CLAREMONT, Calif. - The Clarmeont-Mudd-Scripps men's basketball team earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Division III Championships and will open on Friday against Aurora in a regional hosted by Wisconsin-La Crosse, the NCAA announced today on its selection show.
CMS enters the postseason with a 22-4 record, earning a postseason bid for the third year in a row. Two years ago, the Stags won a regional for the first time in program history, defeating St. Thomas (Texas) and Whitworth in a regional hosted by Cal Lutheran. A year ago, CMS fell in double overtime in the opening round against Ramapo.
This year, CMS broke a program record for best start, opening up the year 16-0, before finishing with an NPI computer ranking of 27. The Stags four losses have all come to Redlands (including one in overtime) and Chapman, including a defeat in the SCIAC Semifinals.
Will Householter leads CMS in scoring heading into the postseason with 18.9 points per game, and has 982 points in his three-year career, needing 18 more to reach 1000.
Reid Jones averages 15.2 points, and heads into NCAA play with 98 steals on the season, already a program record, and two shy of making him the first to reach 100 in a season (and 200 in a career).
Cahal Connolly joined Householter as a first-team All-SCIAC selection after averaging 13.5 points on 60.4 percent shooting from the floor, while
Joey Kennedy joined Jones on the second team after averaging 11.1 points and a team-high 7.9 rebounds. Point guard
Brady Karich also broke the CMS record for assists in a game with 15 in a win at Cal Lutheran.
Aurora University holds a 23-5 record on the year, and won the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference Tournament championship with a 67-66 win over Marian in the title game. They have a balanced offense with five players averaging in double figures, led by Juan Madrigal at 16.3 ppg.
Wisconsin-La Crosse hosts Hope in the other regional semifinal, with the two winners meeting on Saturday for the regional championship and the right to move on to the Sectionals (Round of 16) next weekend.
The Stags basketball team will also hope to repeat what the baseball team did in the spring, winning a regional hosted by Wisconsin-La Crosse to advance to the next round.
