Tight finishes highlight CCIW

Prior to the start of the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin season, Wheaton men’s basketball coach Mike Schauer admitted to enjoying his team’s string of nonconference blowouts before quickly noting that those easy wins would be nearly impossible to find in league play.

“That just isn’t going to happen in our league,” he said.

If last Saturday is any indication, Schauer is looking awfully prophetic.

All eight CCIW teams were in action on a wild Saturday that saw three games decided by two points or less and a minuscule 3.25-point average winning margin in the four games. Wheaton (13-3, 4-1) needed two overtimes to dispatch North Central (10-6, 4-1) 66-64 at home, and Elmhurst (9-7, 3-2) used a buzzer-beating jumper to defend its home court against Augustana (12-4, 2-3) in a 56-55 victory.

The most lopsided result of the weekend was a 69-61 home victory by Illinois Wesleyan — tied for the conference lead at 13-3 overall with a 4-1 mark in CCIW play — over middle-of-the-pack Carthage (8-8, 2-3).

“We’re just so familiar with each other,” Schauer said Tuesday of the CCIW teams. “There’s no secrets.”

Wheaton — the No. 22-ranked team in Division III according to D3hoops.com — continued the string of close games at home Tuesday night, squandering a 15-point lead against Carthage before winning 79-73. Schauer said the Thunder struggled to shake off the emotions of Saturday’s double-overtime thriller, the highlight of a weekend that had a few to choose from.

North Central looked to have the game well in hand late in the second half, leading by 8 with two minutes to play. But the Thunder turned a few turnovers into a 9-1 run, punctuated by senior forward Spencer Schultze tipping in a missed 3-pointer at the buzzer to force overtime.

“We were very fortunate,” Schauer said. “I was pretty pleased with the (3-point) shot we took. ... When it missed, I didn’t really have time to have the disappointed feeling before (Schultze) tipped it in.”

It was North Central’s turn to manufacture some drama in the first overtime, as sophomore forward Landon Gamble beat the buzzer with a jumper to tie the game at 63-63. But the Cardinals’ chances died in the second extra period when a desperate last-second 3-pointer clanged off the rim.

Wheaton senior forward Tim McCrary had 22 points and 11 rebounds Saturday, giving him 1,500 points for his career and earning him CCIW player of the week honors Tuesday. McCrary is only the fifth player in NCAA Division III history to reach 1,500 points, 750 rebounds and 350 assists.

“He’s a special one,” Schauer said.

Elmhurst scored a surprising win of its own Saturday, getting an 18-foot jumper from senior guard Zack Boyd with 0.3 seconds left to hand No. 19 Augustana its third consecutive CCIW loss. The Bluejays trailed by 10 points in the second half but led 50-42 before a 13-4 Augustana run made it 55-54 with a minute to play.

Boyd actually missed a 3-pointer with 30 seconds left, but he got another chance in the final seconds, driving to his right before nailing a contested shot.

Elmhurst beat Millikin 71-49 Tuesday and will have a shot at another upset when it hosts No. 17 Illinois Wesleyan at 7 p.m. Saturday.

Other CCIW results from Tuesday included Illinois Wesleyan dropping its first conference game 82-69 against North Central and Augustana dropping North Park 73-53.

Elmhurst: Freshman guard Tess Godhardt turned in a career-best performance and the Elmhurst women#146;s basketball team stayed atop the CCIW standings with a resounding 56-35 home win over Augustana on Saturday.Godhardt set career-highs in points (22) and rebounds (12) as Elmhurst (13-2, 4-0) led 30-18 at halftime and never looked back. The victory was the Bluejays#146; fourth in a row and ninth in their last 10 games.Elmhurst is tied with Illinois Wesleyan (11-4, 4-0) for first in the CCIW. Both teams are in action on the road Wednesday, with the Bluejays facing Millikin (10-5, 2-2) and Illinois Wesleyan playing North Central (6-9, 0-4).The Bluejays will host Illinois Wesleyan for the conference lead at 5:30 p.m. Saturday.Benedictine:Benedictine announced the resignation of women#146;s soccer coach Robyn Serge on Monday, signaling the beginning of what a university release called a #147;national search ... to find a new leader for the women#146;s soccer program.#148;In six years with the Eagles, Serge had a record of 41-52-5. She experienced one of her best seasons in 2007, when Benedictine went 10-5-1 with an 8-3-1 mark in Northern Athletics Conference play. The Eagles went 6-7-1 in 2011.