Amherst defeats Mary Hardin-Baylor for Division III National Championship - Apr 8, 2013  Leading
from end-to-end, the second-ranked Amherst mens basketball team captured
the programs second national championship with an 87-70 victory over
Mary Hardin-Baylor in the NCAA Division III title game at Philips Arena.
Starting the game on a 10-0 run, the Jeffs never looked back, setting a new program benchmark for consecutive victories (24), while tying the 2006-07 national championship squad for the schools best single-season record (30-2). Making its first ever trip to the DIII finals, UMHB clawed its way back from a 14-point deficit in the final 10:22 of the national semifinals against No. 1 St. Thomas, but could not close a similar second half gap against the Jeffs, finishing with a 27-6 mark. Earning Most Outstanding Player honors, Allen Williamson (6'4''-G) 13 paced Amherst with 18 points and six rebounds on 7-for-16 shooting. Averaging 17.5 points and 8.0 rebounds in the Final Four, Williamson closed the books on his college career with 842 points and 374 boards. Fellow seniors Willy Workman (6'6''-F) and Peter Kaasila (6'9''-C) finished with 14 and 6 points, respectively, with Workman also adding 10 rebounds to notch his team-high eighth double-double of the season. One of the most versatile players to don the Purple & White, Workman finishes his career 18th on the programs scoring charts (1,147), while also compiling 681 career rebounds, 321 assists, 161 steals and 124 blocks. Coming into his own this season, leading the NESCAC in field goal percentage (.635), Kaasila is 23rd all-time in scoring (1,035) while also grabbing 546 rebounds. Posting a 14-11 mark as first-years, the Class of 2013 will graduate with a 95-20 record, two NESCAC championships, and one of the programs two national titles. Opening up the scoring, Aaron Toomey (6'1''-G) 14 buried a straight-away three-pointer before Williamson connected on a runner in the lane. Kaasila then put back a Toomey misfire before Williamson hit an open trey from the top of the key to put the Jeffs up 10-0. Kitrick Bell (6'4''-F) 14 cleaned up his own miss at 16:58 to put UMHB on the board before Thomas Orr (6'5''-G/F) 13 found Cory Meals (6'5''-G) 13 for a transition three that sliced the Amherst lead in half. After a pair of empty possessions, Workman got the Purple & White back on track with a triple from the right wing, but James Allen (6'0''-G) 13 came right back down and converted a three-point play the old-fashioned way to make it 13-8. Finding a cutting Ben Pollack (6'7''-F) 16 with just over 12 minutes to go in the half, Toomey helped stretch the lead back to 10. The next time down the floor, Toomey again dished to an open Jeff, this time linking up with Connor Green (6'4''-G) 16 for a corner three that gave Amherst a 25-12 edge. Down 12 after another Kaasila put back, Allen dove into the paint for two before Orr drained a three-pointer that cut the margin to 33-26. After an Orr dunk made it a five point affair, Williamson ended a 4:07 field goal drought with a layup off a Workman miss. Knocking down the Jeffs sixth triple of the half, Tom Killian (6'5''-G) 14 pushed the cushion back up to 10. Trailing 38-30 at the intermission, UMHB got several offensive rebounds on its first possession before Brian Todd (6'4''-F-91) 13 finally converted down low. Orr slid into the paint for two more to trim it to four, before Workman banked in a tough runner to make it 40-34. After a defensive stop, Workman again got free, hitting a trey from the wing to extend the lead to nine. Todd answered with five straight on a layup and three-pointer before Toomey connected on just his second field goal, burying a big triple that upped the margin to 46-39. Driving the baseline, Williamson pushed it to nine before Orr converted 2-of-2 from the free throw line inside of the 15-minute mark. Coming out of the 12-minute media timeout, Workman laid it in for two before David Kalema 14 hit 1-of-2 from the charity stripe to make it 55-43. Up 62-51 with 8:09 left, Green drove baseline, drawing a foul and hitting the layup to set up a three-point play. Knocking down the ensuing free throw following a timeout, the first-year stretched the lead to 14. With Todd cutting it to 65-55 on a layup at the 6:06 mark, Williamson scored five of the games next seven points to put Amherst back up 70-56. Knifing into the lane, Toomey got a floater to bounce in, putting the Purple & White up 15 before Williamson hit a pair from the line that made it 75-58 with just 3:00 on the clock. One of four Jeffs to finish in double figures, Toomey finished with 16 points, six rebounds and six assists, despite battling some early foul trouble. The NABC Player of the Year, Toomey will enter next season ranked eighth on the schools scoring list (1,416), standing just 292 points shy of tying Steve Ziejas all-time mark. With 16 points in 16 minutes off the bench, Green paved the way for a solid second unit that outscored the Crusader reserves, 27-7. Orr netted a game-high 24 points on 7-for-19 shooting, while grabbing 11 rebounds to lead UMHB. Todd added 17 points and five boards, while Allen finished with 15 points and five rebounds. Shooting 40.8 percent (29-for-71) for the game, Amherst turned in another solid defensive effort, limiting the Crusaders to 36.2 percent (25-for-69) from the field and a 31.3 percent (5-for-16) clip from long distance. Holding a slim 48-47 rebounding edge, Amherst got outscored in the paint (40-36), but never allowed the UMHB transition game to get going, committing just six turnovers - its second lowest total of the season. One of the winningest coaches in NCAA Division III, head coach David Hixon 75 notched his 673rd career victory and will enter next season just seven shy of 700. Courtesy of Amherst NABC Division III All-America Awards 2012-13 - Mar 28, 2013
1st Team Chas Cross (6'8''-C) of UW-Platteville John DiBartolomeo (6'0''-PG) of Rochester Colton Hunt (6'1''-G) of Randolph Chris Kearney (6'7''-F) of Catholic Aj Matthews (7'0''-F-89) of Farmingdale State Derek Raridon (6'6''-G) of North Central Aaron Toomey (6'1''-G) of Amherst Andy Winters (6'0''-G) of Ohio Wesleyan 2nd Team Tahrike Carter (6'2''-G) of Rhode Island College Brandon Givens (6'6''-G) of North Carolina Wesleyan Taylor Hall (6'7''-G/F-90) of Bethel Spencer Niekamp (6'6''-F) of Capital Paul Reynolds (6'4''-F-90) of Wesley Julian Strickland (6'3''-G) of Rose-Hulman Stefan Thompson (5'10''-G) of Hobart Tyrik Tucker (6'6''-G) of Old Westbury 3rd Team Ben Eisenhardt (6'10''-F) of Whitman Hayk Gyokchyan (6'7''-F-90) of Franklin and Marshall Jamar Harry (6'2''-G/F) of John Jay Ian Jackson of Trine Taylor Koth of Ripon Kyle Schleigh (6'6''-F) of UT-Dallas Will Tashman (6'8''-F) of MIT Hayden Ward (6'6''-F) of SUNY-Oswego  NABC Division III All-District Teams and Coaches 2012-13 - Mar 28, 2013
Player of the Year:Colton Hunt (6'1''-G) of Randolph Coach of the Year:Jason Zimmerman of Emory 1st Team Jonathan Blount (6'1''-G) of Centenary Andrew Galow (6'5''-G) of Rhodes Brandon Givens (6'6''-G) of North Carolina Wesleyan Colton Hunt of Randolph Dwayne Patterson (6'5''-F) of Concordia Kyle Schleigh (6'6''-F) of UT-Dallas 2nd Team Tra Benefield (6'2''-G-92) of Christopher Newport Jake Davis (6'5''-F-91) of Emory Harrison George (6'5''-F-91) of Hampden-Sydney Zach Lambert of Trinity DJ Woodmore (6'3''-G) of Virginia Wesleyan
Player of the Year:Aaron Toomey (6'1''-G) of Amherst Coach of the Year:Dave Hixon of Amherst 1st Team Tahrike Carter (6'2''-G) of Rhode Island College Sedale Jones (6'4''-G) of Curry Michael Mayer (6'9''-C) of Williams Will Tashman (6'8''-F) of MIT Aaron Toomey of Amherst Willy Workman (6'6''-F) of Amherst 2nd Team Alex Berthiaume (5'11''-G-90) of Springfield Anthony Click (6'4''-G/F) of Anna Maria Gabriel Moton (6'1''-G-91) of Brandeis Nolan Thompson (6'3''-G) of Middlebury Lee Vazquez (5'6''-PG) of Westfield State
Player of the Year:Andy Winters (6'0''-G) of Ohio Wesleyan Co-Coach of the Year:Mike DeWitt of Ohio Wesleyan Co-Coach of the Year:Kevin Vande Streek of Calvin 1st Team Russ Conley (6'9''-C) of Penn State-Behrend D'Carlo Hayes (5'11''-PG) of Thomas More Ian Jackson of Trine J.J. Martin (6'5''-F) of Marietta Spencer Niekamp (6'6''-F) of Capital Andy Winters of Ohio Wesleyan 2nd Team Xavier Brown (6'0''-PG-92) of Wooster Dimonde Hale (6'4''-F) of Denison Chris Klimchock (5'9''-G) of St. Vincent Tom Snikkers (6'4''-F) of Calvin Doug Thorpe (5'9''-PG-91) of Wooster
Player of the Year:Chas Cross (6'8''-C) of UW-Platteville Coach of the Year:Johnny Tauer of St. Thomas 1st Team Josiah Brensdal (6'5''-F) of Redlands Chas Cross of UW-Platteville Ben Eisenhardt (6'10''-F) of Whitman Taylor Hall (6'7''-G/F-90) of Bethel Nathan Roeder of North Central University Tyler Wedemeier (6'9''-C) of Luther 2nd Team Wade Gebbers (5'11''-G) of Whitworth Tommy Hannon (6'8''-F-90) of St. Thomas Trevor Hass (6'4''-G-92) of UW-Stevens Point Dan Kornbaum (6'9''-C) of Augsburg Wes Nordquist (6'7''-F-90) of Buena Vista
Player of the Year:Aj Matthews (7'0''-F-89) of Farmingdale State Coach of the Year:Chuck McBreen of Ramapo 1st Team Elgin Brown (6'4''-F) of Ramapo Jamar Harry (6'2''-G/F) of John Jay Aj Matthews of Farmingdale State Teon Russell (6'4''-G/F) of Rutgers Camden Stephon Treadwell (6'5''-F) of Ramapo Tyrik Tucker (6'6''-G) of Old Westbury 2nd Team Lance Brown (6'4''-G/F) of William Paterson Jonathon Chadwick-Myers (6'0''-G) of College of Staten Island Winston Douglas (6'4''-F) of Medgar Evers Will Sanborn (6'1''-G) of Ramapo Tony Vails (6'0''-G) of York
Player of the Year:Chris Kearney (6'7''-F) of Catholic Coach of the Year:Chris Harney of St. Mary's 1st Team Jeremy Beckett (6'5''-F) of Delaware Valley Hayk Gyokchyan (6'7''-F-90) of Franklin and Marshall Chris Kearney of Catholic Paul Reynolds (6'4''-F-90) of Wesley Dave Singleton (6'4''-G) of Albright Aaron Walton-Moss (6'1''-G) of Cabrini 2nd Team Terrance Bridgers (6'5''-F) of Alvernia Nick Laguerre (6'2''-G) of St. Mary's Mike Marvin of Penn State-Abington Brett Moyer (6'4''-F) of DeSales Gerry Wixted of Dickinson
Player of the Year:John DiBartolomeo (6'0''-PG) of Rochester Coach of the Year:Tom Spanbauer of SUNY-Cortland 1st Team John DiBartolomeo of Rochester Sheldon Jones (6'1''-G) of Stevens Institute of Technology Sean Rossi (5'11''-G) of Ithaca Stefan Thompson (5'10''-G) of Hobart Hayden Ward (6'6''-F) of SUNY Oswego Jesse Winter of SUNY Cortland 2nd Team Richie Bonney (6'5''-F) of Hobart Kevin Donohue (6'7''-F/C) of Union Jason Norsen (6'6''-C) of St. John Fisher Jake Simmons (6'0''-G) of Buffalo State Carl Yaffe (6'8''-F) of NYU
Player of the Year:Derek Raridon (6'6''-G) of North Central College Co-Coach of the Year:Ron Rose of Illinois Wesleyan Co-Coach of the Year:Jim Shaw of Rose-Hulman 1st Team Landon Gamble (6'6''-F) of North Central College Taylor Koth of Ripon Mark Lessen (6'7''-C/F-90) of Eureka Derek Raridon of North Central College Jake Schwarz (6'5''-F) of Lakeland Julian Strickland (6'3''-G) of Rose-Hulman 2nd Team Brandon Gries (6'1''-G) of St. Norbert Chris Klimek (6'5''-F-91) of Washington Tyler Peters (6'4''-G) of Wheaton Logan Wolfrum of Defiance Andrew Ziemnik (6'5''-F-92) of Illinois Wesleyan | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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