Last year ended one step short of a national title for
UW-Oshkosh, and that was tough for the Titans to take.
'Getting to the national championship game and losing is
one of the most devastating feelings,' said UW-Oshkosh
senior All-America selectionBen Boots(6'1''-G).
'We knew that were fortunate enough to get back, we
weren't going to let that happen again.' They didn't.
The Titans set a record for made 3-point field goals
against Nebraska Wesleyan in the 2018 title game, but it
wasn't enough. If they were going to redeem that loss,
they were going to have to get better. Doing whatever it
took to win became a mission. Senior Brett Witchow
added, 'It's been the only thing on my mind the whole
year. We were tested; we got everybody's best shot and
we found a way to win.' They took Swarthmore's best shot
in the championship game and came out on top, leading
from start to finish, winning 96-82. Junior All-American
and NCAA Tournament Most Outstanding PlayerJack Flynn(6'8''-C)
led the way, nearly unstoppable in the paint on both
ends of the floor. He finished with a game-high 33
points on 13-for-18 shooting. Accustomed to being the
bigger team, Swarthmore struggled with the length and
height Oshkosh brought to the table. The Titans led 11-0
before Garnet All-AmericanZach O'Dell(6'7''-F)
hit a putback layup to start the scoring. Swarthmore
eventually settled in and got the deficit down to three
late in the first half, but it was the closest they
would get in the contest, unable to make key stops down
the stretch and simply not shooting as well as UWO.
'[They were] obviously the better team tonight,' said
Swarthmore head coachLandry Kosmalski.
'Their experience last year getting to this game and
losing helped them a lot. Definitely worth national
champions.' Returning all but one player from the
rotation, Oshkosh didn't rest on their laurels, but
spent the off-season improving. Flynn was perhaps the
most obvious example, transforming himself from a pretty
one-dimensional big man, to a mobile, active presence on
both ends of the floor. His offense was something
Swarthmore just could not come close to stopping.
'Definitely [I've developed] a left hand,' said Flynn.
'Last year I'm not sure I could hit one standing under
the basket.' This year he was devastating with both
hands and on defense. Also, he's just a junior. Losing
just Boots and Witchow, Oshkosh will be a formidable
defending champion. Runners-up Swarthmore lose just one
player of their own. All-AmericanCam Wiley(6'0''-PG)
had one of the best weekends of his life, scoring 43
over the two games and solidifying his place in
Swarthmore history. Wiley reflected on how far the
program has come in just a short time. 'What we've
accomplished I couldn't have imagined in my wildest
dreams. People forget how quickly our program got to
this level. We've sacrificed our individual desires for
the good of the team in ways that fans and media don't
really understand.' Kosmalski added, 'We're really proud
of our guys, the way they battled all season, the way
they battled today. We sacrificed and committed a lot. A
disappointing ending doesn't take away from the great
season we had.' 'Swarthmore was really impressive,' said
Oshkosh interim head coach,Matt Lewis,
a former UWO assistant who took over the program after
Pat Juckem left for Washington University in the
offseason. 'They are so well coached; they just kept
coming at us.' 'I couldn't have asked for a better group
of guys,' said Lewis about his team, 'I remember the
days when [Boots and Witchow] committed, special days.
From those days forward, we knew we were going to have
something special. Today in the hotel, I'd be lying if I
said I wasn't nervous, but I realized, 'What's there to
be nervous about [my players] are incredible; they have
so much confidence in themselves and what we're doing.
As coaches, we just have to not screw it up. Our guys
played the way they can and I'm so proud.' One face not
present was Juckem, who recruited and trained not just
the Oshkosh players who won this title, but Lewis
himself. Both coaches have talked about the depth of the
friendship between the two and Lewis teared up as he
spoke of Juckem's part in his life. 'There are couple
people I look up to in the basketball world,' said
Lewis, 'Pat is one of them. He did an unbelievable job
mentoring me and I miss the heck out of him.' Flynn,
Wiley, and O'Dell, who led Swarthmore with 22 points and
11 rebounds in the championship game, were named to the
All-Tournament team, along with Oshkosh juniorAdam Fravert(6'8''-F)
and D3hoops.com National Player of the Year,Aston Francis(6'1''-G).
But individual awards pale in comparison to the
collective achievement of a championship. Oshkosh is the
fourth WIAC team to win a Division III title, but it's
the first for the school, helping to cement a legacy
that will carry on into the future, one Lewis and the
players are excited to be in the center of. 'We were
sitting in the locker room a year ago on this night,'
said Lewis, 'while Nebraska Wesleyan was celebrating. We
all looked at each other in tears, crying our eyes out,
dreaming about getting back to this stage and cutting
down the final nets.' Mission accomplished.
Courtesy of: d3hoops.com
Coach of the Year:Matt Lewisof the University of
Wisconsin-Oshkosh
Player of the Year:Booker Coplin(6'3''-G) of Augsburg
NABC Coaches Division III All-America Teams 2018-19-Mar
16, 2019
Player of the Year:Ty Nichols(6'3''-F) of Keene St. Coach of the Year:Danny Lawsonof Emmanuel, MA Rookie of the Year:Delshawn Jackson(5'10''-PG) of St.Joseph, CT
Player of the Year:Sam Toney(6'4''-SF) of New Jersey City Coach of the Year:Joseph Crispinof Rowan
Rookie of the Year:Ryan Turell(6'7''-G/F) of Yeshiva
D3hoops.com All-Middle Atlantic Region 1st Team
2019
Wiley
Carter
Bady
Davis
O'Dell
Player of the Year:Cam Wiley(6'0''-PG) of Swarthmore Co-Coach of the Year:John Krikorianof Chris.Newport Co-Coach of the Year:Landry Kosmalskiof Swarthmore Rookie of the Year:Logan Bailey(6'4''-G) of Scranton
Player of the Year:Ryan Garver(6'3''-F) of Nebr.Wesleyan Coach of the Year:Johnny Tauerof St.Thomas
Rookie of the Year:Anders Nelson(6'0''-PG) of St.Thomas
Team Campoli Outlasts Team Schlosser in DIII All-Star
Game-Mar
17, 2019
FORT WAYNE, Ind. - Twenty of the top NCAA Division III
men's basketball seniors took center stage before the
NCAA Championship game on Saturday in the Reese's
Division III College All-Star Game. The teams were
comprised of two senior student-athletes from each of
the eight regions in Division III. An additional two
seniors were selected by online voting on D3Hoops.com
and two seniors were at-large selections.
The game featured a pair of outstanding former
coaches who have been recipients of the NABC Division
III Distinguished Service Award in coachesJoe Campoli(Ohio Northern) andBob Schlosser(Elizabethtown).
Coach
Campoli's team defeated Coach Schlosser's team on
Saturday evening in the Allen County War Memorial
Coliseum by a final score of 104-101.
Team
Campoli was led in scoringRyan Bruns(6'8''-C) (Ohio Northern), who
finished the All-Star game with 19 points and 14
rebounds.Nolan Ebel(6'1''-G) (Augustana) also tallied
19 points for Team Campoli. Johnathon Patron (Plattsburg
State) andCam Fails(5'11''-PG) (Hanover) both added 14 points.
Team Schlosser was led byTy Nichols(6'3''-F)' (Keene State) 18
points, nine rebounds, and four assists.Nick DePersia(6'0''-PG) of Rowan College
added 17 points.George Riefenstahl(6'8''-F) (Farmingdale
State) chipped in 13 points and eight rebounds. BothMichael Gardner(6'3''-G) (Johns Hopkins) and
Elijah Hirsch (Berry College) reached double figures
with 10 points each.
Player of the Year:Aston Francis(6'1''-G) of Wheaton (Ill.) Rookie of the Year:Anders Nelson(6'0''-PG) of St. Thomas
Coach of the Year:Matt Lewisof UW-Oshkosh
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