East Standings

Quarterfinals

Bethany improved its chances for a 1st ever postseason bid by beating Guilford 73-69. The Bison were lead by Emilio Mercado's 23 points and 13 rebounds, but it was his 4 points in the last 1:20 of the game that helped Bethany advance to the semifinals and improve its RPI to 81 virtually assuring themselves of at least a PIT bid and keeping hope alive for a conference championship. In an instant classic, the game was tied 3 times and the lead changed hands 6 times in the second half. James Warren, 22 points for the game, scored with 1:35 to play to retake the lead for final time for Guilford at 69-68 before Mercado put Bethany back in front for good.

Ernest Zelechowski hit from half court with no time remaining to seal the upset for 4th seeded Bridgewater over top seeded Washington & Lee. Raymond Cockrell lead 6 Eagles in double figures with 18 points. Bridgewater lead throughout the game building an early 17 point lead only to watch the Generals whittle it down late in the first half. Ronald Morgan lead the comeback with 19 points and Mark Shoe added 17. W&L battled back to tie the game at 82 on Victor Burrier's steal and bucket with 2:22 to go. W&L's James Shehan hit one of two free throws to take the lead for the first time at 85-84 with 45 seconds , but William Moon answered with a lay in. Lee Houston then tied the game for the Generals hitting one of two free throws with 3 seconds , but Zelechowski completed the upset bid with the prayer from just beyond mid-court.

Eastern Mennonite moved on to the semifinals to face Bethany with a 82-78 victory over Hampden-Sydney. The Tigers kept the game close behind Steve Parker's 19 points, but lost steam in the middle of the second half and the Royals took advantage. Michael Willingham had 19 points and Michael Abney added 11 points and 13 rebounds to help pull away and eventually hold off a furious rally by Hampden-Sydney. The Tigers hit 4 threes late in the game to produce the final outcome.

Washington & Jefferson coach ulcardfan finally awoke from his slumber and nearly pulled a fast one in changing his defense, but it wasn't enough to take down suddenly hot Lynchburg falling 96-89. In a game that was close from start to finish with lead changes too numerous, or time consuming, to count, the Hornets got two timely threes and a steal and conversion by Robert Hinnenkamp to finally put the Presidents away. Larry Murphy lead Lynchburg with 22 points, Derrick Hertel added 16 points and 10 rebounds, and Peter Hickey had a career high 21 points to pace the victors. Larry Allen lead all scorers with 23 points, Aaron Shehan added 17 points and 15 rebounds, and Richard Smith contributed 16 points and dished out 9 assists in a losing effort. With the loss, the Presidents likely will just miss out on the postseason despite a solid season. Lynchburg advances to face upstart Bridgewater in the semifinals.

Semifinals

Bridgewater jumped out to an early lead then held off a furious rally to advance to the ODAC final by defeating Lynchburg 92-88. William Moon scored 22 points and had 3 blocks, Ernest Zelechowski scored 20, and Larry Nave added 15 points and 5 blocks in leading the Eagles to victory.

Fouls plagued the Hornets all night long as 4 players fouled out including All-Conference performers Larry Murphy, Thomas Nichols, and Derrick Hertel. Free throw margin was definitely the deciding factor as Bridgewater took 61 shots compared to Lynchburg's 21. Hertel, an excellent foul shooter (A+), struggled at the line converting only 5-10 lowering his season average to below 80%. Murphy only played 16 minutes due to early foul trouble. Nichols did manage to lead the Hornets before fouling out with 18 points.

Bridgewater put the pressure on Lynchburg with an early 10-0 run to stretch a five point lead to fifteen. Zelechowski lead the charge with 9 early points. The Eagles built that lead to 19 during the 1st half before the Hornets finally got to work. When the refs let the action go, Lynchburg whittled the lead down to 2 on John Lee's floater with 1:02 to play, but Bridgewater was able to answer hitting 7 of 8 free throws down the stretch to seal the win and a spot in the final.

Eastern Mennonite muscled its way back into the finals dispatching Bethany 71-53. The Royals dominated the boards 43-13 lead by Michael Willingham's 16 rebounds and 9 points. Guards Craig Monzo and Wesley Watford each had 14 points to advance to face 4th seeded Bridgewater.

Bethany kept the game close early, but could not muster enough offense to hang with Mennonite. Michael Baney's tip in to take a 9-8 advantage provided the last lead change. The Royals then pulled away taking the extending their edge to 20 points at 52-32 midway through the 2nd half.

Emilio Mercado lead the Bison with 10 points, the sole man in double figures for Bethany. The defense failed Bethany as they allowed too many open looks and Watford was not daunted by the double-team all night. Despite the loss, Bethany appears to have done enough to secure its first ever postseason bid.

Final

Eastern Mennonite punched their ticket to the national tournament by defeating Bridgewater 91-75. With the loss, Bridgewater likely is eliminated from the big dance, but should get a call from the postseason invitational.

In a game that was much closer than the final score, Bridgewater jumped out early behind Ernest Zelechowski's two quick threes. Eastern Mennonite's Craig Monzo responded with two threes of his own to retake the lead. The Royals extended the advantage to 8 on Donald Black's basket.

Bridgewater was not deterred as Raymond Cockrell hit two shots and Willie Lipman got a steal and a lay-in to cut the lead to one, 32-31 with 4:41 to play in the 1st half. William Moon continued the run with a bucket to take the lead and Minh Chinn and Simon Harvey sandwiched threes around Royal Jarrett Andrews' basket to complete the run and take a five point edge.

Then the foul troubles began for Bridgewater. In a game eerily similar to last night's victory over Lynchburg, foul trouble to the big men cost the loser of the game. William Moon picked up his 3rd foul with 1:06 in the 1st half. Still Bridgewater went into halftime up 39-38.

The second half began much like the first half ended. William Moon quickly picked up his 4th foul severely limiting Bridgewater's inside attack. However, the Eagles continued their strong play with lead going back and forth until James Miles steal and three point play put Mennonite up by 3. The Royals held the lead until 5:35 in the game, when the Eagles' Chinn converted on a lay up. The lead changed hands a few more times as Zelechowski hit another big three.

Then the foul bug came back. Moon fouled out at 4:09, Thomas Wydra picked up his 4th foul at 4:00, and Larry Nave picked up his 4th foul at 3:43 crippling the front line. At the time of Nave's foul, the Royals held a 4-point lead. Again, Bridgewater did not give in trimming the lead to 75-74 at 2:26 to play, but the fouls finally took their toll. Mennonite began converting and the magic finally ended for the Eagles ending in a 16-1 run and bringing the championship and the automatic bid home to Harrisonburg, Virginia.

Michael Abney lead the Royals with 18 points and Michael Willingham scored 15 points to go with 11 rebounds and 6 blocks despite shooting 1-10 from the field. Minh Chinn and Ernest Zelechowski paced the Eagles with 13 points apiece. Mennonite held the main post players of Bridgewater to just 17 points. Free throws again were the difference as Eastern Mennonite took 51 to Bridgewater's 23.

East Standings

BH, glad that we have added another adict to the conference. I don't think that it matters which team you tookover, but what matters is that you aren't justing using the team as quick stepping stone to DII or beyond. While it might feel good to win a bunch of games, I have had a more enjoyable HD experience when I have been in a competitive conference with the same coaches each season. Just look how excited the conference got when Python got close to making the post-season for the first time. Glad to hear that you will around for future seasons. Now if we could just find some new blood for the SIMS.