CEDAR RAPIDS, IOWA – Nebraska Wesleyan’s hot shooting leads them to the program’s first Men’s Basketball National title. The Prairie Wolves (30-3) defeated the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh (25-8) 78-72 in this year’s championship matchup.
The 2018 NCAA Division III Men’s Basketball title game opened with six three-pointers in the first two minutes and forty-five seconds, to knot the score at nine all.
Deion Wells-Ross dropped two of NWU’s first two three-pointers, and
Jack Hiller found the hoop on the team’s third. Over the next six minutes and nine seconds the Titans would outscore the Prairie Wolves 11-5, but Hiller would hit his third three-pointer of the game with 10:15 left in the first half to cut Oshkosh’s lead to five, 22-17.
After being down by as many as eight in the first half,
Nate Bahe slammed one down at the 7:42 mark to put the Prairie Wolves within two, 24-22. With 5:32 to go in the first half, NWU’s
Austin hall connected an And-1, followed by a Titan turnover and two made free throws by Hiller to put the score at 30-29 in favor of the Titans. Oshkosh would answer NWU’s efforts with back-to-back three-pointers, but
Nate Schimonitz and
Cooper Cook would begin a three-point shooting display of their own. In the final :29 Schimonitz hit two three-pointers, including a buzzer beater to send NWU into the half with the lead 45-43.
The second half went scoreless for the first two minutes and thirty seconds. The Titans then scored a layup and three-point field goal to take the lead back 48-45. NWU would take the lead back with 15:32 left in the game on a Hiller three-point bucket, but UWO stole it back with a three on their next possession. In true Nebraska Wesleyan fashion, another three-pointer, this time by Cook, would give the Prairie Wolves a one-point lead, 53-52.
After a 55-55 score with 12:47 to go in the game, NWU took a 58-55 lead on yet another Cook three-point field goal. The lead was one that the Prairie Wolves would grow to as much as 10, but the Titans were playing with a never say die attitude. Oshkosh fought back to tie the game 72 all with 2:52 to go. A Hiller bucket from behind the arch at the 2:17 mark gave NWU a lead they would not relinquish. Shimonitz added a two-point jumper with :32 to go and
Ryan Garver added a free throw with four seconds remaining to close out Nebraska Wesleyan’s first National Championship in program history, 78-72.
The Prairie Wolves had five players in double-digits and were led by Cook with 16. Schimonitz put 15 points on the board, followed by Hiller with 14. Garver and Well-Ross each added 11 to round out the double-digit scorers. On the boards Wells-Ross led NWU with five rebounds. Schimonitz was the team’s second leading rebounder with four and Hiller grabbed three.
As a team NWU shot 52.10% (25-48) from the field to Oshkosh’s 46.3% (25-54). From three-point land NWU made 14-of-22 (63.60%) to out perform the Titans who made 17-of-40 (42.50%). The Prairie Wolves got to the free throw line 20 times and made 14 (70%) to Oshkosh finishing 5-of-8 (62.50%).
Tournament Schedule
Final Results Friday, March 2
5:30 p.m. | St. Louis, Mo.
Nebraska Wesleyan - 94 vs. Maryville College - 70
BOX SCORE
7:30 p.m. | St. Louis, Mo.
Aurora - 82 vs. No. 4 Washington-St. Louis - 80
BOX SCORE
7:30 p.m. | Walla Walla, Wash.
No.1 Whitman - 87 vs. Schreiner University - 77
BOX SCORE
Saturday, March 3
7:00 p.m. | St. Louis, Mo.
Nebraska Wesleyan - 82 vs. Aurora - 61
BOX SCORE
7:00 p.m. | Walla Walla, Wash.
No.1 Whitman - 89 vs. Claremont-Mudd-Scripps - 84 OT
BOX SCORE
Friday, March 9
5:30 p.m. | Platteville, Wis.
No.1 Whitman 65, No. 17 UW-Stevens Point 55 -
BOX SCORE
7:30 p.m. | Platteville, Wis.
Nebraska Wesleyan 79, No.8 UW-Platteville 78 -
BOX SCORE
Saturday, March 10
7:00 p.m. | Platteville, Wis.
Nebraska Wesleyan 130, No. 1 Whitman 97
BOX SCORE
Friday, March 16
4:00 p.m. CT | Salem, Va. - Salem Civic Center
UW-Oshkosh 73 v. Ramapo 57
BOX SCORE
6:30 p.m. CT | Salem, Va. - Salem Civic Center
Nebraska Wesleyan 90, Springfield 78
BOX SCORE
Saturday, March 17
5:07 p.m. CT | Salem, Va. - Salem Civic Center
Nebraska Wesleyan -78 v. UW-Oshkosh-72
BOX SCORE
