ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Monday, March 17, 1997 TAG: 9703180107
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DANIEL UTHMAN THE ROANOKE TIMES
Alvernia, Illinois Wesleyan, Williams and Nebraska Wesleyan vie for NCAA Division III crown.
They will descend on the Roanoke Valley on Thursday morning, these four basketball behemoths.
There will be Titans in our midst, they of Illinois Wesleyan University. We will welcome the Plainsmen of Nebraska Wesleyan, who play a brand of basketball that is anything but plain. The Crusaders of Alvernia College will bring their cause to town, and ``crusade'' is a good word for what the Alvernian all-stars are doing.
Oh, and did we mention purple cows? That's the mascot of Williams College, a.k.a. the Ephs (pronounced eefs).
The NCAA Division III men's basketball championship comes to the Salem Civic Center for the second time this weekend. Alvernia (Pa.) clashes with Illinois Wesleyan at 6 p.m. Friday and Williams (Mass.) meets Nebraska Wesleyan at 8 p.m. The championship game will be held at 8 p.m. Saturday.
Alvernia is making its first trip to the final four, but the Crusaders haven't had many chances. They've been in Division III for only three years and their college has existed only since 1958. The Crusaders are making up for lost time in this year's tournament. Asked Sunday if Alvernia's season would be correctly described as a ``Cinderella'' experience, spokesman Adam Hertz replied, ``Absolutely.''
That description does not fit the Crusaders' opponent, Illinois Wesleyan. The Titans finished third in the championship last season at the civic center. Some locals may have forgotten that Illinois Wesleyan came to town last year, but if you mention it was the team that scored 70 in the first half against Roanoke College in the sectional, you can bet the memories will come rushing back, however bitter they may be.
The Titans took it out on the South Region again this past weekend. In their 95-63 victory over Methodist (N.C.) on Saturday night, the Titans shot 73 percent in the second half.
Like Alvernia, Williams is making its first final four appearance, and like Alvernia, it's not because the Ephs haven't been good enough. Until 1993, Williams' conference, the New England Small College Athletic Conference, forbid its teams from participating in NCAA postseason competition. The Ephs are in the midst of a school-record 17-game win streak, the last of which came Saturday night against defending national champion Rowan. Nebraska Wesleyan is trying to return to its mid-1980s form, when Plainsmen teams played in three final fours in a span of four seasons.
The Plainsmen made it to this final four when guard Mitch Mosser hit a 3-pointer with 1.1 seconds left Saturday to beat Wisconsin-Stevens Point 69-66.
Ticket books for the semifinals and championship are $15 for adults and $10 for youth. They are available at the civic center or by calling 1-800-288-2122.
If you or someone you know has a connection to one of the final four schools, we'd like to hear about it. Call the sports department on Monday or Tuesday at 981-3225.
LENGTH: Medium: 63 linesby CNB