No. 6 Howard Payne could not survive its two games in Abilene unscathed, as No. 13 McMurry took down the Yellow Jackets 61-60.
Howard Payne (18-1, 14-1 American Southwest Conference) led by 13 points in the second half but McMurry (17-2, 14-1) battled back to take a 59-58 lead with 1:45 left. Stacey Blalock hit a layup to regain the lead for Howard Payne, but McMurry All-American Tarra Richardson hit a short baseline jumper with 14 seconds left to put her team up 61-60. Howard Payne All-American Meia Daniels was stripped of the ball in the lane in the closing seconds to seal the win. More women's scores.
No. 2 Amherst is the lone unbeaten team in Division III after winning at Bowdoin. No. 3 Virginia Wesleyan became the second Top 20 team this week to get Systematically defeated as homestanding Emory and Henry ran past the Marlins 124-101. No. 12 Augustana won at home against No. 11 Elmhurst, overcoming 32 points from Brent Ruch for the 86-74 victory.
Both ranked Northwest Conference teams lost as well, with No. 7 Whitworth falling 66-60 at Lewis and Clark and No. 13 Puget Sound falling at George Fox. No. 17 WPI escaped Wheaton (Mass.) with a 67-64 win thanks to 23 points from Antoine Coleman and 17 from Ryan Cain. Christian Mosley shot 8-for-9 en route to 23 points as Connecticut College routed No. 19 Bates 82-65. The Camels shot 15-for-19 (78.9%) in the first half and 69.4% for the game and Bates could not keep pace. Mass-Dartmouth shot the lights out at home as well and rolled past No. 23 Keene State 97-74, Keene's third iffy game in a row after beating Rhode Island College last Saturday. More men's scores.
Senior guard Mike Hoyt poured in 59 points for Mount St. Mary as his Blue Knights knocked off Farmingdale State 84-81. It's the second-highest point total in D-III this year, or the highest not involving Ohio State-Marion. Hoyt has scored 40 or more in five of his past six games. Hood took a three-game lead in the Capital Athletic Conference and improved to 16-3 with a 91-90 overtime win against Mary Washington. It's the fourth year of the program.
William Paterson won the battle of NJAC unbeatens, dropping No. 21 Kean at home 69-57. It's the Pioneers' 16th consecutive win. Eastern Connecticut nearly turned back the clock against Southern Maine, but Ashley Marble scored the winning bucket for the No. 5 Huskies with eight seconds remaining in a 73-72 victory. It was Marble's 10th double-double in a row.
Williams' women shot just 32% but beat Middlebury 39-28. Middlebury was just 10-for-50 from the floor.