Wash-U Wins First Men’s Basketball Title

Ruths Named Most Outstanding Player

March 22, 2008

 

2008 NCAA Division III Men’s Basketball National Championship Game

 

SALEM, Va. --- Troy Ruths crossed the 30-point plateau for the second straight game on Saturday evening as he helped lead Washington University in St. Louis to its first NCAA Division III men’s basketball championship with a 90-68 victory over Amherst College.  The Lord Jeffs finish the season as the national runner-up with a 27-4 record.

 

Washington U.'s Troy Ruths dunks in the second half against Amherst. Photo Credit: Evans Clinchy, D3sports.com

“Obviously it is a tremendous thrill for us to come out here and win the championship, and I think we played two great games against two good teams,” explained Washington U. head coach Mark Edwards.

 

The Bears, now 25-6 on the season, add this season’s title to a third place finish in 2007.  While memorable for all the Bears’, the D-III finals were especially poignant for Ruths.  The senior big man had already been awarded the 2008 Jostens Trophy earlier in the week, but two straight 30-plus point contests earned him the Most Outstanding Player award for the championship series.  In the two games, Ruths made 20-of-28 shots from the field (71.4%) and 23-of-26 free throws (88.5%) including 15-of-17 in against Amherst.

 

“Throughout the whole season I saw a lot double teams and triple teams, and these last two games they decided to play me straight up and that’s what I was praying for,” said Ruths.

Ruths notched 17 of his game-high 33 points in the first half, helping the Bears build a cushion that proved to last the entire game.  Four points from Ruths and five more from Cameron Smith saw Wash-U go ahead 13-4 at the 15:36 mark.  After a lay-up by Fletcher Walters and jumper by Brian Baskauskas pulled Amherst back to within five points, the Bears went on a 12-4 run to move out to a 25-12 advantage with 10:13 on the clock.

 

Washington U.’s lead hovered around the low double figures before Amherst worked it down to six points following a jumper by Andrew Olson with 3:04 to go before the intermission.  The Bears finished the half on a 10-3 spurt to go into the locker room up 45-32.  Aaron Thompson notched five of his 11 first points during that span.

 

The second stanza opened with a few minutes of traded baskets before the Jeffs worked their deficit back down to six points at 55-49 on a layup by Baskauskas with 15:07 to play.  Washington U. responded quickly, outscoring Amherst 14-2 over the next five minutes to move out to an 18-point lead at 69-51 with 10:04 to go.

 

Amherst tried mightily to work itself back into the contest, but the Bears’ matched the Jeffs shot-for-shot on the back of a 70-percent shooting performance in the second half.

 

“I really want to congratulate Mark and his team,” said Amherst head coach Dave Hixon.  “They did to us today what we have had the pleasure to do to other people.  They just took it to us.”

 

Washington U. finished the game with its second straight strong shooting day, hitting 30-of-50 shots from the field (60.0%).  But it was the Wash-U defense that may have made the most difference in keeping Olson under wraps.  The Bears’ made it a point to stop Olson, who recorded a triple-double against Ursinus College in Amherst’s semifinal contest.  Olson was forced into eight turnovers against six assists, far off his normal 1.9 assists-to-turnover ratio.

 

“I felt like it was an extreme today,” said Olson as he described the defense he faced on Saturday.  “I guess the stat sheet didn’t really show my eight turnovers.  It was a great defensive effort overall and they took us out of our game.”

 

Ruths’ added a game-best eight rebounds with three assists and three steals to his 33-point night.  Thompson ended the day with 19 points including three makes from beyond the arc.  Tyler Nading notched 13 points to go with five boards, four assists and four steals.

 

Walters led Amherst with 17 points to go with five boards and four steals.  Olson added 16 points while Baskauskas and Brandon Jones scored 12 points each.  Jones pulled down a team-high seven caroms.

 

“All season we have had tremendous support from our families,” explained Nading.  “I think that’s a great reflection on the kids we have on our team and the program we have built.”