Monmouth College to Host Men's
Midwest Conference Basketball Championship Tournament

February 23, 1998
MONMOUTH, IL -- Monmouth College will host the 1998 Midwest Conference men's basketball championship tournament this weekend (February 27-28) at Glennie Gymnasium after finishing the regular season as South Division champions. The top two teams in each division advance to the conference tournament, which decides the MWC champion and the league's automatic entry into the NCAA Division III National Tournament, which begins March 6. Monmouth and Lake Forest will represent the South while Ripon and Lawrence are the two North Division teams. Semifinal games are set for 6:00 and 8:00 PM on Friday with the winners advancing to the championship game on Saturday afternoon at 3:00 PM.

Monmouth (13-9, 9-4) won its first MWC South title since 1995 and will face Lawrence (15-7, 10-3) in the second semifinal game on Friday night. The Fighting Scots will make their 15th postseason appearance in the last 19 years while Lawrence returns to the tournament as the defending champion.

In addition to 14 divisional crowns, Monmouth has won three MWC conference championships since 1980. Following their 1985 title, the Scots won the 1988 and 1990 tournaments at Glennie Gym and head coach Dr. Terry Glasgow (26th season, 386-196) hopes the home court advantage works in Monmouth's favor once again. Junior Eric Matthews paces a Fighting Scot offense which features five players averaging in double figures and also leads the squad in rebounds. Junior Jeremy Bruce is Monmouth's top three-point shooter and classmate Trevor Hiel leads the Scots in assists and steals from his point guard position.

The Vikings, who defeated Monmouth 92-77 in Appleton in December, finished second in the North Division and are attempting to become the first league school to capture back-to-back titles since Ripon (1991-1992). Lawrence won the 1997 championship on their home floor with a 90-79 victory over Knox and return MWC North Player of the Year Joel DePagter. DePagter, a senior guard, leads the Vikings in scoring, assists and steals and is joined in double figures by fellow seniors Ben Zagorski and Louie Clark.

Ripon (21-1, 13-0) will square off against Lake Forest (11-11, 7-6) in the first game of the weekend in a rematch of each team's regular-season finale. Ripon won 74-59 in Lake Forest last Saturday to finish an impressive regular season while the Foresters earned their postseason ticket with wins over Illinois and Knox the previous weekend.

The Red Hawks bring a school-record 19-game winning streak into the tourney and a top-20 national ranking. Ripon became the third MWC school to complete the regular season with a perfect record, joining Monmouth (1990, 13-0) and Beloit (1981, 12-0) as the only teams to go undefeated in conference action, and is currently ranked 14th in the latest Columbus Multimedia Division III National Poll. The Red Hawks are also the only conference school to have qualified for the postseason tournament every year since the league adopted the present four-team format in the 1989-90 season. Ripon head coach Bob Gillespie won his 300th career game earlier this season and is chasing his fifth title since 1985. The Hawks' second-rated league offense also has five double-digit scorers and is led by junior guard Adam Zakos, senior Bret VanDyken and junior Matt Becker.

Lake Forest finished with a .500 season record but was 7-6 in its first year in the MWC South to edge defending divisional champ Grinnell for the last playoff berth. The Foresters are attempting to win the school's first-ever men's basketball title. Last year the Foresters finished third in the North Division standings behind Lawrence and Ripon. Seniors Mike Ansani, a two-time All-Conference selection, and Ryan Hayes are the keystones to the Lake Forest program, which has steadily improved in recent years. Ansani, the fourth-leading scorer in the conference, has amassed over 1200 points and 575 rebounds in his Lake Forest career.

MIDWEST CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE

Friday, February 27
6:00 PM Ripon (21-1, 13-0) vs. Lake Forest (11-11, 7-6)
8:00 PM Monmouth (13-9, 9-4) vs. Lawrence (15-7, 10-3)

Saturday, February 28
3:00 PM Championship game

Basketball Homepage