GREENWOOD, Ind. – Only a few weeks remain for the playoff push in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference men's and women's basketball regular seasons while track and field competition continues to gear up for the indoor league championships towards the end of February.
Six teams from the men's and women's field will compete in the G-MAC Championships, and while some of the berths have already been clinched, this will be a pivotal week for some who look to keep their postseason hopes alive.
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An evolving rotation at the top of the conference standings now has Central State (15-8, 7-2 G-MAC) in the driver’s seat after Alderson Broaddus (16-7, 8-3 G-MAC) and Kentucky Wesleyan (16-6, 5-3 G-MAC) were both dethroned at some point this season.
The Marauders and Battlers left it all on the floor for 55 minutes in triple overtime as senior point guard Masceo Harmon lit up the scoreboard again in an efficient manner with 32 points.
Credit AB for rallying from a nine-point deficit at the half before each team both scored 15 points in the first overtime. After an 87-87 tie ensued in the second overtime, the Marauders pressed through and outscored Alderson Broaddus 13-8 in the third extra session.
Central State and Alderson Broaddus have officially clinched two of the six seeds in the G-MAC Championship that will be conducted at the top seed/regular season conference champion.
It was just a matter of time before Cedarville’s sharpshooting guard Marcus Reineke earned his weekly G-MAC Athlete of the Week dues and after averaging 25.5 points per game on nearly 62 percent shooting, this week was his calling.
The Yellow Jackets (9-14, 5-4 G-MAC) suffered a deflating last-second defeat at the hand of Alderson Broaddus, but bounced back to down Davis & Elkins (6-15, 2-9 G-MAC) on Saturday.
Reineke has a leg up on Central’s State’s Harmon in the scoring race. Just 0.1 of a point separates the talented duo as they shoulder the brunt of the offensive load for their respective teams.
Trevecca Nazarene (16-6, 5-3 G-MAC) edged out KWC in its lone game of the week and the Trojans stand tied for third with the Panthers at 5-3 in the league. Jalen Palm and Byron Sanford combined for 43 points in a strong backcourt scoring display.
Idle from G-MAC competition, but recording a pair of non-conference wins was Ohio Valley (7-12, 4-5 G-MAC). The Fighting Scots have a current grasp on the sixth and final spot in the postseason tournament.
OVU standout guard Darryl Walker was held in check against Oakland City with nine points, but carved out 32 points against Bluefield State a few days later.
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WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Officially securing a spot in the six-team G-MAC Championship and finally breaking into the USA Today Sports Division II Coaches Poll at No. 23 was Cedarville (21-2, 11-0 G-MAC). The Lady Jackets have won 11 straight while securing a number of votes in the previous four editions of the national poll. In the D2SIDA Media Poll, Cedarville garnered a ranking of sixth in the Midwest Region.
Led by three-time G-MAC Athlete of the Week Kayla Linkous, Cedarville had 10 total players score in the 101-72 victory over Alderson Broaddus (7-15, 4-8 G-MAC). Linkous scored 17 and pulled down nine boards.
Unfortunately for AB, the team dropped a high-scoring barnburner a few nights later to Central State (7-14, 4-7 G-MAC) by the score of 119-107. The Marauders shot over 62 percent from the field and had Iniquia Snell scored 32 points to go with 11 assists as three players tallied double-doubles.
Earlier in the week, Davis & Elkins (11-9, 7-5 G-MAC) quietly strengthened its hold at fourth in the standings by besting Central State. Sharmaine Baker and Ashley Bowles each had 21 points.
With five double-digit scorers, Alderson Broaddus redeemed a frustrating weekend and routed non-conference opponent Washington Adventist on Tuesday.
Trevecca Nazarene (11-9, 8-2 G-MAC) pulled into a tie for second place in the league with Kentucky Wesleyan (13-7, 8-2 G-MAC) trying to chase down Cedarville. The Trojans toppled the Panthers with Christina Curtner leading all players with 18 points.
Still battling it out for postseason hopes, Ursuline (5-18, 4-8 G-MAC) went to Ohio Valley (5-15, 4-7 G-MAC) and defeated the Fighting Scots. Emma Ricketts matched her career-high point total with 22. Ursuline completed the weekly sweep by beating Salem International (0-23, 0-11 G-MAC).
If the postseason were to begin today, Alderson Broaddus, Ursuline and Salem International, would be on the outside looking in.
Women's Basketball:
Composite Schedule |
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Standings
MEN'S AND WOMEN'S TRACK & FIELD
Five G-MAC teams competed this past week with several more school records shattered around the league. The indoor conference championships are coming up in a hurry at the end of the month at Kenyon College scheduled for Saturday, Feb. 28.
Freshman Tori Abdul was at it again for Ursuline as she bested her own school record in the 400m with a time of 56.79. Senior Bea Indurain also gave the Arrows a win in the 60m hurdles with a time of 8.66 seconds. UC is gaining serious recognition in the USTFCCCA Regional Poll, standing strong at No. 10 in the Midwest.
Kentucky Wesleyan’s Rachel Keeley placed third in the 3000m run posting a time of 11:27.27, while the Lady Panthers had four shot put throwers finish in the top 10.
For the men, freshman Tevin Washington finished fourth in the 60m and third in the 400m. KWC finished third in the 4x400 relay in 3:36.23.
Cedarville men had several runner-up and third-place finishes at Ohio Northern, with now two-time G-MAC Athlete of the Week Josiah Bernard posting a new conference record in the 400m with a time of 50.18 seconds. Bernard set a new G-MAC standard in the high jump with a 1.92m launch.
James Blackwell additionally provisionally qualified for the national championships in pole vault with a mark of 4.73m.
For the Lady Jackets, Carsyn Koch took home G-MAC Athlete of the Week honors again as she beat the previous school record in the 500m. The women’s 4x400 relay team also was victorious with a time of 4:04.97.
Alderson Broaddus reset a number of program records at the DeSchiver Invitational. Former G-MAC Athlete of the Week Erin Brown was part of the 4x200 relay team that beat the previous school record in the event with a time of 1:55.01. Demi DeGraef tied her school record in the 55m dash with a time of 8.05. Also setting a new school record was Megan Valkos in the triple jump totaling 9.05m. In the men’s distance medley, a new AB record was broken with a time of 11:11.09.
Central State’s Christle Pendleton now holds three of the top five spots in the G-MAC 60m dash records. With a time of 7.90 seconds, Pendleton finished sixth. The Central State women finished fourth in the 4x400 relay with a time of 4:02.36.
For the men, three of the top six 60-meter dash finalists came from Central State. Romario Mckenzie, Darin Gooch, and Demetius Williams finished second, fifth and sixth, respectively. Mckenzie also finished second in the 200m with a time of 22.43 seconds. Gooch placed second in the long jump with a 6.43m landing.