Kentucky’s four teams knocked out in opening round of NCAA Division III Tournament
The opening night of the NCAA Division III men’s and women’s basketball tournaments was incredibly unkind to Kentucky colleges. The Transylvania and Centre men were both routed on Friday.
Centre (24-5) ran into a buzzsaw. The Colonels fell to hot-shooting Pomona-Pitzer of Claremont, Calif., 84-64, in the Woodruff PE Center at Emory University in Atlanta. Pomona-Pitzer shot 57 percent from the field — the highest shooting percentage allowed by Centre this year — and knocked down 11 of 18 three-pointers.
In his final college game, Bowling Green native Perry Ayers led Centre with 19 points and six rebounds. Playing in his hometown, senior forward Jakob Spitzer came off the bench and chipped in 15 points on 6-for-8 shooting for the Colonels, who won the Southern Athletic Conference Tournament and claimed the league’s automatic NCAA berth. Oldham County High School graduate Jacob Bates added 12 points, hitting five of seven shots. Micah Elan scored a game-high 23 points and hit all three of his shots beyond the perimeter for Pomona-Pitzer (23-5).
Transylvania (19-9) fell to Wisconsin-Oshkosh, 74-58, at Gregory Arena on the campus of North Central College in Naperville, Ill. It was the first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2013 for the Pioneers, who earned an automatic bid by winning the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference Tournament.
Wisconsin-Oshkosh (20-8), the defending national champion, took an 18-16 lead midway through the first half and never looked back. Jack Flynn scored 29 points on 11-for-14 shooting in the win.
Zach Larimore came off the bench to lead Transylvania with 13 points and seven rebounds. The Pioneers were dominated in the post, losing the rebound battle 48-33. They were outscored in the paint 44-26.
Transy and Berea women fall
Making its first NCAA Tournament appearance after winning the USA South Conference Tournament to earn an automatic bid, Berea (25-4) fell 76-50 to Illinois Wesleyan University of Bloomington, Ill., at Hope College in Holland, Mich.
Illinois Wesleyan (20-8) led 41-25 at halftime. Kendall Sosa scored a game-high 26 points and knocked down four three-pointers in the win. Bailee Vanover led Berea with 12 points and four steals.
After trailing most of the night Transylvania’s women pulled within one point at the end of the third quarter, but were beaten by Randolph-Macon, 78-68, at the Beck Center in Lexington.
Transylvania (25-3) won the HCAC Tournament to earn its automatic berth. The Pioneers advanced to the NCAA Sweet 16 last year before falling to eventual national champion Thomas More. Becca Arrington scored 11 of her game-high 24 points in the fourth quarter as Randolph-Macon (19-9) pulled away. Ashton Woodard led Transylvania with 23 points on 7-for-14 shooting.
This story was originally published March 6, 2020 at 10:17 PM.
