2022 NCAC Men's Basketball Tournament

2022 NCAC Men's Basketball Tournament Champion

WABASH

2022 NCAC Men's Basketball Tournament
Quarterfinals:	Semifinals:	Championship:
Tuesday, February 22 (at higher seeds)	Friday, February 25 (at #1 Seed)	Saturday, February 26 (at #1 Seed)
#1 Wabash 101, #8 Hiram 79 (Box Score)	#2 Wooster 75, #6 DePauw 59 (Boxscore)	#1 Wabash 85, #2 Wooster 84 (OT) (Boxscore)
#2 Wooster 86, #7 Allegheny 79 (Box Score)	#1 Wabash 98, #5 Denison 74 (Boxscore)
#6 DePauw 81 at #3 Ohio Wesleyan 71 (Box Score)
#5 Denison 62, #4 Wittenberg, 58 (Box Score)
Bracket -- Stats -- Tickets -- Directions -- Merchandise -- NCAC Tournament Records

FINALS

Top-seeded Wabash (24-3) captured the 2022 NCAC Men's Basketball Tournament title after defeating second-seeded Wooster (19-9) 85-84 in overtime on Saturday afternoon in Crawfordsville, Indiana. As tournament champions, the Little Giants have earned the league's automatic bid into the NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Tournament, which will open with first and second-round games next weekend on campus sites.

In a game that featured 14 ties and 14 lead changes, the Fighting Scots opened the first half with an early 18-13 lead before a Tyler Watson (Brownsburg, IN/Tri-West) bucket began a 26-9 Little Giant run that had the home team leading 39-27 with 4:08 remaining before halftime. Wooster baskets by Najee Hardaway (Cleveland, OH/Shaker Heights) and Jamir Billings (Lorain, OH/Lorain) helped cut the Wabash lead to nine, 43-34, by the end of the first half. Fast forward to the end of regulation, Wabash held a 73-70 lead with 48 seconds remaining when Wooster's Nick Everett (Salem, OH/West Branch) collected an and-one bucket, converting on his free throw to tie the game at 73 and force overtime. In the extra session, Wabash scored first on a pair of Jack Davidson (Fishers, IN/Hamilton Southeastern) free throws, going up 75-73. Up 81-80, Wabash converted on all four of its free throw attempts in the three seconds of overtime, sealing an 85-84 victory.

After recording 28 points, 12 rebounds, five assists and one steal in the championship game, Wabash's Davidson collected the Al Van Wie Award as the tournament's most valuable player. In the three tournament games combined, Davidson scored a conference tournament record 97 points, pulled in 20 rebounds, dished 12 assists and recorded three steals.

Joining Davidson on the 2022 NCAC Men's Basketball All-Tournament Team was Little Giant teammate Tyler Watson, Wooster senior Nick Everett and Elijah Meredith (Lewis Center, OH/Wellington), Denison freshman Tyler Miller (Hudson, OH/Hudson) and DePauw junior Elijah Hales (Topeka, IN/Westview).

2022 NCAC Men's Basketball All-Tournament Team
Elijah Hales, DePauw
Tyler Miller, Denison
Elijah Meredith, Wooster
Nick Everett, Wooster
Tyler Watson, Wabash

Tournament MVP (Al Van Wie Award) – Jack Davidson, Wabash

SEMIFINALS

The finals are set for the 2022 NCAC Men's Basketball Tournament with Wooster (19-8) and Wabash (23-3) set to meet for the title on Saturday, Feb. 26 at 4:00 p.m. in Crawfordsville, Indiana. The Fighting Scots will be playing in the championship game for the 28th time in program history, while the Little Giants will be playing in the title game for the fourth time.

In the first semifinal game of the night, second-seeded Wooster advanced to the tournament championship with a 75-59 victory over sixth-seeded DePauw (11-14). Tied at 14 midway through the first half, Wooster senior Brandon Styers (North Olmstead, OH/Holy Name) kickstarted a 9-3 Fighting Scots run after he connected on a shot from behind the arc. Wooster held a 36-30 advantage at halftime and began to stretch the lead to double digits in the early stages of the second half. Up 49-38, Fighting Scots freshman Jamir Billings (Lorain, OH/Lorain) connected on a triple try, while next possession down the floor sophomore Nick Everett (Salem, OH/West Branch) made a layup to extend the Wooster lead to 54-38. The Fighting Scots were able to maintain their double-digit lead in the final handful of minutes to hang on for the win. Wooster was led by Styers' 19 points, while sophomore Elijah Meredith (Lewsi Center, OH/Wellington) tallied 18 points, junior Turner Kurt (Cambridge Springs, PA/Cambridge Springs) recorded 11 and Everett posted 10 points. DePauw was paced by junior Elijah Hales (Topeka, IN/Westview) who scored 13 points, while freshman Camden Brown (Zionsville, IN/University High School) scored 11 and sophomore Grant Niego (Western Springs, IL/Lyons Township) added 10 points.

In the second semifinal game, the top-seeded Wabash Little Giants outlasted fifth-seeded Denison (13-13), 98-74, to advance to the championship game. Down 9-8 early, a Kellen Schreiber (Indianapolis, IN/Roncalli) jumper began a 13-2 run that had the Little Giants up 21-11 at the 12:28 mark of the first half. Wabash would maintain its double-digit lead into halftime, up 46-35. The Little Giants came out in the second half stretched its lead to 15, 58-43, after another Schreiber bucket. The Big Red tried to chip away at the lead as freshman Ricky Radtke (Willoughby, IN/University School) connected on a bucket amidst a 7-3 run to get the Big Red back within 11 points, 61-50.The Little Giants offense proved to be too much, however, pulling away late to advance to the NCAC tournament title game for the first time since 2009. Wabash was led in scoring by senior Jack Davidson (Fishers, IN/Hamilton Southeastern) who tallied 32 points on 9-of-15 shooting, including 6-of-7 from behind the arc. Wabash sophomore Edreece Redmond (Indianapolis, INBishop Chatard) also contributed 15 points, while junior Ahmoni Jones (Indianapolis, IN/Pike) scored 14. Denison was led by junior Will Hunter (Dublin, OH/Dublin Coffman) who compiled 15 points, while senior Freeman Brou (Fountain City, IN/Northeastern) contributed 14.

QUARTERFINALS

A pair of upsets occurred in the quarterfinal round, but the top two seeds held in the 2022 NCAC Men's Basketball Tournament. Top-seeded Wabash (22-3) will host the "final four" Friday and Saturday, Feb. 25-26, at Chadwick Court in Crawfordsville, IN. The Little Giants will face fifth-seeded Denison (13-12) at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, while the first semifinal will feature second-seeded Wooster (18-8) and sixth-seeded DePauw (11-13) at 5:00 p.m. The semifinal winners will play in the tournament championship game at 4:00 p.m. on Saturday in Crawfordsville.

The Wabash Little Giants prevailed against No. 8-seeded Hiram (9-17), 101-79. Wabash senior Jack Davidson (Fishers, IN/Hamilton Southeastern) tallied a game-high 37 points, connecting on 13-of-18 shots (72.2%) from the floor. Davidson also chipped in six assists, three rebounds and two assists. The teams battled closely early on; tied at nine Wabash's Davidson connected on a triple with 15:49 remaining in the first half, spurring a 16-5 Little Giant run for a 25-14 advantage. Back-to-back buckets by Hiram sophomore Doug Sartain (Medina, OH/Medina) and junior Kevin Beans Jr. (Daytona Beach, FL/Atlantic) pulled the Terriers to within 25-18 but Wabash would continue to push its lead, taking a 49-33 advantage at halftime. The Little Giants would outscore Hiram 52-46 in the second half, sealing the 23-point victory. Beyond Davidson's 37-point performance, Wabash senior Kellen Schreiber (Indianapolis, IN/Roncalli) collected 25 points, while freshman Jesse Hall (Crawfordsville, IN/Crawfordsville) added nine points. Hiram was led in scoring by senior Brodgie Gordon (DeLand, FL/DeLand), who compiled 20 points on 9-of-20 shooting (45%).

In Springfield, Ohio, No. 5-seed Denison topped No. 4-seed Wittenberg (13-12), 62-58. Wittenberg scored the first six points of the game, capped off by a Harrison Gough (Lima, OH/Bath) layup. The Big Red would fight back to tie the game at 11 after Gates Flynn (Cincinnati, OH/Summit Country Day) made a jumper at the 6:23 mark of the first half. The teams would remain tied at halftime, squared up at 25 points apiece. Denison began the second half on an 11-6 run, thanks to a pair of Scotty Dean (Chicago, IL/Loyola Academy) three-pointers. Down 10, 54-44, with 6:25 remaining, Wittenberg would begin a 9-0 run to draw within one after a Landon Martin (Columbus, OH/Columbus Africentric) jumper with under two minutes remaining. The Big Red would make their free throws down the stretch, however, to seal a 62-58 victory. Dean led the Big Red with 18 points, while Tyler Miller (Hudson, OH/Hudson) tallied 13 and Ricky Radtke (Willoughby, OH/University School) added 12 points. Wittenberg senior Levi Boettcher (Urbana, OH/Urbana) led the Tigers with 14 points while Martin poured in 13.

The No. 2-seeded Wooster Fighting Scots edged out No. 7-seed Allegheny (8-14) on Tuesday night, 86-79. The Fighting Scots notched four double-digit scoring efforts, including 21 from sophomore Elijah Meredith (Lewis Center, OH/Wellington), while sophomore Nick Everett (Salem, OH/West Branch) produced 17, junior Turner Kurt (Cambridge, Springs, PA/Cambridge Springs) added 16 and senior Brandon Styers (North Olmsted, OH/Holy Name) produced 15 points. Allegheny got off to a quick 7-2 start, prompting a Fighting Scots timeout. The Gators held an 18-12 lead with 11:10 remaining in the first half after Caden Hinckley (Boise, ID/Mount Lebanon (PA)) dropped in a deuce. Wooster's Everett responded with a bucket which began a 29-11 run as Wooster took a 41-29 lead to halftime. The Gators continued to hang around in the second half, pulling to within 65-62 after a Brian Roberts Jr. (Copley, OH/Copley) tally with 6:51 remaining. Allegheny couldn't complete the comeback, however, as Wooster advanced to the NCAC semifinal round. Roberts Jr. led the Gators with 23 points on 10-of 20 shooting. Hinckley also finished with a double-double for the Gators, tallying 19 points and 10 rebounds.

A strong night by junior Elijah Hales (Topeka, IN/Westview) helped propel No. 6-seed DePauw on the road, taking down No. 3-seed Ohio Wesleyan, 81-71. Hales paced the Tigers with 27 points on 9-of-13 shooting (69.2%), including a 6-of-9 (66.7%) performance from behind the arc. Also posting 11-point efforts were sophomore Grant Niego (Western Springs, IL/Lyons Township) and junior Nolan Niego (Western Springs, IL/Lyons Township). Ohio Wesleyan held the early advantage in the game, taking a 14-8 lead after Nick Carlson (Dublin, OH/Coffman) hit a three-pointer with 15:03 remaining in the first half. On the back of back-to-back triples from DePauw senior Nick Wissel (Overland Park, KS/Shawnee Mission South) and N. Niego, the Tigers tied up the game at 14. The two teams would remain within five points over the course of the first half as DePauw took a 43-38 lead to the break. The Tigers would begin to stretch their lead in the second half, taking a 17-point lead, 74-57 with 6:50 remaining. The Battling Bishops attempted a late-stage comeback, clawing to within six points, 77-71, after a Grant Spicer (Cincinnati, OH/Lakota East) bucket with 1:29 left in regulation. However, the Tigers made their free throws down the stretch to secure an 81-71 victory. Spicer and junior Jack Clement (Bellefontaine, OH/Bellefontaine) were the Battling Bishop leading scorers with 15 points apiece.

****

SEEDINGS & PAIRINGS:

Wabash has earned the top seed in the 2022 NCAC Men's Basketball Tournament, which begins with quarterfinal games at campus sites on Tuesday evening. The seeding follows the regular-season standings with the top four seeds hosting quarterfinal contests.

Wabash captured its first-ever NCAC men's basketball title after finishing the 2021-22 regular season with a near-perfect 16-1 record against league foes. Wooster leads all NCAC men's squads with 18 titles all-time, while Wittenberg owns 13 conference championships and Ohio Wesleyan has won seven league titles. Allegheny is the only other team to have won a conference championship, with four all-time. The Battling Bishops and Gators shared the title in both 1986 and 1988, while Allegheny also shared the crown with Wooster in 1989 and Wittenberg in 1993.

Quarterfinal games will all be played on Tuesday, Feb. 22, with top-seeded Wabash hosting eighth-seeded Hiram (6-12) at 7:00 p.m. and second-seeded Wooster (13-5) playing host to seventh-seeded Allegheny (6-9) also at 7:00 p.m. In the other quarterfinal matchups, third-seeded Ohio Wesleyan (12-6) hosts sixth-seeded DePauw (7-10) at 5:00 p.m., while fourth-seeded Wittenberg (11-6) entertains fifth-seeded Denison (11-7) at 5:30 p.m. The quarterfinal games at Ohio Wesleyan and Wittenberg will be part of a doubleheader with the women, who will follow the men's contests. The gym will be cleared in between those games and separate tickets will be required for both contests.

Tuesday's winners will advance to the semifinals and championship on Friday, Feb. 25, and Saturday, Feb. 26, at the site of the highest remaining seed to emerge from the quarterfinal round. Semifinal games will be held on Friday with the host institution selecting its preferred time. The gym will be cleared in between games and separate tickets will be required for both contests. The championship game is set for 4:00 p.m. on Saturday.

In the event that one institution hosts both the men's and women's "final four," the women's semifinals will be played on Thursday, Feb. 24, and the men's semifinals will be played on Friday, Feb. 25. The championship games would then be played on Saturday with the women playing at 3:00 p.m. and the men at 7:00 p.m. In this scenario, the gym will be cleared in between games and separate tickets will be required for each contest.

This year's tournament champion will receive an automatic bid to the 2022 NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Tournament, which begins with first-round play on March 4th and 5th.

TOURNEY NOTES: Wabash has now qualified for the tournament every year since joining the NCAC in the 1999-00 academic year and has earned the top seed for the first time in program history. The Little Giants made back-to-back championship game appearances in 2008 and '09, falling to OWU in '08, 89-72, and dropping an 84-72 decision against Wooster the next year ... Wooster enters the 2022 NCAC tournament as the No. 2 seed and the defending NCAC tourney champion after defeating top-seeded Wittenberg 87-63 as the No. 3 seed in the 2020 tournament final to claim the program's league-leading 17th title. The Fighting Scots have won eight of the last 14 NCAC Tournaments, with Denison, DePauw, Ohio Wesleyan and Wittenberg interrupting that string ... Ohio Wesleyan enters as the three seed and will look to advance to the semifinal round after falling to Wittenberg in the quarterfinals in both 2019 and '20 ... Wittenberg, the four seed, has appeared in the last three championship finals. The Tigers have the second-most tourney titles with eight overall, and are in the hunt for their first crown since claiming back-to-back titles in 2018 and '19 … Denison, which won the tourney title in 2016 with a 92-81 overtime victory over Wooster, enters the tournament as the five seed and will look to advance to the semifinals for the second-consecutive time after missing out on the tournament in 2019 ... No. 6 DePauw, which won the tourney title in 2015 with a 69-56 win over Wooster, returns to the field for the fifth year in a row and the ninth time in the last ten competitive seasons ... Allegheny, the seven seed, will be making its third appearance in the tournament in six years ... Hiram enters the tournament as the eight seed after missing out on the tournament in 2020 … Wooster leads all men's teams with an .798 winning percentage (75-19) in tournament games. Wittenberg follows at .697 (53-23), while Ohio Wesleyan is next at .529 (36-32).

Spectators Policy: The Men's and Women's Basketball Tournaments, hosted by various campus sites per tournament seeding, will be conducted as single games in order to manage crowd sizes and traffic flow. The gym will be cleared between games in any facility hosting multiple contests on a single day; and separate tickets will be required for each game. The quarterfinal rounds of the NCAC Tournament are set for Feb. 22 at the respective top four seeds for both men's and women's basketball. The semifinals and championship, hosted by the respective highest remaining men's and women's seeds to emerge from the quarterfinals, are set for Feb. 25-26. The NCAC semifinals for both men and women will be scheduled for 5:00 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. to allow for adequate time between contests.

The North Coast Athletic Conference and the NCAA promote good sportsmanship by student-athletes, coaches and spectators. We request your cooperation by supporting the participants and officials in a positive manner. Profanity, racial or sexist comments, or other intimidating actions directed at officials, student-athletes, coaches, or team representatives are grounds for removal from the site of competition and other disciplinary actions.

The NCAC is united in its push to achieve equality while embracing inclusion for all conference stakeholders. We are committed to the pursuit of programming efforts and initiatives that will empower our communities. We value the experiences of all individuals and celebrate how our differences enhance intercollegiate athletics. We pledge to act in solidarity on the basis of respect, inclusion, and equity within our community. We welcome all persons, regardless of race, gender, sexual orientation, physical or mental abilities, and other identities.