No. 1-by-a-hair Washington U. clinched the first automatic bid to the 2010 Division III NCAA Tournament by a hair, as the Bears rallied to defeat Case Western Reserve 65-62 after trailing most of the second half. Spencer Gay scored a game-high 18 points, while Aaron Thomson added 15 and Sean Wallis chipped in 11 assists for Washington U., the two-time defending national champions. The University Athletic Association is the only Division III basketball conference that does not have a conference tournament. Friday's men's scoreboard.

The Wash U women entered the night with a one-game lead in the UAA and remain there as the Bears beat Case Western Reserve 71-54 and second-place Chicago rolled past Carnegie Mellon 76-47. No. 12 Christopher Newport remained undefeated with a 71-59 win at Greensboro. Friday's women's scoreboard.

&&g-boxl&&No. 5 George Fox extended its winning streaks to 18 games overall and 35 consecutive Northwest Conference games with a 63-39 win against Lewis and Clark. No. 15 Puget Sound defeated Pacific 59-47 to improve to 21-3. No. 17 DePauw won its 17th consecutive game, downing Rhodes 64-44.

Elsewhere, teams are just wrapping up their season. The Augsburg women broke a 10-game losing streak and survived a last-ditch possession to beat St. Mary's (Minn.) 69-67.

In other Friday men's action, No. 23 St. John Fisher improved to 21-4, beating Utica 73-66 behind career highs in points (19) and rebounds (12) from Brandon Witte. St. Lawrence stands alone in first in the Liberty League with Union, Hobart and Skidmore tied for second with one game left, heading toward a four-team tournament.

Earlier on Friday, Marymount women's coach Bill Finney announced he would be retiring at season's end. He enters the weekend with 548 career victories and a Saints team ranked No. 7 in the D3hoops.com Top 25.