Lawrence University men's basketball
team gets No. 5 ranking in preseason poll
The Lawrence University men's basketball
team, coming off the best season in school history, received a No. 5
preseason ranking from Street and Smith's.
The Vikings drew national attention last
season after going 24-5 and advancing to the Elite Eight of the NCAA
Division III Tournament. The Vikings came within a whisker of knocking
off the eventual national champion, the University of Wisconsin-Stevens
Point, and advancing to the Final Four. Lawrence,
which won its first Midwest Conference championship since 1997, advanced
further in the NCAA tournament than any school in league history.
The national publication also put junior
forward Chris Braier on its preseason All-America team. The former star
at Wauwatosa East High School made the second team. Braier, who was
chosen as the Midwest Conference Player of the Year, averaged 15 points
and 13.4 rebounds per game last season.
The Vikings open their season Nov. 10 with
an exhibition game against UW-Milwaukee at the US Cellular Arena.
Street and Smith's Preseason Top 10
1. UW-Stevens Point
2. Illinois Wesleyan
3. Rochester
4. Wooster
5. Lawrence
6. Trinity (Conn.)
7. John Carroll
8. Ramapo
9. Hanover
10. Maryville
Lawrence basketball to face UW-Milwaukee
in exhibition game
APPLETON, Wis. -- The Lawrence University
men's basketball team, fresh off the finest season in school history,
opens its 2004-05 campaign with an exhibition game at the University
of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
The Division I Panthers host Lawrence,
which advanced to the Elite Eight of the NCAA Division III Tournament
last season, on Nov. 10. The game tips off at 7:00 p.m. at the U.S.
Cellular Arena.
"It is an exciting opportunity for us,"
Lawrence head coach John Tharp said. "We have a lot of kids from the
Milwaukee area and to have the opportunity to play a Division I school
will be exciting.
"It's an honor. We appreciate UW-Milwaukee
and coach Bruce Pearl thinking of us and giving us a small taste of
the Division I world. It also gives us a chance to see what we need
to work on as a team, to see our strengths and weaknesses, before we
begin our regular season."
The Panthers are the defending Horizon
League champions and finished 20-11 last season. UWM lost 65-62 to the
University of Illinois-Chicago in the Horizon League Tournament Championship
Game and was denied a return trip to the NCAA Tournament..
"For our basketball players, they will
look back and say that was a great experience," Tharp said. "When they're
older and telling people about their careers, they will tell people
about this game." Lawrence opens its regular season Nov. 19-20 at the
UW-Platteville Tournament. (Lawrence Sports
Information)
SNC's
Hannula continues pro career
Three MWC standouts make DIII News
Teams , led by Grinnell's Wood
Senior guard Steve Wood of Grinnell was
selected to the DIII News All-American Fifth Team in a recent
release while fellow conference standouts Chris Braier of Lawrence and
Josh Hinz of Beloit were named to the Honorable Mention list. Click
here for a complete listing.
Lawrence's Braier, Tharp honored on
NABC all-region team
Lawrence University basketball standout
Chris Braier and head coach John Tharp both earned honors from the National
Association of Basketball Coaches on the
organization's All-Midwest Region team. Braier, a sophomore forward
from Wauwatosa, was chosen for the first team, and Tharp was named the
region's Coach of the Year.
Braier, who also was named to the d3hoops.com
All-America and all-region teams, was the Midwest Conference Player
of the Year and a first-team all-league selection for the second consecutive
season. The former Wauwatosa East High School standout averaged 15 points
and 13.4 rebounds per game. Braier finished fourth in the nation in
rebounding and posted 21 double-doubles in 29 games. He is in third
place on the school's all-time list with 651 rebounds, which is 80 rebounds
short of the career record of 731. Braier also led the team with 57
assists and 54 steals. He averaged 14 points and 14.5 rebounds in four
NCAA tournament games, as the Vikings reached the Elite 8.
Tharp shared Coach of the Year honors with
Hanover College's Mike Beitzel. A native of Sheboygan and former star
at Sheboygan North High School, Tharp guided the Vikings to the finest
season in school history. Lawrence finished with a 24-5 record and was
ranked as high as tenth nationally by d3hoops.com. Tharp, who has coached
at Lawrence for 10 seasons, won his second Midwest Conference championship.
Tharp's team also won the Midwest Conference Tournament, and the Vikings
earned their first NCAA Division III Championship berth since 1997.
Tharp, who also was named Midwest Conference Coach of the Year for the
second time in his career, has a record of 146-91. He needs only two
more wins to become the school's all-time wins leader. His winning percentage
of .616 is the highest of any coach with more than 21 victories at the
school. (submitted by LU Sports Info)
Lawrence University's Braier named
to All-America team
Lawrence University basketball standout
Chris Braier has earned All-America honors by d3hoops.com. Braier, a
sophomore forward from Wauwatosa, was named to the third team. It marked
the first time in Lawrence history that a basketball player was named
an All-American.
Braier was the Midwest Conference Player
of the Year and a first-team all-league selection for the second consecutive
season. He led Lawrence to the conference championship and NCAA Division
III Championship bid for the first time since 1997. The former Wauwatosa
East High School standout averaged 15 points and 13.4 rebounds per game.
Braier finished fourth in the nation in rebounding and posted 21 double-doubles
in 29 games. He is in third place on the school's all-time list with
651 rebounds, which is 80 rebounds short of the career record of 731.
Braier also led the team with 57 assists and 54 steals. Lawrence played
in the NCAA Division III Championship for the second time in school
history in 2004. (submitted by LU Sports Info)
Four MWC standouts on d3hoops.com All-Region Team
Led by MWC Player of the Year Chris Braier,
Midwest Conference Men's Basketball placed four players, the most ever,
on the d3hoops.com Midwest
Region Teams. Grinnell senior Steve Wood joined Braier on the first
team while Beloit's Josh Hinz was selected to the second team and Lake
Forest's Franklyn Beckford was a third team pick.
Asophomore forward, Braier led Lawrence
to the conference championship for the first time since 1997 and to
the elite eight of the NCAA Division III Tournament. The former Wauwatosa
East High School standout averaged 15 points and 13.4 rebounds per game
and finished fourth in the nation in rebounding while posting 21 double-doubles
in 29 games.
Wood, a senior guard and 2003 MWC Player
of the Year, broke Grinnell's career scoring record and finished second
in the nation with a 30.0 scoring clip per game. Beloit's Hinz, a sophomore
center, finished the season as the MWC's second leading scorer at 25.1
points per game while sophomore center Beckford was second behind only
Braier in the league as the Forester finished with ten double-doubles
on the season.
Click
here for a complete listing of the midwest region team.
3-9 Press Release
NCAA
Division III Tournament
Sectional - March 12-13
Host: University of Puget Sound
Lawrence 86, Sul Ross State
-79 (OT)
Sectional Final
UW-Stevens Point 82, Lawrence 81 (OT)
Second Round
Lawrence 72, Buena Vista 66
First Round
Lawrence 86, Lakeland 51
3-1 Release
2004 MWC All-Conference Announced
Vikings hold off Pioneers; advance to Big Dance
Chris Braier's 26 points and 15 rebounds
powered Lawrence to an 82-71 win over Carroll
in the final of the 2004 MWC Tournament. With the victory the Conference
Champions earn the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Tournament.
In front of a packed-house of 1,350 people
Lawrence jumped out to a 17-9 lead on a three-pointer by Chris MacGillis
at 9:48 and held a narrow lead to the half at 32-27. Brother Kyle MacGillis
hit a trey of his own at 14:52 in the second period to give the hosts
a seven-point lead before the Poineers went on a 13-4 run of their own
to take a two-point lead at 8:22. Lawrence scored eight unanswered points
to take 72-59 lead with 2:20 left and Carroll never got closer than
11 the rest of the way.
Chris MacGillis added 18 points and eight
rebounds for the MWC Champion and NCAA Tournament bound Vikings. Ben
Hickethier tallied 17 points to lead four Pioneers in double figures.
Lawrence will learn who their NCAA first
round opponent is and the site of competition later Sunday night. Click
here to see the bracket pairings when they are released.
All-MWC Teams Announced On-Line
Monday, March 1 at 1 p.m.
2004 MIDWEST CONFERENCE CHAMPIONS
(Click on picture for larger view)
LAWRENCE UNIVERSITY
2003 - 04 Standings
