It’s all things sweet at March Madness for Sam Waardenburg and Tayla Dalton. Sam and the Miami Hurricanes are through to the Sweet Sixteen at the Men’s NCAA Division I Championship while Tayla and the Gaels have won their first ever Basketball Invitational Tournament.  

Men’s NCAA Division I National Championship,

Sam Waardenburg and University of Miami Hurricanes are through to the Sweet Sixteen at the Big Dance after knocking off second-seeded Auburn 79-61.

Sam was his usual solid self, making 7 points on 3 from 4 shooting, securing 5 boards and blocking a couple of shots in a dominant display by the #10 Miami.

Next up for the Hurricanes will be Iowa State.

Earlier in the week St Mary’s California proved far too good for Indiana powering to an 82-53 victory. Dan Fotu was very solid for the Gaels contributing 7 points (2/3FG, 2/2FT), 5 rebounds and a block. However in the second round Gaels were defeated 72-56 by UCLA Bruins. 

Sam Mennenga made 3 from 5 from beyond the arc in totalling 15 points but Davidson Wildcats came up just short against Michigan State downed 74-73 in a first round game. Sam also tallied 5 rebounds, an assist and a block for the Atlantic-10 regular season champions.

Also in the first round James Moors had 4 rebounds and 2 points as Colorado State fell 75-63 to Michigan.

Women’s Basketball Invitational

St Mary’s College Gaels concluded their season with silverware as they won the Women’s Basketball Invitational Tournament beating defending champions Cleveland State 80-73. In the final Tayla posted 9 points, 5 rebounds and a pair of assists.

All those Harbour rep tournaments stood Tayla in good stead as the Gaels played three games in three days with the former Carmel College standout averaging 31 minutes per game.

Men’s National Invitational Tournament (NIT)

Taine Murray and Virginia University Cavaliers prevailed 71-69 in overtime to defeat North Texas in the second round of the National Invitational Tournament. The Cavaliers move on to a quarter-final match up against St Bonaventure or top seed Oklahoma.

In the first round Taine had a couple of points and a pair of rebounds as Virginia beat Mississippi State 60-57.

Women’s National Invitational Tournament (NIT)

Emme Shearer and Portland Pilots got the better of Jess Moors and Colorado State in the battle between two former Harbour and Westlake teammates. Emme had a game high 3 steals along with 2 points, 4 rebounds and a block.

In the second round the Pilots found the going too tough at Oregon State losing 74-56 against Pac 12 opponents. Emme  had 5 points and 3 assists plus her customary 2 steals for the Pilots – she has led Portland in that statistical category this season.

NJCAA (Junior College) National Championships 

Rashaan Smith and Western Nebraska College Cougars enjoyed a great run at the NJCAA (Junior College) National Championships going all the way to the Final Four.

Unfortunately a Grand-Final spot wasn’t forthcoming as Western Nebraska were defeated 88-76 by Tyler College in the semi-finals. Rashaan grabbed a couple of rebounds for the Cougars in the defeat.

The cougars finish the season with an impressive 30-3 record, Rashaan playing 29 of those games and contributing 5.3 points and 4 rebounds per game.