Semifinals

Lee Houston scored 24 points including 11 straight early in the second half to lead Washington & Lee to a 99-88 win over Lynchburg to advance to the title game to face Bethany. Victor Burrier chipped in 19 points and James Western added 11 points and 14 rebounds as the Generals seemed to be in complete control for much of the game. Lynchburg got 25 points and 10 boards from Derrick Hertel, 16 points from Thomas Nichols, and 16 points and 7 assists from Peter Hickey, but the trio also combined for 14 turnovers. James Puzinski contributed 7 points and 7 boards in place of the injured John Lee.

The first half was controlled by Washington & Lee as the Generals flirted with a double digit lead for much of the half. They finally broke the barrier on a 3 by Burrier followed by a steal and layup by Edward Boyle to go up 12, but Lynchburg responded cutting the lead to 1 at 41-40. Washington & Lee held a three point edge at the half. Nichols opened the second half with a big 3 to tie the game, but Houston responded with 11 unanswered points in 1:30. The Generals would roll from there, opening a 23 point lead midway through the 2nd half before Lynchburg made one last run. The Hornets scored 13 unanswered points to trim the deficit to 9 but could get no closer. Washington & Lee has not won the conference tournament in 10 seasons and will play a Bethany team that has not won it in its history.

Bethany is in unchartered territory. The Bison knocked off Eastern Mennonite to advance to face Washington & Lee in an all West ODAC final. Gary Willis lead the Bison with 21 points, 11 rebounds, 2 steals, and 3 blocks and came up big in the second half as star Dan Abbott struggled with foul trouble. Bethany had a very balanced attack from the rest of its starting five. Eastern Mennonite, lead by Craig Monzo's 17 points and Michael Abney's 13 points and 9 boards, seemed to be in good shape leading by 3 at the half. The teams battled early in the second half until Willis took over to extend Bethany's lead to 7 with 10:45 to play. Mennonite answered with a 10-0 run to take a 49-46 lead and upped it to 4 shortly thereafter. Bethany scratched its way back in it lead by Sean McGavisk's 4 straight points to go up 56-53 and Willis added two free throws to provide some cushion. The Bison did well converting their free throws late to hold on for the 63-58 win.

Season 23 CT Title Game

The Bethany Bison earned their first trip to the big dance by outlasting the Washington & Lee Generals 132-131 in double overtime. It was a game of attrition that saw 8 players foul out including 4 Washington & Lee starters. That would play a huge role in this game as free throw shooting made the difference.

The Bison got a Herculean effort from 1st team All-Conference performer Dan Abbott who was the unofficial MVP of the tournament. Abbott led all scorers with 38 points on 7-11 three-pointers and added 9 assists. He was aided by Philip Hartig's 23 points and 11 rebounds, Neal Crockett's 22 points, and Gary Willis' 20 points, 9 rebounds, and 5 blocks. Bethany survived losing starters Sean McGavisk and Crockett to foul trouble. Washington & Lee was led by Edward Boyle's 25 points and 10 boards, James Western's 24 points, and 13 boards, and the much-maligned Victor Burrier who had 19 points on just 4-14 three-pointers. Burrier would be remembered more for missed opportunities however as he converted only 3 of 11 free throws on the night.

The game was mostly controlled by the Generals who took an early lead and pulled away to a comfortable lead late in the first half and lead 56-44 at the half. The second half seemed to be much of the same as W&L extended the lead to 15 when the fouls started piling up. Abbott silenced the whistles with a big 3 to trim the lead to 8 and an Israel Stiles 3 cut it 5 with just under 14 minutes to play. W&L built the lead back to 11 on a Burrier three and continued pulling away as they found themselves up 17 with 8 minutes to play.

Then came the turning point. Victor Burrier was fouled while shooting a three with 7:27 to go and a 15 point lead. Burrier missed all three free throws. Bethany stirred. The Bison whittled the lead down to 10 when Abbott nailed a three and converted the free throw for the 4-point play, then trimmed the deficit to 2 with 1:20 on another Abbott bucket. James Western scored to go up 4 and W&L had the ball with under a minute to play in regulation. Burrier missed two free throws and Neal Crockett hit a big three to tie the game and send it to overtime.

After falling behind early in the 1st OT, Bethany took their first lead since 15:42 remained in the 1st half with 3:34 to go. The Generals answered the bell as Burrier came through with a three to send the game to a second OT. The teams traded buckets and free throws until Joseph Lee hit a three to put W&L up 3 with 2:04 to go in the game. Both teams struggled until David Battista hit 1-2 free throws to put the Generals up 4. Willis scored for Bethany to make it 129-127. Burrier hit 1-2 FTs and Robert Mark hit 1-2 free throws for a 4 point lead with 14 seconds . Abbott drained a three to cut it to 1. Mark was fouled and was unable to convert either shot from the charity stripe. A Philip Hartig layup with 3 seconds to go put Bethany up 1. Burrier missed on the desperation shot at the buzzer to end one of the best games in ODAC history.

Both teams move on to the national tournament where Bethany will face 11th seeded La Verne and Washington & Lee drew 9th seeded North Park.

Round of 32 recaps

Bethany's inaugural trip to the big dance was ended by 3rd seeded Ozarks 87-74. The Bison had a very balanced attack, but did not get the usual good shooting from long distance that had been the hallmark of their winning ways. Sean McGavisk lead Bethany with 13 points and 7 rebounds, Philip Hartig added 12 points and 9 rebounds, and backcourt duo Neal Crockett and Dan Abbott had 12 points each. Ozarks was lead by Russell Connor and Jeffrey Macek who each poured in 22 points and got 10 points and 10 assists from Gerald Rey.

When Ozarks needed a bucket it was Macek who provided the spark. Ozarks got two early threes from Macek to take a 10-6 lead that they maintained for most of the first half. Bethany battled back and finally broke through on Gary Willis' two free throws to take a 32-21 lead. However Macek answered with two late threes to provide a 45-37 margin at the end of the first half.

The second half was a continuation of the first as Ozarks maintained its lead, then Macek provided the spark again to make it larger by hitting two more threes back-to-back midway through the second half to go up comfortably 74-56. Bethany mustered a late comeback capped off by a Crockett three to trim the deficit to 11 with 1:07 to play, but it was too late as Ozarks finished off the Bison 87-74. The loss wraps up a successful run for seniors Dan Abbott, Gary Willis, and Sean McGavisk who introduced the postseason to the Bison program.

Eastern Mennonite looked good through 20 minutes against 2nd seeded Bluffton, but their free throw shooting failed them in the second half as Bluffton eliminated the Royals 62-58. Craig Monzo scored 18 points and Donald Black added 15 points and 9 rebounds in the losing effort. Bluffton was lead by Jason Hamilton's 14 points and Bob Pyne and Carlton Mullins added 13 points apiece. The difference in the game was seen at the charity stripe as Bluffton converted 16-19 free throws while Eastern Mennonite managed only 10-17.

Mennonite got off to a great start opening up an early 16-7 lead on a Donald Black lay up. The Royals built that lead to double digits late in the 1st half on Gerald Williams' bucket in the paint and went into the locker room feeling confident with a 36-27 lead.

Bluffton made a charge early in the second half that Mennonite was able to hold off until Hamilton scored to cut the lead to one with 12:22 to play. After Michael Abney hit 1 of 2 free throws, Mullins hit a jumper to tie the game at 43. After Black hit 1 of 2 free throws, backup center Mark Hammett hit a long jumper to put Bluffton in the lead with 8:21 to play. The theme of poor free throw shooting continued as Abney missed the front end of a one and one. The teams then traded buckets until the charity stripe proved costly again. Down 52-50, PG Jarrett Andrews missed the front end of a one and one. The Royal defense stiffened and they got another opportunity at the line, but Abney could only hit 1 of 2. Craig Monzo broke through hitting both of his free throws for a 53-52 lead with 3:08 to play, but Bluffton quickly responded and extended its lead to 58-53. Mennonite battled back cutting the deficit to two on a Monzo three with eight seconds , but it was not enough. Late free throws definitely made the difference as Bluffton hit 8 of 8 in the last 2:47 to hang on for a 62-58 victory.