Thorpe spearheaded a 23-3 run midway through the first half as thethird-seeded Continentals turned a five-point game (16-11) into a commanding39-14 lead from which the Blue Knights could never recover. During thatstretch, Thorpe hit four of his five three-pointers and had 14 points,and finished the game with 20 points.
Junior Michael Schantz, who put the exclamation point on the run with arim-jarring dunk, led Hamilton with 32 points and 14 rebounds. Schantzhit his first 10 free throws, and connected on 11 of 19 shots from the field.Junior Jon Schmiegel added 16 points and 14 rebounds, while juniorMax Stroman chipped in with 10 points, seven assists and four rebounds.As a team, the Continentals had 29 assists, falling just five assists short oftying the NCAA Division III tournament record.
The sixth-seeded Blue Knights were led by Jeff Dyl, who had 16 pointsand eight rebounds, while Craig Stolzberg added 14 points, includingfour three-pointers. The SUNYAC champs finish the season with a 15-13 record.
Hamilton (16-9) travels to Rochester, NY to take on St. John Fisher College onSaturday, March 7 at 7:30 p.m. The second-seeded Cardinals have a 22-3 record,and beat Geneseo twice in the regular season, including a 88-55 win atFisher.