After posting convincing wins in the first two rounds of the NCAA Division III Men’s Basketball Tournament , Guilford College is hosting sectional rounds March 8-9 and welcoming a top-five-ranked team and two former national champions to Ragan-Brown Field House.
In the round of 16 Friday, the No. 7-ranked Quakers will face No. 5 Keene State College (N.H.) at 7:15 pm, following a contest between No. 23 Christopher Newport University (Va.) and No. 21 Williams College (Mass.) at 5:15. Tickets are now available online.
Christopher Newport won the Division III title in 2023 and Williams in 2003, with runner-up finishes in 2004, 2010 and 2014.
Friday’s winners advance to the sectional finals Saturday at 7:15 pm. The winner joins three other teams in the national semifinals March 14 in Fort Wayne, Ind. The championship is March 16.
Guilford (24-4 overall) advanced to the sectionals with a 76-59 second-round win over Penn State-Harrisburg Saturday to capture its 13th win in 14 home games this season. The Quakers claimed an 87-70 first-round win over Berry College (Ga.) Friday.
Three of the four Old Dominion Athletic Conference teams in the 64-team tournament advanced to the sectionals. Along with Guilford, No. 1-ranked Hampden-Sydney College (Va.) (28-2) and No. 4-ranked Randolph-Macon College (Va.) (25-4) are still competing.
Eight of the remaining 16 teams in the Division III field are competing within about two hours of each other this weekend as Hampden-Sydney, coached by Caleb Kimbrough ’08, is also hosting sectional rounds.
Guilford is led by graduate guard Tyler Dearman, averaging 20 points and 5 rebounds per game, and graduate forward Julius Burch, at 11 ppg and 10 rpg. Dearman scored a career-high 36 points in the win over Berry. Burch had 29 rebounds in the first two NCAA games. The Quakers earned an at-large bid to the NCAAs and are competing for the first time since 2019.
Keene State (26-3) is led by junior guard Octavio Brito (20 ppg, 8 rpg) and fifth-year center Jeff Hunter (18 ppg, 14 rpg). Brito scored 40 points in a 109-85 win over Eastern University (Pa.) in the second round Saturday. Both players were Division III All-Americans last year. The Owls, who won the Little East Conference championship, are 13-1 away from home this season.
Williams (23-6) has four players averaging double-figure scoring including sophomore guard Alex Lee at 11 ppg. Senior center Nate Karren averages 6 rpg. The Ephs were runners-up in the New England Small College Athletic Conference. Williams is perennially at the top of the national liberal arts colleges rankings by U.S. News.
Christopher Newport (23-6) is led by senior guard Jahn Hines, at 16 ppg and 5 rpg. He was a Division III All-American last season. The Captains won the Coast to Coast Conference championship. Assistant coach Roland Ross is in his 39th season and has ties to all four head coaches in the team’s 54-year history. Also, former Guilford assistant coach Dominic Parker (2000-23) is now on the Captains' bench.