LOCAL COLLEGE SPORTS

Northeast Ohio NCAA Div. II, Div. III and NAIA Athletics

Case Western Reserve University sophomore guard Reid Anderson led four Spartans in double figures with 16 points, but it wasn't enough as Case Western Reserve fell at Oberlin College, 75-62, in its last nonconference Division III men's basketball game of the season.

CWRU (3-8) missed its first eight shots, and Oberlin (3-8) jumped out to a 9-0 lead.

CWRU shot just 33 percent from the field compared to Oberlin's 52 percent.

Mike Loll posted game-highs in both points (22) and rebounds (11) for the Yeomen. Sophomore center Eric Duerr had 10 points and a team-high nine rebounds for the Spartans.

John Carroll 78, Heidelberg 55: John Carroll used the scoring contributions of 11 players to race past Heidelberg, 78-55, in an Ohio Athletic Conference game at the DeCarlo Varsity Center.

The victory extended John Carroll's winning streak to four games. John Carroll (8-4, 4-2 OAC), which improved to 3-0 at home this season, was led by freshman Matt Crozier, with 14 points. Heidelberg is 4-8, and 1-4 in the OAC.

CWRU photoKevin Bigart

MEN'S SOCCER

Although it has been over two months since Case Western Reserve University senior midfielder Kevin Bigart played his last soccer game with the Spartans, the four-year starter is still being recognized for his hard work during the 2008 season.

The National Soccer Coaches Association of America recently made Bigart a college division first-team selection on their annual Scholar All-America Team.

Mike Zellefrow / NDCEric Dummermuth has collected double-doubles in five straight games for the Notre Dame College men's basketball team.

SOUTH EUCLID - Notre Dame went 2-1 in three games last week.

The Falcons split against a pair of Canadian teams (Algoma, Windsor) in the NDC-hosted Holiday Classic on Dec. 29-30. NDC then won their American Mideast Conference (AMC) opener at Roberts Wesleyan (N.Y.) on Saturday in come-from-behind fashion. After being down by 15 late in the game, the Falcons beat the Raiders, 80-68, in overtime.

NINE GAMES ON STO THIS WINTER

The John Carroll athletic department has announced that nine of its winter sports events will be aired on SportsTime Ohio beginning Jan. 14.

A total of eight basketball games plus one wrestling match will be taped for broadcast by S&S Productions. The first women's basketball game to make it on air will be the one played on Wednesday, Jan. 14, against crosstown rival Baldwin-Wallace. The men's team will make its first appearance on SportsTime Ohio when it plays Otterbein on Saturday, Jan. 24.

WOMEN'S BASKETBALL

Last week, Mount Union closed the non-conference portion of its schedule with a pair of blowout wins, as Tessa Pohovey scored eight of her game-high 13 points during a decisive 18-2 first half run in a 75-46 win at Hiram. Sophomore Katie Crider (Brunswick) hit two 3-pointers to start the game and spark a 15-2 start in a 66-52 win over Case Western Reserve in a game at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland.

The Lake Erie College women's basketball team went 1-1 in the Fairmont State University Classic, losing to the host in overtime, 65-59 before defeating Concord (W.Va.), 69-63. Against Fairmont, the Storm gave up a nine-point halftime lead to go down by as many as six in the second period, but rallied in the final few minutes to force overtime.

Women: Akron 67, Lehigh 59

The Zips' pressure defense held the Mountain Hawks to 23-for-76 shooting at Rhodes Arena.

It was the second straight victory for the Zips (5-8). The defeat snapped a five-game win steak for the Mountain Hawks (11-4).

Akron sophomore Kara Murphy led all scorers with 20 points and seven rebounds.

Men: Glenville State 82, Lake Erie 49

The Storm struggled in Glenville, W.Va., making just 30 percent of its 54 field-goal attempts, while the host Pioneers connected on 52 percent of their 67 attempts. Lake Erie (5-12) was led by Rick Leasure and Matt More with nine points each.

CLEVELAND --- Case Western Reserve's women's basketball team could not recover from early shooting woes as the Spartans fell to Mount Union, 66-52, at Quicken Loans Arena on Friday afternoon.

Junior guard Ashleigh Tondo led Case with a game-high 20 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists.

Case Western Reserve (6-4) will next host Hiram next Wednesday at 7 p.m. before opening up University Athletic Association play Jan. 0 at the Veale Center.

The Spartans managed just a 20.8 percent shooting performance in the first half. The Purple Raiders (8-2) jumped out to a 22-4 lead and eventually built a 32-14 margin at halftime. Katie Crider scored 13 of her team-high 17 points for the Purple Raiders in the first half.

The Spartans picked up their shooting in the second half (41.7 percent) but did not get any closer than 11 points.

The Lake Erie College men's basketball team represented the United States proudly, defeating the 2008 Canadian Interuniversity Sport National Champion Brock University, 83-55, in its lone game of the week.

LEC totaled a season-high 18 steals while forcing its opponents into 28 turnovers. Junior center Veljko Lalovic recorded his first double-double of the season with 13 points and 14 rebounds.

Seniors Derrick Thornton (Lutheran East) and Rick Leasure (Riverside) added 20 and 19 points, respectively. Senior John Dickinson (Euclid) had team-highs of six steals and five assists.

Don Petersen/APMount Union football coach Larry Kehres.

"It is a real honor to be selected for this award for not only what it represents but the fact that a combination of fans, hall of fame coaches and media select the award," Kehres said. "Of course this award represents the hard work and dedication of our coaching staff and student-athletes along with commitment and support of the entire Mount Union College community."

It is another honor in what has been another banner year for Kehres, who was also named American Football Coaches Association Regional Coach of the Year for a record 13th time earlier this season.

A 1971 graduate of Mount Union, Kehres is 275-21-3 in 23 seasons as head coach at his alma mater. The Purple Raiders have claimed 19 Ohio Athletic Conference championships, including the last 17 in a row and 10 NCAA Division III national championships, including a 31-26 win over Wisconsin-Whitewater in last month's Stagg Bowl in Salem, Va.

Associated PressMount Union's Mike Nitz (center) and Luke Purnell (right) celebrate their victory as Wisconsin-Whitewater's Casy Casper (left) leaves the field after the Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl Football game at Salem Stadium in Salem, VA., Saturday Dec.20, 2008. Mount Union defeated Wisconsin-Whitewater to win the title game, 31-26.

Terry Pluto: Birthday wishes come true as Mount wins 10th title

Salem, Va.- Greg Micheli threw two touchdown passes to Cecil Shorts III as Mount Union regained its spot atop Division III Saturday, beating defending champion Wisconsin-Whitewater, 31-26, in the Stagg Bowl.

The Purple Raiders (15-0) won their 10th Division III title - all coming in the past 16 seasons. Mount Union and Wisconsin-Whitewater have played each other for the championship in each of the last four years. The Raiders also won the 2005 and 2006 matchups.

Nate Kmic's first-quarter touchdown was his 16th of the playoffs, a Division III record. He also became the first player in any NCAA division to rush for 8,000 career yards. His 88 yards Saturday gave the senior 8,074 for his career.

CWRU photoBobby Bott has been named a Division III All-American.

Case Western Reserve University junior defensive back Bobby Bott has received one of college sports' ultimate individual awards. Bott has been named to the American Football Coaches Association's (AFCA) NCAA Division III All-America Team.

"My experience in Division III football leads me to believe this is the toughest All-America team to be named to," CWRU coach Greg Debeljak explained. "It represents the best of the best."

The University of Akron women snapped a three-game losing streak, defeating Robert Morris, 82-75, at Rhodes Arena on Wednesday night.

Sophomore Kara Murphy scored 21 points, and led four Zips scoring in double figures. Murphy added four rebounds and four assists.

Sophomore Amber Witt scored a career high 17 points for Akron.

Junior Victoria Arndt recorded her first career double double with 12 points and 10 rebounds, and Ashley Veal scored 12 points, had three rebounds and recorded a key block late in the game.

Both teams are now 3-6.

"It was a great team effort tonight," Akron coach Jodi Kest said. We showed good balance with four players in double figures."

MEN'S BASKETBALL

The Storm opened the event with an 88-78 loss to Walsh University in which senior forward Derrick Thornton (Lutheran East) recorded his first double-double of the season with 26 points and 11 rebounds on a 10-for-16 effort from the field and a 6-for-7 performance from the line. Senior forward Rick Leasure (Riverside) scored a season-high 22 points, and sophomore guard Ethan Bradshaw added 13.

In a 59-52 win against tourney host Malone, the Storm made a season-high 25 free throws, shooting 76 percent. Thornton record his second double-double in as many days with team-leading totals of 18 points and 13 rebounds. Bradshaw, who was named the Steve Loy Player of the Game, had 16 points on a 5-for-8 effort from the floor. Leasure contributed 12 points and six rebounds.

Lake Erie (3-9) competes in Malone's Canton Comfort Inn Tournament on Friday and Saturday. LEC goes up against Grace College on Friday at 6 p.m.

MUC photoGreg Micheli today was named winner of the Gagliardi Trophy as the top player in Division III football.

Micheli is the fifth Purple Raider to win award. He joins quarterback Jim Ballard, who won the inaugural award in 1993, quarterback Bill Borchert in 1997 along with running backs Chuck Moore in 2001 and Dan Pugh in 2002.