Guilford College Advances in NCAA D3 Playoffs

College Men’s Basketball Final – Guilford 85, John Carroll 82 (NCAA Tournament 2nd Round)

GREENSBORO, N.C. – Clay Henson scored a game-high 27 points to lead Guilford College past John Carroll University, 85-82, in the second round of the NCAA Division III men’s basketball tournament Saturday night.

Guilford (28-2) advances to the tournament’s sectional round for the third time in four years where it will face the College of Wooster. Wooster defeated the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, 87-78, Saturday in a second-round game. The sectional site will be announced online Sunday, March 7.

The Blue Streaks (21-7) fell behind by 17 points with 14:59 left in the second half, before rallying to take a 77-74 lead with 4:11 remaining in the game on a Corey Shontz three-pointer. Shontz’ basket capped a 9-0 John Carroll run that took less than a minute and included three-pointers by Rudy Kirbus and Joey Meyer.

The teams traded baskets before Guilford’s Rhett Bonner made two free throws with 2:24 remaining that gave the Quakers the lead for good. His layup with 36 seconds left and free throw 13 seconds opened an 83-79 Guilford lead. After John Carroll missed a three-pointer, the Quakers’ Tyler Sanborn made one free throw with 13.1 ticks remaining, opening an 84-79 advantage.

John Carroll refused to quit and threatened again when Kirbus made the first of a two-shot foul, but missed the second. Maurice Haynes tipped in the miss and pulled the Blue Streaks to within 84-82 with 6.7 seconds remaining.

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Greensboro Sports' 2010-03-06 Guilford photosetGreensboro Sports’ 2010-03-06 Guilford photoset

After Guilford’s Clay Henson made one of two free throws, the Quakers called timeout. Kirbus’ final three-pointer rimmed out as the final horn sound, preserving Guilford’s ninth straight win and its second in as many seasons against John Carroll in the NCAA playoffs.

Henson knocked down six-of-15 three-pointers in the game, including five in the first half, which helped Guilford take a 34-29 lead. Sanborn registered his 27th double-double of the season with 19 points, a game-high 16 rebounds, plus a season-high six blocked shots. He had 12 points and eight rebounds in the second half. Bonner, who made eight three-pointers and scored a career-high 28 points in Friday’s first-round win over Christopher Newport University, missed all six three-pointers Saturday, but contributed 12 points, five assists and five rebounds. Rookie Josh Pittman scored nine of his 13 points off the bench in the second half.

Kirbus’ 17 points and five three-pointers and off the bench led the Blue Streaks, who made 14-of-38 long-distance shots in the game. Shontz finished with 14 points, nine in the second half, and a game-high six assists. Matt Crozier had 13 points and four rebounds, one night after a 20-point, 11-rebound effort in the Blue Streaks’ first-round win over Maryville (Tenn.) College.

Newspaper Box Score
03/06/10 7:00 p.m. at Greensboro, NC – Ragan-Brown Field House

GUILFORD 85
JOHN CARROLL 82

JOHN CARROLL (21-7)
KIRBUS, Rudy 5-15 2-4 17; SHONTZ, Corey 5-13 2-2 14; CROZIER, Matt 5-14 3-3 13; HARTNETT, Michael 3-6 0-0 9; HAYNES, Maurice 4-9 0-0 8; DANDREA, Brian 2-3 0-0 6; MEYER, Joey 2-8 1-1 6; ZAJAC, Chris 1-3 2-2 4; DISANTO, TJ 1-3 0-0 3; SWEENEY, Patrick 0-0 2-2 2; LAVELLE, Tommy 0-0 0-0 0; KIRSCH, Tyler 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 28-76 12-14 82.

GUILFORD (28-2)
HENSON, Clay 9-20 3-4 27; SANBORN, Tyler 7-9 5-8 19; PITTMAN, Josh 4-8 1-1 13; BONNER, Rhett 4-12 4-6 12; ANDERSON, T.C. 2-2 0-0 6; MONROE, Brad 1-3 3-4 5; STEPHENSON, Martin 1-5 1-2 3; AKINSOLA, Tobi 0-0 0-0 0; LOWDER, Gabriel 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 28-59 17-25 85.

John Carroll……………… 29 53 – 82
Guilford…………………. 34 51 – 85

3-point goals–John Carroll 14-38 (KIRBUS, Rudy 5-10; HARTNETT, Michael 3-6; DANDREA, Brian 2-3; SHONTZ, Corey 2-8; DISANTO, TJ 1-2; MEYER, Joey 1-6; KIRSCH, Tyler 0-2; ZAJAC, Chris 0-1), Guilford 12-28 (HENSON, Clay 6-15; PITTMAN, Josh 4-5; ANDERSON, T.C. 2-2; BONNER, Rhett 0-6).
Fouled out–John Carroll-None, Guilford-None.
Rebounds–John Carroll 38 (HAYNES, Maurice 11), Guilford 47 (SANBORN, Tyler 16). Assists–John Carroll 16 (SHONTZ, Corey 6),
Guilford 12 (BONNER, Rhett 5).
Total fouls–John Carroll 19, Guilford 16.
Technical fouls–John Carroll-None, Guilford-None.
A-2150

Second Round NCAA Division III Men’s Basketball Tournament.

One thought on “Guilford College Advances in NCAA D3 Playoffs

  1. That Kirbus dude could shoot the set 3. He looked to be somewhat older than most college players and wore his socks long and pulled all the way up. A throwback kinda dude.

    Glad GC won. Where is the game?

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