Lauren Hill Scores Opening Basket in Home Opener

((ht: d3hoops.com))

She keeps inspiring everyone who hears or sees her story.

Mount St. Joseph's University freshman basketball player Lauren Hill scored the first two points of her teams game Saturday afternoon in their home opener.

And it was a big deal.

Why? By now, many have heard Lauren's story. Suffering from inoperable brain cancer, (DIPG) it's been her dream to be able to play college basketball.

And while she's had a lot of ups and downs, she's delivered on that promise.

From scoring in the teams first game of the season against Xavier in front of 10,000+ screaming fans to Saturday night, she's yet to disappoint.

Just recently we reported Lauren had been struggling, the cancer eating away at her and sapping her energy. Her family began Hospice care for her. But it appears she may just have been saving her strength.

She managed to make it up and down the court a couple more times before leaving the game and cheering on her teammates for the rest of the night.

The Lions didn't win the game, but they gained even more fans.

Follow Lauren's cause and her battle by checking out her The Cure Starts Now Foundation Website

WCPO.com gives us highlights from Lauren's night:

BUZZER BEATER: Alex Tuci's Touch Inside A Game Winner For Manhattanville

Here's a buzzer beater from NCAA Division III.

With 2.7 seconds left in the game there's only enough time for a catch and shoot.

The inbounds pass goes inside to freshman Alex Tuci who hits the turnaround at the buzzer for the game winner for Manhattanville 56-54 over SUNY-Brockport.




Love the tiny intimate gym at Mahattanville College.

Tuci finished with 11 points, one of 3 Valiant scorers in double figures.  Juan Camacho led the Valiants with 16 points.

339 Receiving Yards! That's A Big Day For Denison's DuShawn Brown

Denison's DuShawn Brown

That's the afternoon Denison's DuShawn Brown had Saturday in the Big Red's 45-7 win over Allegheny.

Brown had 15 receptions for 339 yards and four touchdowns and goes down as the eighth best performance in NCAA Division III history.

Top 10 receiving performances in Division III history
Rank	Player, team vs. opponent	Date	Yards
1.	Lewis Howes, Principia vs. Martin Luther	Oct. 12, 2002	418
2.	Matt Eisenberg, Juniata vs. Widener	Nov. 13, 1999	397
3.	Scott Pingel, Westminster (Mo.) vs. Bethel (Tenn.)	Nov. 7, 1998	395
4.	Antwan Thorpe, Greensboro vs. LaGrange	Nov. 10, 2012	391
5.	Nick Bublavi, Catholic vs. La Salle	Sept. 15, 2005	386
6.	Jeff Clay, Catholic vs. Albright	Nov. 16, 1996	364
7.	Matt Surette, WPI vs. Springfield	Oct. 25, 1997	362
8.	DuShawn Brown, Denison vs. Allegheny	Nov. 8, 2014	339
9.	Adam Brossman, Lebanon Valley vs. Albright	Nov. 11, 2006	337
T10.	Ryan Pifer, Heidelberg vs. Marietta	Nov. 8, 1997	332
T10.	Sean Munroe, Mass-Boston vs. Mass. Maritime	Oct. 10, 1992	332

Source: d3football.com

Big Red quarterback Brandon Sklenar had a nice game too.  Sklenar completed 24 of 32 passes for 406 yards and a career high five touchdowns.

We know who accounted for four of those scoring strikes.

Lauren Hill: The Next Day

((HT: WCPO-TV))

The HQ showed you a little bit of the story from Cincinnati on Sunday with Mount St. Joseph's hoops player Lauren Hill as she got to play her first college basketball game over the weekend as she fights DIPG- an unforgiving form of brain cancer.

So, what now...???

That's really a question for all of us as we move forward with windows greater than Lauren's...

Brother Phil's buddy Popo caught up with her to find out what she thought about what happened over the weekend...


The Cure Starts Now Foundation is where people battling pediatric cancer (and those who wish to help in the fight) can go in the future. If this is something that encourages you as we all move to our next days, check them out.

We'll keep you posted on MSJ's season...

Lauren Hill's First Collegiate Game

((HT: Fox Sports))

The story is nothing short of amazing...

Mount St. Joseph's post player Lauren Hill is fighting DIPG- a cancer that attaches itself to the brain stem and spiders out from there. It's an inoperable brain tumor that has given all of us the chance to learn about this monster and how we can possibly attack it from this moment on.

The cancer has given her a more evil diagnosis and a very short timetable- maybe a month or so.

The MSJ season opener with Hiram College was moved up- thanks to the NCAA giving special papal dispensation- and the game was moved to Xavier University's arena. The 10,000-plus seat arena sold out in an hour.

And, as it should have been, Hill made the first and last baskets in the game.

Here's the first basket on the day...


Here's Brad Johansen and Debbie Antonelli with Lauren when the game was secondary to the voice of the day


#LayUp4Lauren is the hashtag for the efforts

D3 Records Fall In LaVerne-Whitworth Game

((HT: LaVerne Leopards))

Whitworth University out of Spokane played LaVerne over the weekend.

In a 59-of-83 performance for 589 yards, Bryan Peterson threw six touchdowns without an interception. He also threw the game-winning 14-yard touchdown with 30 seconds left for the 50-48 win.

Peterson broke the D3 records for completions in a game and most consecutive passes without a pick. He set team records for single-game yardage, completions and attempts.

On the flip side for LaVerne, Billy Livingston threw for 469 yards and 7 TD's while Jon Lilly caught 6 touchdowns and had 274 yards receiving on the afternoon.

Here's the highlights- presumably edited for TV sake...

OSG CFB: Rose-Hulman And Illinois College Score 142

((HT: RHIT Football))

A Division III record was set when Rose Hulman and Illinois College played a 74-68 game in triple overtime- most combined points in a game.

Here are the details from Rose-Hulman their own selves:

Rose-Hulman set school records for total offense in a game (824 yards), passing yards in a game (603), touchdown passes (7) and total plays run (114). Illinois College also made history with 745 yards of total offense.

The two teams combined for 1,569 yards of total offense, 1,138 yards of passing offense and 77 first downs in a game that tied the longest contest in Rose-Hulman football history at three overtimes.

Both teams also set the NCAA Division III single game record for offensive plays in a game. Illinois College holds the new national record with 117 offensive plays, Rose-Hulman ran 114 and the two teams combined for a new mark of 231 plays from scrimmage.

Here's head coach Jeff Sokol on the win


Austin Swenson threw for 603 yards and 7 TD's off a 37-for-60 performance

Greg Lee had 162 yards rushing for the Figthing Engineers and talked about the game-winning score


The HQ actually found highlights, thanks to our friends at WTWO-TV

BUZZER BEATER: D3 Title Decided At The Last

((HT: CBS Sports Network/ESPN))

Williams (Mass) had the lead on Wisconsin-Whitewater with time running out, but Quardell Young did his best Tyus Edney-Danny Ainge routine in Salem, Virginia...


Whitewater wins 75-73 for their second title in the last three years...

Randy Moss' Daughter Sets D3 Scoring Record

She was at the University of Florida, but nowadays Sydney Moss is tolling at Thomas More College. She set the new NCAA Division III scoring mark with 63 points in a 106-88 win over Waynesburg (Pa.) University in the President's Athletic Conference tournament...

The old record was 61

Here's some highlights
((HT: Jason Dudas))


Thomas More improved to 27-0 and a conference final.

So you know, the D1 record is 60 by Cindy Brown for Long Beach State against San Jose State back in 1987.

Welcome Back, Jack! Taylor Nets 109 For Grinnell...

((HT: Doug Cutchins))

Grinnell College's Jack Taylor scored 109 points going 24-for-48 from 3 in a 173-123 win over Crossroads College. he went 35-for-70 overall in 29 minutes...

29 MINUTES!!!!!!

Taylor has the NCAA record for any level scoring 138 points last November 20th in a 179-104 win over Faith Baptist Bible College.

The only other player to score more than 109 in an NCAA game was Rio Grande's "Bevo" Francis, who had 113 against Hillsdale in 1954.

"Just like last year, I couldn't have done this without my teammates," Taylor told Ted Schultz of Grinnell's sports Information Department postgame. "I give so much credit to them. This truly was a team effort. I'm thankful for the program and the people I have playing with me."

Here's your evidence...


For the season opener this year against the juggernaut Finlandia, Taylor scored 71 points the other night.

Who Is Cartel Brooks And Why Are We Talking About Him...???

((HT: kardestahi/Youtube))

When you are the tailback for Division III Heidelberg, we need a reason and now we have one...

Or, to be more honest, 465 of them... a new NCAA record in a 42-14 win over Baldwin-Wallace...

The record was held by Western Connecticut's Octavias McKoy, who ran for 455 yards against Worcester State three weeks ago. McKoy broke Marietta College's Dante Brown's 441-yard mark from 1996.

Here's the short version...


"We had a good game today," Brooks told the school's website. "This could be our last game, so we wanted to play well for our seniors. I just followed my blocks."

Yes, Cartel... You did...

Play Of The Day Involves A Lot of Fumbles

((HT: Erik Tesauro))

Sacred Heart and Monmouth...

It's a catch, a strip, a fumble, a recovery, a strip, another fumble, and the receiver that started the play with a catch finishes it with a touchdown...

See...???


So, if you're scoring...

RJ Noel passes to Moses Webb for 23-yards
Webb fumbles as it was forced by Monmouth's Pat Gray
Ify Asoluka recovers fumble for 7-yards
Asoluka fumbles
Webb recovers the fumble and runs 51 yards for touchdown

Got all that...???

Punt Return Of The Year Comes From D3...???

Yup...

It's only 75 yards in east-west distance, but Muskingum's Dominick Williams went the distance- and then some...

Muskingum still lost to Heidelberg 49-21
((HT: Lost Lettermen/Chris Mobley))

Who Is Octavias McKoy And Why Are We Talking About Him...???

((HT: Western Connecticut State Football their ownselves))

The Stamford, Connecticut running back is now the NCAA record holder for yards in a game...

455 yards on 43 carries with 5 TD's in WCSU's 55-35 win over Worcester State gives him the record over Marietta's Dante Brown by 15 yards- set in 1996. McKoy (pictured right, thanks Matt Wright- Worcester State SID) scored on runs of 15, one, 41, 53 and 71 yards as they outscored Worcester 27-7 in the second half after being tied 28-28 at the half.

Here's what the Colonials knew they were getting when he signed on...


LaDanian Tomlinson has the D1 record with 406 yards rushing...

First-Timers On The Field: Mercer, Berry, and Reinhardt...

The HQ has always been one of those places where we like to hidden gems, stories that are cool, just off the trail, and a champion for those places that have their niches...

Is it "Nitch" or "Neesh," we digress...

And having been in the circles of a few places over the past few weeks, it's fun to see new shiny things as the HQ hopes the novelty doesn't quite wear off when the newness does...

First stop was Mercer University in Macon- the first time that football would be on campus in 70-plus years. They played Reinhardt University. Mercer is a developing Division I program coached by Bobby Lamb that is in the Pioneer League this year as they move forward into Division I-AA next year. Reinhardt is working their way in the NAIA ranks in the Mid-South Conference in football and the AAC in every other sport.

The Eagles brought in long time Georgia high school head coach Danny Cronic who went to Reinhardt when it was a junior college. He has a roster that is full of Georgia kids (only 6 are not from the state) in their roster of 130 athletes. The first game for both was a 40-37 shootout in front of a crowd of just under 13,000.

Here's their recap, thanks to FOSG Andy Stabell...
((HT: Mercer Bears))


Reinhardt moved on from there to have their home opener against Lindsay Wilson in Waleska.


So, if you look at Berry College, Reinhardt, and Mercer...

You see three schools in varying degrees of business (which is what athletics are these days) and hoping they all move their audiences to being around on a consistent basis.

They'll all be royal pains to their more experienced squads they have on their schedules this season- and all the coaching staffs are solid and know what will put people in the seats...

Home grown talent... something the HQ notices is lacking in their larger brotherhood...

Sometimes, it's guys like Lamb, Cronic, and Kunczewski that could teach Division I power conferences a thing a two about building their fan bases...

And that's the cool part- in addition to being entertaining...
See you on the field...

Mount Union's Kehres Steps Down

((HT: STOhio/NewsNet5 Cleveland))

A lot of you know that we spend our time looking after good stories- regardless of the level of popularity and size of the market.

Our next piece of evidence takes you to Alliance, Ohio and with the Mount Union football team. They have ruled Division III under the head coaching of Larry Kehres. Since he took over as head football coach in the mid-1980's, the Purple Raiders have destroyed their competition more often than not...

But Kehres, at the age of 63, is retiring- giving way to his son Vince (the current DC) and only spending time as Athletics Director... no reason given as to why...

"The best part of the job was developing relationships with players and continuing those relationships following their graduations," Kehres said in a prepared statement. "Coaching the Purple Raiders has been a tremendous experience for my family. We have shared many great experiences with our players, fellow coaches, trainers and their families. We plan to continue to enjoy working with Mount Union coaches and athletes."

"I promise this program will continue to uphold the values and ideals that have made Mount Union what it is in the world of college football," Vince Kehres said in the same release. "Our mission remains the same."

Mount Union fans would expect nothing less...

Here's an interview with Kehres after he won the title again in 2012...


And here's the short list of Kehres accomplishments...
Yes, they're ridiculous...

Seasons-Head Coach -- 27 (1986-2012)
Seasons-Assistant Coach -- 12 (1974-85)
Career Record -- 332-24-3
Winning Percentage -- .929
Undefeated Regular Seasons -- 21
Undefeated Overall Seasons -- 10
NCAA Division III Championships -- 11 (1993, 1996-98, 2000-02, 2005-06, 2008, 2012)
Ohio Athletic Conference Championships -- 23 (1986, 1990, 1992-2012)
Longest Winning Streaks -- 55 (2000-03), 54 (1996-99), 37 (2005-07)

Division III National Championship Games (11-5)
1993 -- Mount Union 34, Rowan 24
1996 -- Mount Union 56, Rowan 24
1997 -- Mount Union 61, Lycoming 12
1998 -- Mount Union 44, Rowan 24
2000 -- Mount Union 10, St. John's (Minn.) 7
2001 -- Mount Union 30, Bridgewater (Va.) 27
2002 -- Mount Union 48, Trinity (Texas) 7
2003 -- St. John's (Minn.) 24, Mount Union 6
2005 -- Mount Union 35, Wisconsin-Whitewater 28
2006 -- Mount Union 35, Wisconsin-Whitewater 16
2007 -- Wisconsin-Whitewater 31, Mount Union 21
2008 -- Mount Union 31, Wisconsin-Whitewater 26
2009 -- Wisconsin-Whitewater 38, Mount Union 28
2010 -- Wisconsin-Whitewater 31, Mount Union 21
2011 -- Wisconsin-Whitewater 13, Mount Union 10
2012 -- Mount Union 28, St. Thomas (Minn.) 10

BUZZER BEATER: A 60 Foot Game Winner For Colorado College

Ryan Milne of Colorado College nails a 60 footer to win it for the Tigers 64-62 over Southwestern University Sunday.

Milne led Colorado College with 21 points on 8-15 shooting, 4-8 from behind the three point arch.

Move Over Northern Illinois, Sarah Lawrence College Only Scores Four Points In A Half

Northern Illinois you now have company for college basketball futility. 

Sarah Lawrence College is a small NCAA Division III school located in Bronxville, New York.  Wednesday night the Gryphons battled Hudson Valley Men’s Athletic Conference rival St. Joseph’s College Brooklyn in tiny Noyes Court at Campbell Sports Center on the SLC campus.



Sarah Lawrence College 2012-13 Team Photo



In front of an intimate gathering of 114, that was the official attendance, the Gryphons put on a performance perhaps only Northern Illinois can relate to, on the bad end of a 71-20 pounding from St. Joseph’s Brooklyn.  That’s right, Sarah Lawrence only scored 20 points for the game, only 4 points in the second half.

That sound familiar NIU Huskie fans?

The good thing for Sarah Lawrence College is there seems to be no video evidence of this display of basketball futility.  Those of us in the OSG HQ have been searching and have come up empty.

This is the closest we could find that just might resemble Wednesday night’s game.

The only recorded history of the SLC/St. Joseph's Brooklyn game is this game report on SLC's athletic web site gogryphons.com.

To say Sarah Lawrence College is offensively challenged is an understatement.  The Gryphons average 34 points per game and shooting 44 percent as a team.

The 20 points SLC scored Wednesday night is not the least the Gryphons have scored in a game this season.  Back on November 17^th SLC lost to Framingham State 74-14.  Then two months later the Gryphons  could only score 19 points in a 78-19 loss to Vassar College.

To be fair SLC has won four games this season which is the most in five years.  The Gryphons even swept the two game home and home series against Webb Institute. 

Those of us in the OSG HQ are wondering what a Northern Illinois/Sarah Lawrence match-up would be like.  First one to 30 wins?

BUZZER BEATER: This One Should Not Have Counted But Did

Any buzzer beater situation on college basketball has to be reviewed by the game officials.  That didn’t happen Wednesday night in a NCAA Division III college basketball game between Lycoming and Messiah.

Lycoming’s Michael Rudy tipped in a desperation shot from Jerald Williams at the buzzer to steal a road win for the Warriors 67-66.  Look carefully though, it appears the red light went on with the ball still in Rudy’s hands. 

Here’s the evidence as the buzzer beater occurs at the 3:05 mark on the time line. (Thanks TheMessiahFalcons)

 

The video evidence is compelling, the shot should not have counted.  The officials didn’t have a monitor to review the replay so they just walked off the court. 

“It could be easy for us to focus on that last play, but we can't and we won't.”  Messiah head coach Rick Van Pelt said.

Rudy finished the game with 12 points.  Chris Foreman led Lycoming with 25 points.

Arrest Made In DC-Area Football Player Murder

((HT: NBCWashington/ABC7))

An arrest has been made in the murder of a Division III NCAA football player in the Washington, DC area.

Zavier Stringfellow was found stabbed to death in his minivan after it was found crashed Friday night in suburban Washington. He was an all-state high school player at Battlefield ((VA)) High, where he was part of a state-title winning team as a senior in 2010. He went on to see time as a defensive end at Ferrum (VA) College.

Police arrested Johnny Bonilla Saturday afternoon after members of the U.S. Marshals Service, Prince William County (VA) and Fairfax County (VA) officers and arrested the suspect in the Stringfellow murder at his own home.

Police details are somewhat limited, but apparently Stringfellow and Bonilla were set to meet each other (having never met), one thing led to another, and Stringfellow was stabbed in a struggle.

Here's the report on the murder when it broke...

A candlelight vigil was held at Battlefield High on Sunday evening.