Lord Jeffs rule Division III for first time

SALEM, Va. – Andrew Olson scored 15 points and Brian Baskauskas added 14 to lead Amherst to its first NCAA Division III title with an 80-67 victory over defending champion Virginia Wesleyan on Saturday night.

Dan Wheeler added 13 points and seven rebounds for Amherst (30-2), which lost in the semifinals in two of the last three years. Tim McLaughlin and Kevin Hopkins each scored 12 for the Lord Jeffs, who led almost throughout and built their advantage as high as 20 points twice in the second half.

TonTon Balenga scored 19 points for the Marlins (28-5), who were within 10 three times in the second half.

The Lord Jeffs, who led 39-28 at halftime, were up 62-42 after a tip-in by Baskauskas with 10:08 remaining. It was 68-48 with 7:28 to go before the Marlins made one last rally.

But unlike last year, when Balenga’s shot with 2 seconds to play against Wittenberg gave Virginia Wesleyan its first national title, there were no late heroics this time.

Earlier, Tyler Nading’s 22 points led Washington University to a 92-84 win over Wooster in the third-place game.