MEN'S
BASKETBALL - MOMENT #20
February 13, 1994
Needing a victory to clinch its first-ever SCAC men's
basketball championships, Oglethorpe University senior
forward Brian Davis banks in a three-pointer off the glass at
the buzzer to stun Trinity University in overtime at Dorough
Field House, 72-71. It was the first three-pointer of Davis' career
as he would go on to earn conference Player-of-the-Year honors and
become the league's first men's basketball all-America
selection in the SCAC era.
MEN'S BASKETBALL - MOMENT #19
February 24,
2006
Eighth-seeded Rhodes College knocks off top-seeded Trinity
University, 87-83, in the first round of the 2006 SCAC Men’s
Basketball Tournament – played on Rhodes’ home floor in
Memphis. It is the only time an eight seed would defeat a one-seed
in the five years the tournament seeded 1-8 and before the league
went to divisional play in 2008. Trinity had won nine consecutive
tournament games and three straight SCAC championships before this
first-round loss. Despite the loss, Trinity earns an at-large bid
to the NCAA Tournament.
MEN'S BASKETBALL - MOMENT #18
December 30,
2008
DePauw University's Mike Moore had a game-high nine assists in
the Tigers’ 76-56 victory over Drew (N.J.) University in
Monday's opening round of the Tampa Shootout. The nine assists gave
the senior 501 for his career, making him the league's all-time
leader in the category. Moore just missed a triple-double with 10
points, nine rebounds and nine assists. Albert Johnson of Rhodes
College (1992/93-1995/96) held the former SCAC career assists
mark with 499.
MEN'S BASKETBALL - MOMENT #17
February 26, 2011
Oglethorpe University senior forward Todd Ward becomes
the all-time leading rebounder in SCAC history when he corralls his
858th career board in the second half of the Petrels'
70-57 semifinal loss to Centre College. Ward went on to grab
two more rebounds on the night to push the all-time mark for
rebounding superiority to 860. Centre's Coy Zerhusen now sits alone
in second place in the record books with 857 career rebounds.
MEN'S BASKETBALL - MOMENT #16
February 24,
2008
Centre College defeats Sewanee-The University of the South, 82-50,
to complete the first perfect conference season in SCAC history
(14-0) and extends its overall winning streak to 23 games as
well as its winning streak over conference opponents to 23 straight
games. The Colonels are ranked #2 in the nation according to
D3hoops.com - the highest ranking ever achieved by an
SCAC men's basketball team. The following week, Centre would
extend its winning streak to 25 games with first and second round
wins in the 2008 SCAC Men's Basketball Tournament before falling to
Millsaps College in the title game.
|
MEN'S BASKETBALL - MOMENT #15
March 8,
2008
The 14th-ranked Millsaps College Majors advance to the
sectional round for the first time since 1995 with a 57-56 victory
over Mary Hardin-Baylor (Tex.) University at the Hangar Dome
in Jackson. Junior guard Chad Songy, who had made just 1-of-9 of
his attempts from the field, was the hero as his buzzer-beating
three-pointer advanced Millsaps to the next round.
(See YouTube Video to the left).
Ironically, the 1995 Majors also needed a three-pointer at the
buzzer to advance to the sectionals.
MEN'S BASKETBALL - MOMENT #14
February 27,
1995
The SCAC puts an unprecedented three teams into the 1995
Division III Men’s Basketball Championship with the
announcement of the tournament bracket. Millsaps College, the
league’s men’s champion and automatic qualifier, is
joined in the tournament by Hendrix College and Oglethorpe
University. Hendrix is bracketed to travel to Millsaps in the first
round in what will be the first (and only) time two SCAC
men’s basketball teams have played each other in a NCAA
Basketball Tournament game.
MEN'S BASKETBALL - MOMENT #13
December 6,
1997
Behind 33 points, six rebounds and six blocked shots from reigning
SCAC Player-of-the-Year Ryan Harrigan, Sewanee-The University of
the South defeats Belmont (Tenn.) College 74-69 in Nashville,
the league’s first-ever win over a Division I men’s
basketball team in the SCAC era. It would take 13 years for another
SCAC men's team to produce its own "David defeats
Goliath" moment. In its first game of the 2010-11
season, Colorado College shocked the basketball world with a
60-57 overtime victory over Division I Air Force of the Mountain
West Conference.
MEN'S BASKETBALL - MOMENT #12
February 28, 1993
Even though the two finished with identical 11-3 conference
marks, Rhodes College earns the SCAC’s 1992-93 automatic bid
to the NCAA Division III Championship by virtue of
its two wins over Centre College during the regular
season. Rhodes went on to pick up the league’s first-ever
NCAA Tournament win in the SCAC era with a 71-62 victory over
Virginia Wesleyan in a first-round game played in Memphis. The Lynx
had to travel to Newport News, Va., the following week and dropped
an 84-74 decision to Christopher Newport.
MEN'S BASKETBALL - MOMENT #11
March 2, 2008
22nd-ranked Millsaps College upsets second-ranked Centre
College, 69-60, in the finals of the 2008 SCAC Men’s
Basketball Tournament, earning the Majors their first trip to the
NCAA Tournament since 2001. The victory snapped the Colonels’
25-game winning streak – which was the longest in the nation.
Tournament MVP Edrick Montgomery averaged 21.7 points, 8.3 rebounds
and 1.7 steals per game over the three games of the tournament. His
65 total points set a new SCAC tournament record. Centre received
an at-large invite to the NCAA tournament.
MEN'S BASKETBALL - MOMENT #10
February 20,
1994
Sewanee-The University of the South defeats Rhodes
College 100-94 in double overtime in a SCAC men’s
basketball game played in Memphis, but the big story on this
night was the way the Tigers did it. Dressing only nine
players for the game at Rhodes, Sewanee had five players foul out
during regulation play and the two overtime periods. When the fifth
player fouled out with just under three minutes to play in the
second overtime, Sewanee was forced to play with only four players.
Incredibly, the Tigers pulled out the victory with Pete Dillon, Lee
Willis, David Tudor and Jason Porter on the floor. The four were
named SCAC "Player-of-the-Week” for their performances.
MEN'S BASKETBALL - MOMENT #9
November 16, 2009
Rhodes College head men’s basketball coach Herb
Hilgeman becomes the SCAC’s all-time men’s basketball
wins leader after an 89-51 win at Principia (Ill.) College. The win
is Hilgeman’s 464th career victory - breaking the tie he had
coming into the season with former Hendrix College head coach Cliff
Garrison. Hilgeman, who retired at the end of the 2009-10
season, ended his career with 473 wins.
MEN'S BASKETBALL - MOMENT #8
March 4,
1995
SCAC Player-of-the-Year Philip Robinson nails a three-pointer at
the buzzer as Millsaps College hosts Maryville (Tenn.)
College and defeats the Scots 88-86 in double-overtime in 1995
NCAA Division III Men’s Basketball Tournament action –
becoming the first SCAC team to advance beyond the second round in
the national tournament. Millsaps’ tournament run
would end in the “Sweet Sixteen” the following
week as University of Wisconsin-Platteville defeated the Majors
82-68 in the third round of the championships at Hampden-Sydney,
Va. Millsaps finishes the season with a 25-3 record and advances
further into the tournament than another other men’s
basketball team in the SCAC-era.
MEN'S BASKETBALL - MOMENT #7
March 14, 2008
Behind 27 points and 20 rebounds from senior forward Edrick
Montgomery, Millsaps College defeats St. Mary’s College
of Maryland, 82-73, to advance to the sectional final of the 2008
NCAA Division III Men’s Basketball Tournament. Senior guard
Rodney Rogan added 18 points and 10 rebounds for the 14th-ranked
Majors. A night later, the team's run in the NCAA tournament falls
one game short of the Final Four as the Majors are defeated 57-46
by 11th-ranked Washington (Mo.). Millsaps led 27-18 at the half,
but shot just 25.8 percent in the second half, including 1-for-16
from beyond the three-point arc. It was the third time a SCAC
men’s team has advanced to a sectional final, only to lose to
the team that would go on to win the national championship
(Otterbein defeated DePauw in 2002 and Wisconsin Stevens Point
defeated Trinity in 2005).
MEN'S BASKETBALL - MOMENT #6
March 11, 2005
Playing in the NCAA Tournament sectional round for the first
time ever, the Trinity University men needed overtime to
defeat Hanover (Ind.) College, 73-65, at Quandt Fieldhouse on the
campus of the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point. Senior forward
Peter Murray poured in a game-high 25 points on 11-of-17 shooting
and just missed a double-double with nine rebounds. The following
evening, however, the Tigers dropped a 61-55 decision to
Wisconsin-Stevens Point on the Pointers home court. The run by
Trinity equaled the furthest any SCAC men’s team has advanced
in the NCAA Tournament. And as was the case with DePauw in 2002,
the team that knocked Trinity out in the sectional final went on to
win the national championship. In fact, other than the six-point
margin against Trinity, Wisconsin-Stevens Point defeated all other
tournament opponents by 18+ points – including a 24-point win
over Rochester in the national title game.
MEN'S BASKETBALL - MOMENT #5
March 8, 2002
DePauw University's men advance to 2002 NCAA Division
III Men's national quarterfinals with 90-87 win over
top-ranked Washington (Mo.) – snapping the Bears' Division
III-long 21-game win streak. Mike Howland led four Tigers in
double-figures with 26 points and also dished out a game-high six
assists. With the win, DePauw becomes the first SCAC team to
advance to the national quarterfinals. The Tigers would fall to
eventual national-champion Otterbein, 87-79, the following
evening.
MEN'S BASKETBALL - MOMENT #4
January 22,
2005
Oglethorpe University's Russ Churchwell scores 23 points in a
70-66 victory over Millsaps College – giving the senior
a conference record 1,676 career point and surpassing the 1,675
points scored by Ryan Harrigan of Sewanee (1994/95-1997/98).
Churchwell ended his career with 1,894 points, which remains the
league’s all-time career scoring mark.
MEN'S BASKETBALL - MOMENT #3
February 22,
1995
Senior guard Eric Ochel of The University of the
South sets three SCAC single-game records and ties one NCAA
single-game record as Sewanee defeated Emory (Ga.)
University, 107-70. In the game, Ochel scored 55 points and
connected on 18 of 23 field goals, including an impressive 13-of-15
three-pointers. He set single-game conference records - all of
which still stand today - for most points scored, most field
goals made and most three-point field goals made. He also tied an
NCAA single-game record for most consectutive 3-pointers made with
10. Three nights later, he scored 36 points and connected on
12-of-18 field goals, including 10-of-13 from three-point range, in
a 113-67 victory at Centre.
MEN'S BASKETBALL - MOMENT #2
April
5, 1999
Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology senior guard Bryan
Egli, the 1998-99 SCAC Men’s Basketball Player-of-the-Year,
is named Columbus Multimedia National Player-of-the-Year
– just the second-ever national POTY honor for an SCAC
student-athlete. In his only year in the conference, Egli averaged
22.8 points per game, scored 593 points (the second-highest
single-season point total in league history) and earned SCAC
Player-of-the-Week honors a record six times.
MEN'S BASKETBALL - MOMENT #1
February 26,
2006
Junior wing Austin Brown nails a 61-foot shot off glass at the
buzzer to lift DePauw University to a 64-61 victory over
Centre College, a SCAC men’s basketball title and a ticket to
the 2006 NCAA Division III Championship. The shot is selected as
ESPN's "Play of the Day”, and the cable television
sports network airs a video clip of the fantastic finish --
complete with commentary by WGRE's Wes Anderson and Steve Powell --
on SportsCenter. The audio of the two students'
play-by-play of the winning basket also airs nationally on
ESPN radio. Video | Audio | ESPN Gym Gems
Three days later, Brown, who was named MVP of the SCAC tournament,
is interviewed live by ESPN2 Cold Pizza co-host Dana
Jacobson where the junior says, "I was kind of just in the right
spot at the right time and I knew I didn't have that much time
left. So I threw it up and saw -- wow, it might have a chance to go
in -- and it went in. It was just amazing." Cold Pizza Interview
For more on the top SCAC Men's Basketball moment,
including interviews with Tiger alum Austin Brown as well
as former WGRE play-by-play announcer Wes Anderson,
click here.