SALEM, VA. – For the second time in six years, St. Thomas will play for the NCAA Division III men's basketball championship.
The Tommies outlasted Christopher Newport 66-62 in the semifinals on Friday to advance to the Saturday final.
The Tommies (29-3) will play Benedictine (Ill.) University, the first unbeaten team at the Division III Final Four since 1999. Benedictine (31-0) reached the championship game with a 63-60 victory over Amherst on Friday.
The Tommies, ranked No. 8 in the final regular-season poll, were in control for much of their game.
St. Thomas grabbed an early 14-7 lead as Christopher Newport struggled from the field. But the Captains, who missed their first seven field-goal attempts, went ahead 22-19 with 4:38 left in the half.
The Tommies responded with a 10-0 run over the final two minutes of the half to take a 33-25 lead at halftime. The Tommies extended their lead to 11 points early in the second half.
The No. 4-ranked Captains (30-2), who were riding a 21-game winning streak, got within four points several times in the final five minutes, but the Tommies made seven of eight free-throw attempts in the final 1 minute, 14 seconds to hold on.
Taylor Montero made two free throws with 10 seconds left to give the Tommies a 66-59 lead.
Kevin Regimbal's three-pointer at the buzzer got the Captains within four.
The Tommies were 13-for-15 from the free throw line in the second half and finished 19-for-24 for the game. The Captains were just 3-for-11 from the line.
Grant Shaeffer, a junior guard, led the balanced Tommies offense with 19 points.
Montero, a senior guard, added 14 points — 10 in the second half — and senior guard Cortez Tillman added 11 points.
Senior forward Cullen Ogren came off the bench to contribute 10 points and nine rebounds.
Ogren filled in for Ryan Saarela, who was limited to 17 minutes because of foul trouble. Saarela scored seven points before fouling out with 3:15 remaining.
Montero grabbed 11 rebounds to help the Tommies build a 40-35 rebounding advantage.
The Tommies overcome a poor shooting night from three-point range. The Tommies, who were 31-for-57 from three-point range in their previous four playoff victories, were just 1-for-8.
Overall, the Tommies shot 41 percent (23-for-56) from the field.
Each team had 12 turnovers. The Tommies went into the game averaging just 9.1 turnovers per game — third-fewest in Division III.
Aaron McFarland scored 16 points and Tim Daly added 15 points and 10 rebounds for the Captains, who were playing in the Final Four for the first time in school history.
The Captains shot 46 percent (27-for-59) from the field. From three-point range, the Captains shot 26 percent (5-for-19).
"We just didn't make enough shots, that's what this boiled down to, to win this game," Captains coach John Krikorian said.
