Salem,
VA – The University of Mary Hardin-Baylor men's basketball team will
continue its historic run through the NCAA Division III National
Championships
with a trip to Salem, Virginia this weekend for its first appearance in
the Sectional Finals in the history of the program. The Cru will face
St. Mary's College of Maryland at 1:30 PM Central Time (2:30 Eastern
Time) on Friday with a spot in the Division III
Final Four on the line. Salem is playing host to the Sectional Finals
and Semifinals this weekend. The Division III National Championship Game
will be played April 7th in conjunction with the Division I and Division II title games.
The Cru (25-5) advanced to the Sectional Finals with a 71-63 victory over Whitworth University Saturday
night in Spokane, Washington. UMHB scored the game's
final eight points and outscored the Pirates 15-3 over the final 4:31
to advance beyond the round of 16 for the first time in program history.
St.
Mary's is 27-3 on the season and the Seahawks entered the postseason
ranked #11 in the country by D3hoops.com. St. Mary's won the Capital
Athletic Conference and
has posted playoff victories over MIT, Alvernia and Morrisville State
this tournament. The Seahawks have four players averaging in double
figure scoring this season, led by Nick LaGuerre at 13.4 points per
game. St. Mary's averages 73 points per game and shoots
48 percent as a team on the year.
The winner of Friday
afternoon's game will advance to the Semifinals to face either St.
Thomas (MN) or Williams College at 5:00 PM Central Time (6:00 PM Eastern
Time)
on Saturday. All of the Sectional Final and Semifinal games will be video streamed by Turner Sports at
www.ncaa.com. Ticket information will be posted Monday as it becomes available. For more information, call the UMHB athletic department during normal business hours on Monday or Tuesday at (254) 295-4618.
