Date Posted:10:08:48 03/21/04 Sun Author: hcsd04 Subject: Williams loses in final In reply to:
JRGNYR
's message, "Re: Williams in Div III National Champ Final" on 00:42:10 03/21/04 Sun
William loses in final.
STEVENS POINT 84, WILLIAMS 82
Williams is denied repeat
Defending champs fall at the buzzer
By Peter May, Globe Staff, 3/21/2004
SALEM, Va. -- They forced the smiles for the presentation of the runner-up trophy. They applauded the champs in earnest, but clearly with a heavy heart. This was not how Williams wanted its dream season to end, but, in the end, the Ephs were on the outside looking in for only the second time in 32 games.
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That it came in the NCAA Division 3 championship made it all the more difficult.
Wisconsin Stevens-Point ended Williams's 19-game winning streak, as well as the Ephs' bid for a second straight title, with a thrilling 84-82 victory yesterday before 2,374 at the Salem Civic Center. The Pointers won the game on a 12-foot fallaway jumper by junior Jason Kalsow with two-10ths of a second remaining, capping a 24-point, 9-rebound, 6-assist submission. Williams ended its season at 30-2. Wisconsin Stevens-Point finished at 29-5 in winning the Division 3 title for the first time.
The loss was especially hard for the Williams senior captains, Michael Crotty, Ben Coffin, and Chuck Abba. In four years, those three were 104-16, featuring consecutive visits to the NCAA championship game. In the last two years, the Ephs only lost three times, twice to Amherst and last night's defeat.
"I can't imagine going to practice without Ben, Chuck, and Mike," said Williams coach Dave Paulsen. "They've been leaders. They've represented Williams with so much class and character. They're going to leave a legacy for years to come."
Williams, which trailed, 38-33, at the half, rallied from an 11-point hole in the second half (53-42) to take a 77-72 lead with 4:40 to play. The Ephs' rally was due primarily to the long-distance shooting of junior Tucker Kain (23 points thanks to six treys) and Abba (21 points and four treys.) But the Pointers bounced back behind Kalsow and tournament MVP Nick Bennett (30 points) to outscore the Ephs, 12-5, over the final 4:24, capped by Kalsow's winner.
"I knew the clock was winding down," Kalsow said. "Ben Coffin got a hand in my face. I knew I had to get it up high and I did. And it went in."
Bennett, the son of coach Jack Bennett (and nephew of Washington State coach Dick Bennett), started the Pointers' rally with a 3-pointer to make it 77-75. After a Jaris Coles hoop for the Ephs, Kalsow took over, converting a 3-point play (after retrieving his own miss) and then Bennett hit a turnaround to give the Pointers an 80-79 lead with 2:38 left.
Williams's last gasp came two possessions later, when Abba nailed a trey off a feed from Crotty (15 points, 11 assists), making it 82-80. But Kalsow tied the game on a drive and Kain misfired twice, once on a layup. The Pointers then got possession in the final 15 seconds and worked the ball to Kalsow for the coup de grace.
Said Jack Bennett, "It's hard to put into words how I feel, but, on this earth, it doesn't get any better than this."
And, for Williams, it doesn't get any harder than this. They entered the tournament as the No. 1-ranked team in the country and, as Coffin said, "we came up one basket short."
Asked to comment on the great, four-year run, Crotty said, "It's pretty tough right now to put that together. The most important thing we got out of this little run is the friendships we built and the family we built. I know the numbers look pretty good and we'll always be proud of that. It's a tough way to go out, but we left our hearts on the floor and I think we'll be remembered for playing hard and competing with class."
Condolences to WC for losing its big title game. I just learned about it here this morning. However, with the Big Dance presently underway, this is not even a "blip" on the national radar screen.
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Re: Williams would be a good addition to PL! -- Go...'gate, 12:44:10 03/21/04 Sun
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Re: Williams loses in final -- TS1970, 17:09:07 03/21/04 Sun
Yeah, let WC take HC's place in the PL. According to the WC posters, WC wouldn't even have to upgrade its basketball program, as it is already as good as or better than all the teams in the PL.
