The Roanoke College men’s basketball team is headed to the “Sweet 16” for the first time since 1996. The Maroons will play in a four team sectional tournament in Hartford, Connecticut this weekend with the winner advancing to the NCAA Division III Final Four in Fort Wayne, Indiana on March 20 and 22.
Roanoke, now 25-5, will take on Catholic University of Washington, D.C. at 4:15 pm Friday. Trinity College of Hartford is the host team and Trinity will play Western New England in the second game. Friday’s winners will play Saturday evening at 7:15 pm for the sectional championship and a spot in the Final Four.
The Maroons won two nail-biters to earn the trip to Hartford. They opened the 64 team tournament at the Christopher Newport University Freeman Center in Newport News last Friday and won their tournament opener with a 71-70 win over Pfeiffer, then pulled out a 77-75 win over the host Captains on Saturday.
“Proud of our group,” said RC coach Clay Nunley. “We showed a lot of resiliency and stayed connected against two very good opponents. I’m excited for our team as we move forward.”
Against Pfeiffer the Maroons rallied from 18 points down in the second half to earn the win. The Falcons took their biggest lead of the game at 57-39 with 11:40 remaining before a 10-0 Maroon run cut the lead to 57-49 with 8:46 left.
Pfeiffer led 70-59 before back-to-back Maroon three pointers from Joshua McClary and Caleb Franze cut the edge to just five with 2:15 left. A Joshua Morse put back and a Marcus Morgan driving layup brought Roanoke back within one at 70-69 with 37 seconds left.
The Maroons forced a tough shot on the defensive end and McClary was fouled while controlling the defensive rebound. The senior captain connected on both free throws and a Pfeiffer half court shot at the buzzer fell short.
McClary led the Maroons in scoring with 19 points and he also had five rebounds and two steals. Morgan had 18 points on seven for nine shooting from the floor while filling the scoresheet with four rebounds, four assists, three steals and two blocks. Gavin O’Malley had nine points and nine boards.
The win was the first NCAA tournament win for the program since 2001 and earned the Maroons the right to play host Christopher Newport in the opening round final. The Captains defeated John Jay College in Friday’s second game, 101-75, to improve to 23-5 on the season.
This was another thriller as McClary came up clutch again, draining a 15-foot pull up jumper with 4.4 seconds to play for the 77-75 win. In the opposite scenario from the previous game, Christopher Newport had come from 17 points down in the second half to tie the game with 14 seconds to go.
Jahn Hines of CNU hit a layup to tie the score at 75-all and was fouled, but Hines missed the free throw. Following a time out, McClary hit the game winner and the Maroon defense shut down a Hines layup attempt in the paint to try and force overtime as the clock ran out.
The Maroons led this one by as many as 19 points in the first half. CNU cut the lead to 63-57 with 8:12 on the game clock but Roanoke still held a six-point lead with 2:17 left. The Captains cut the lead to one with a 5-0 run with under a minute to play to set the stage for McClary’s heroics.
McClary led the RC scoring again with 22 points and he also had nine rebounds. Josh Morse had 15 points and seven boards, Jackson Bell had a dozen points and Morgan was a fourth Maroon in double figures with 10.
The Maroons hope to keep the season going this weekend in Connecticut as they take on Catholic University. The Cardinals were fellow members of the College Division Mason Dixon Conference with Roanoke in the 60’s and ‘70s.
Catholic has a rich basketball history with a 2001 Division III National Championship. That was played at the Salem Civic Center as the Cardinals took a 76-62 win over William Patterson in the championship game. Catholic comes into this weekend’s four team sectional with a 24-5 record after beating Franklin & Marshall, 84-50, and ODAC power Randolph-Macon, 79-67, in last weekend’s opening rounds.
“Catholic is extremely talented and playing very well,” said Nunley. “They’re a skilled team with strong shooters and passers and play with a lot of grit at the defensive end.”
