University of St. Thomas Athletics
24-5
Northwestern
19-9
Killer 3 kills Men's Hoops postseason run
3/6/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
By DOUG HENNES
DE PERE, Wis. – Coach John Tauer described it best, and more than once: it was a "heartbreaking" loss.
His St. Thomas men's basketball team twice held three-point leads in the final minute against Northwestern of Roseville in Friday's opening round of the NCAA Division III playoffs, and went ahead by two points with only six seconds remaining.
But Porter Morrell drained a 3-point shot at the buzzer – the Eagles' second shot from beyond the arc in the last 13 seconds – to stun the crowd and knock the heavily favored Tommies out of the playoffs, 71-70. They came into the game ranked No. 3 in Division III and finished 24-4.
Tauer thought St. Thomas was in good position when sophomore guard Grant Shaeffer made a layup to extend its lead to 66-63 with 42 seconds to go. Northwestern's Cody Sprenger hit two free throws to cut the deficit to one point at the 25-second mark, but senior guard Marcus Alipate responded with two free throws five seconds later for a 68-65 St. Thomas lead.
Sprenger's 3-pointer with 13 seconds remaining tied the game for the eighth time – and the seventh in the second half. Another Shaeffer layup gave the Tommies a 70-68 lead with six seconds remaining before Morrell's 3-pointer won the game for the Eagles.
"In hindsight, we wanted to score with less time left," Tauer said of Shaeffer's layup, and the coach tried to call a timeout to set up his defense. But Northwestern got the ball in quickly and sprinted up court.
"I thought we played solid defense and we contested the shot," Tauer said. "But (Morrell) hit a really tough shot at the buzzer. Give them credit."
It was Northwestern's first-ever NCAA tournament win. The unranked Eagles (19-9), champions of the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference, will play the winner of Friday night's second game between host St. Norbert and Elmhurst to advance to next weekend's Sweet Sixteen.
Northwestern hot early
Northwestern jumped ahead 25-14 midway through the first half by hitting 11 of its first 14 shots before the Tommies went on 14-2 run to take their first lead at 28-27. The Eagles missed nine straight shots during that span but still held a 34-32 lead at halftime.
The guard trio of Shaeffer, Marcus Alipate and Cortez Tillman had only six points on 3 of 12 shooting in the first half, but responded with 24 points after the break to spark the Tommies.
The Eagles scored the first six points of the second half to lead 40-32, but a 12-4 St. Thomas run featuring back-to-back 3-pointers by Alipate and a trey by Tillman knotted the score at 44. There were six more ties over the next 5:45 before St. Thomas seemingly took control 62-57 on a three-point play (layup and free throw) by senior center Conner Nord.
The Eagles didn't fold, scoring six straight points to take a 63-62 lead. Alipate made two free throws and Shaeffer's layup gave the Tommies a 66-63 lead that would not hold up.
"We had great defense on them," said Alipate, who finished with 12 points and 1,007 on his career, "but they made the tough shots at the end."
Five players scored in double figures for St. Thomas, led by junior forward Ryan Saarela's 15. Nord's 13 points and seven rebounds gave him 1,056 points and 645 rebounds for his career, only the 10th Tommies to eclipse 1,000 points and 600 rebounds. Tillman and Taylor Montero each had 10 points.
Tauer thanked his three seniors – Nord, Alipate and reserve forward Jimmy Ancius – for "an incredible four years" that saw the Tommies win four consecutive MIAC regular-season championships and three conference playoff crowns. The seniors finished 98-19 (.838).
"Each one of you has been so selfless," Tauer told them in the locker room. "To see it end like this is heartbreaking."
