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Day 2 Recap of the 2018 NIWBT

By NWBA, 03/16/18, 9:15PM CDT

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2018 Men’s National Intercollegiate Wheelchair Basketball Tournament Title Game Features No. 1 University of Alabama and No. 3. University of Wisconsin-Whitewater

MARHSHALL, MINNESOTA – The championship game for the 2018 Men’s National Intercollegiate Wheelchair Basketball Tournament will feature No. 1 seed University of Alabama, who is making its third trip to the big game, and perennial powerhouse and No. 3 seed University of Wisconsin-Whitewater. The national title game is set to tip at 2 p.m. Central on the campus of Southwest Minnesota State University.

Alabama rolled past the University of Missouri earlier in the afternoon, 55-45, to return to the championship game for the first time since 2016, and will be seeking its second National Championship. The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater is returning to the big game for the 16th time since 2000, winning 10 of the 16 appearances.

Saturday’s game is a rematch of the 2016 championships, where Wisconsin-Whitewater won, 73-55. The Women’s National Championship game is set prior, and will feature No. 1 seed University of Texas-Arlington, and No. 2 seed University of Alabama. The third place men’s and women’s games will be played in the morning, starting at 8 a.m.  

 

2018 NIWBT Men’s Game Recaps

Semi-Finals

No. 1 University of Alabama def. No. 4 University of Missouri, 55-45

The Crimson Tide started out fast building a 14-point lead in the first half over Missouri, 30-14, and maintained the lead to advance to the National Championship game. Alabama was led by a double-double by Michael AuPrince of Sydney, Australia, with 28 points and 14 rebounds. Dequel Robinson of Mobile, Alabama, scored 15 points for Alabama. Missouri was paced by Marshall Lindsay of Stansbury Park, Utah, with 15 points, and Eric Rodriguez of Ashland, Missouri, on the defensive side with 14 rebounds. Also with double digits scoring was Sidney Attiogbe of Mesnil le Roi, France, with 14 points.

 

No. 3 University of Wisconsin-Whitewater def. No. 2 University of Texas-Arlington, 86-70

The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater and the University of Texas-Arlington had a see-saw battle through the first half with a total of nine ties. Whitewater went into half with a 37-33 lead. The second half, Whitewater came out and increased its lead to as many as 19 to win, 86-70. 2018 NWBA Intercollegiate Division Player of the Year Dylan Fischbach of Vermillion, South Dakota, finished the game with a triple double – 36 points, 12 rebounds, and 13 assists. Christian Seidel of Malmo, Sweden, finished with 22 points, with Collin Evans of Mondovi, Wisconsin, scoring 15. Guthrie Lindquist of Lake City, Minnesota, had a double-double with 10 points and 12 rebounds. For the Movin’ Mavs, Clarence Grogan of Darwin, Australia, led the team with 29 points and 21 rebounds for a double-double. Fabian Romo of Houston, Texas, scored 18 points.

 

Placement Games

5th Place – Edinboro University def. Southwest Minnesota State University, 62-47

Edinboro Kevin Atherley of Pikesville, Maryland, finished the 2018 NIWBT with a double-double of 18 points and 14 rebounds to lead Edinboro University to a fifth-place finish over host school Southwest Minnesota State University, 62-47. Chayse Wolf of Wilmington, Ohio, scored 16 for the Fighting Scots. The Mustangs were led by Jesus Vila of Clinton, Michigan, with 24 points and 9 rebounds to close out the season.

 

7th Place – University of Illinois def. Auburn University, 53-31

The University of Illinois captured a lead early in the first half and never looked back to win over Auburn University, 53-31. The Illini were Kyle Jankowski of Wantagh, New York, with 21 points, and Spencer Heslop of Clearfield, Utah, scoring 11 points. The Tigers’ Hunter Alvis of Mobile, Alabama led the way with 21 points and 10 rebounds.

 

Consolation Games

No. 5 Edinboro University def. No. 9 Auburn University, 55-40

The Edinboro Fighting Scots defeated the Auburn Tigers in the consolation semi-finals, 55-40, to advance to the fifth-place game. The one-two combination of Seamus McNally of Severna Park, Maryland, and Chayse Wolf of Wilmington, Ohio, combined for 35 points for the victory. McNally scored 19 points, hitting two back-to-back three pointers for the victory. Wolf finished the morning with 16 points. Hunter Alvis of Mobile, Alabama, finished with a double-double, scoring 20 points and snaring 13 rebounds.

 

No. 6 Southwest Minnesota State University def. No. 7 University of Illinois, 61-55

Host school Southwest Minnesota State University held off Illinois to advance to the fifth-place game, 61-55. The Mustangs and Illini played to a total of 7 lead changes and four ties. The leading scorer for Southwest Minnesota State was Matthew Talbot of Alto, Michigan, with 22 points, with Jesus Vila of Clinton, Michigan, putting up 16 points, and Ryan Kile of Lawrence, Nebraska, just behind with 15 points. The Illini were led by Spencer Heslop of Clearfield, Utah, who was just shy of a triple double with 24 points, 10 assists and 9 rebounds. Also finding double digits scoring was Kyle Jankowski of Wantagh, New York, and Thomas Duffy of Ottawa, Illinois, with 11 and 10 points, respectively.

 

No. 7 University of Illinois def. No. 8 University of Nebraska-Omaha, 80-61

In a back and forth game in the first half with a total of 7 ties, the University of Illinois tied the game up with 3:27 remaining in the first half, and went ahead, 30-28, at 3:04 and maintained a lead the rest of the game over University of Nebraska-Omaha, 80-61. Four Illini scored double digits, being led by Spencer Heslop of Clearfield, Utah, with 24, and Kyle Jankowski of Wantagh, New York, with 20 points. Thomas Duffy of Ottawa, Illinois, and Michael Mitchell of Dell Rapids, South Dakota, scored 16 and 14 points, respectively. The Mavericks were paced by three student-athletes reaching double figures with Jeromie Meyer of Woodbine, Iowa, leading the charge with 26 points, followed by Josh Maier of Omaha, Nebraska, with 18 points, and Brent Regier of Henderson, Nebraska, putting up 12 points.

 

2018 National Intercollegiate Wheelchair Basketball Tournament

Southwest Minnesota State University, Marshall, Minnesota

 

Results

Men’s NIWBT

Preliminaries

Auburn def. Nebraska-Omaha, 69-64

 

Quarterfinals

Texas-Arlington def. Illinois, 79-39

Wisconsin-Whitewater def. Southwest Minnesota State Univ., 94-65

Missouri vs. Edinboro, 52-35

Alabama def. Auburn, 66-45

 

Semi-Finals

Alabama def. Missouri, 55-45

Wisconsin-Whitewater def. Texas-Arlington, 86-70

 

Consolations

Illinois def. Nebraska-Omaha, 80-61

Edinboro def. Auburn, 55-40

Southwest Minnesota State def. Illinois, 61-55

 

Placement Games

5th Place – Edinboro def. Southwest Minnesota State, 62-47

7th Place – Illinois def. Auburn, 53-31

 

 

Women’s NIWBT

Semi-Finals

Texas-Arlington def. Wisconsin-Whitewater, 78-44

Alabama def. Illinois, 69-19

 

Schedule

Saturday, March 17

8 a.m. – Women’s 3rd Place Game

Wisconsin-Whitewater vs. Illinois

 

10 a.m. – Men’s 3rd Place Game

Missouri vs. Texas-Arlington

 

12 p.m. – Women’s National Championship Game

Texas-Arlington vs. Alabama

 

2 p.m. – Men’s National Championship Game

Alabama vs. Wisconsin-Whitewater