APPLETON, Wis. -- The Illinois Wesleyan University men's basketball team held off a determined University of Puget Sound team and posted a 113-99 victory in the quarterfinals of the NCAA Division III Tournament at Alexander Gymnasium.
The Titans (24-6) got 26 points from both Adam Dauksas and Keelan Amelianovich to earn a trip to the Final Four, set for March 17-18 in Salem, Va. Zack McVey led the Loggers (23-5) with 27 points, and Chase Curtiss added 26 points.
Illinois Wesleyan led by as many as nine points in the second half before the Loggers rallied. Puget Sound cut the lead to one point twice, the last time when Curtiss hit a 3-pointer to make the score 95-94 with 3:57 left.
Dauksas, who had 13 assists, answered with a 3-pointer for the Titans. After a missed jumper by McVey, Zach Freeman scored on a layup and a putback to give Wesleyan a 102-94 edge with 1:58 left.
Puget Sound was forced to foul at this point and Wesleyan hit 9 of 11 free throws in the final 1:28 to seal the victory.
Freeman finished with a double-double for Wesleyan with 19 points and 10 rebounds. Matt Arnold aldo had 19 points, and Chris Jones added 12 points for the Titans.