Attendance: 4,461.