Wilmington College emerged as the champion of the 2010 Ohio Athletic Conference Men's Basketball tournament, hosted by John Carroll University on Friday and Saturday, February 26 and 27, at the DeCarlo Varsity Center in University Heights, Ohio.
In the semifinal round, #1 seed John Carroll was upset by #5 seed Heidelberg in Friday's first semifinal, 104-97, while #2 seed Wilmington outlasted #3 seed Capital, 75-72 in overtime in the second semifinal.
Wilmington completed its title run with an 82-69 victory over Heidelberg in the championship game Saturday. it was the first OAC Tournament championships for Wilmington since it joined the league in 2000-2001.
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Box Score:
Semifinal #1
(Heidelberg 104,
JCU 97)
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Box Score:
Semifinal #2
(Wilmington 75,
Capital 72 OT)
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Box Score:
Championship
(Wilmington 82,
Heidelberg 69)
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Wilmington's Brandon Rogers was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player, and was joined on the all-tournament team by fellow Quakers Tyler Ledford and RJ Brown, Heidelberg's Josh Calver, John Carroll's Matt Crozier and Capital's Spencer Niekamp.
Pre-Tournament capsules of each team were as follows:
John Carroll (20-5): #1 seed ... 2010 OAC regular season champion with 15-3 record ... Defending OAC Tournament champion ... 4-2 against other semifinalists this season ... Currently riding 11-game win streak ... Feature top scoring offense (88.3 ppg) and top ranked three-point shooting team (.395) in the OAC ... Chris Zajac leads the conference in assist-to-turnover ratio (+2.32) ... Three previous OAC Tournament titles (2003, 2004, 2009) ... All-time OAC Tournament record is 20-18.
Heidelberg (14-12): #5 seed ... Placed in a tie for fifth place in 2010 OAC regular season with a 9-9 record ... 1-5 against other semifinalists this season, with the one win at John Carroll ... Have won two in a row after losing six straight ... Student Princes have best rebounding margin in the OAC (+2.9) and lead the league in offensive rebounds (13.65 per game) ... Nate Davis is the top shot blocker in the conference (1.85 bpg) ... One previous OAC Tournament title (2008) ... All-time OAC Tournament record is 40-46.
Wilmington (19-7): #2 seed ... Finished as 2010 OAC regular season runner-up with 13-5 mark ... 4-2 against other semifinalists this season ... On a four-game winning streak ... Top field goal shooting percentage offense in the OAC (.503) is complimented by the second best field goal shooting percentage defense (.453) ... Tyler Ledford is the most accurate free throw (.877) and three-point field goal shooter (.585) in the league ... Seeking first OAC Tournament title ... All-time OAC tournament record is 2-9.
Capital (16-10): #3 seed ... Tied for third (with Ohio Northern) in final 2010 OAC regular season standings with 10-8 record ... 3-3 against other semifinalist teams this season ... Has won four consecutive games entering semifinals ... Possess top scoring defense in OAC (67.5 ppg) as well as top field goal percentage defense (.426) ... DJ Frazier is the only player in the league to be ranked among top ten in both rebounds (6.8) and assists (3.1) per game ... Three previous OAC Tournament titles (1971, 1984, 2007) ... All-time OAC Tournament record is 48-46.
