ANGOLA, Ind. – The Trine University men's basketball team will play for an NCAA Division III Men's Basketball National Championship game on Saturday, March 16 against Hampden-Sydney College. Tip-off is scheduled for 4:06 p.m.
Tickets for the event can be purchased using the ALLEN COUNTY WAR MEMORIAL COLISEUM WEBSITE. Single session tickets are $25 for adults and $20 for children (2-12) and seniors (65+). The session pass includes a seat for both the Reese's NABC D3 All Star Game and the NCAA Tournament Championship game.
Parking costs at the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum are $8 in the main lot, $12 for preferred lot parking and $16 for bus parking. For more information about the VENUE or the NCAA DIVISION III MEN'S BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT, click the links.
If you are unable to attend the National Championship game, there will be VIDEO provided by CBS. The game will be shown live online at www.cbssports.com with coverage starting at 4 p.m. and on tape delay on the CBS Sports Network at 11 p.m. that night. You will have to sign in to a TV provider to watch. LIVE STATS can also be viewed through the NCAA.
Trine completed a regular season with a 22-3 record and were named Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) co-champions after going through the conference slate with a record of 12-2. The Thunder were able to go 4-2 on the year against teams receiving votes nationally.
The team hosted the MIAA Tournament inside the MTI Center, but ultimately came up short in overtime to Hope College, 72-68 in the tournament championship game. Trine received an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament and were selected as a First and Second Round host. This is the first trip to the NCAA Tournament for the program.
The Thunder opened the tournament by defeating Fontbonne University, 91-81, and then beat #25 Coe College 76-70 to reach the second weekend of the event. Once again on their home floor, the team secured wins over Washington University (86-65) and the University of Wisconsin-Platteville (88-86 in overtime).
To clinch the Sectional Final victory over Platteville, the team needed a comeback from a 10-point deficit with 1:41 to play in regulation. Drew Moore hit the game-tying free throws with 0.3 seconds left to add an extra five minutes on the clock. As time expired in the overtime period, Cortez Garland buried a game-winner to move on to the National Championship Semifinals in Fort Wayne, Indiana.
The Thunder continued their run by defeating Trinity (Conn.) College in the National Championship Semifinal game, 66-54. The Trine defense held the Bantams to just 30.6% (19-of-62) from the field in the game to earn their 28th win of the season, a new program record in its NCAA DIII era. Aidan Smylie had a double-double in the game with 10 points and 11 rebounds.
Hampden-Sydney enters play on Saturday with a 30-2 overall record. The team defeated Guilford College by a score of 62-57 in the National Championship Semifinals for the team's 12th consecutive win. The Tigers qualified for the NCAA Tournament by winning the Old Dominican Athletic Conference (ODAC) Tournament. Hampden-Sydney is ranked fifth in NCAA Division III in scoring defense (58.2 opponents points per game) and seventh in field goal percentage defense (37.7%).