Ohio Wesleyan Men 1988
Pictured: Front Row, L to R: Gene Mehaffey, Head Coach; Dave Grim, Lee Rowlinson, Scott Tedder, Mike Smith, Casey Lee, Chris Truskowski, Larry Eberst, Assistant Coach.
Second Row: Mike Piatt, Student Assistant; John Bolek, Manager; Charlie Beaver, Mark Sherwood, Dirk Miller, Dave Parker, Dan Leffler, Sam Hiles, Gordy Gutowski, Jay Martin, Athletic Director.
Third Row: Cory Howell, Dave Schumm, Steve Geiger, Mark Slayman, Dale Eilrich, Dan Heffernan, Jeff Sergeant, Tim Kahle.
1988 NCAA MEN’S DIVISION III
NATIONAL CHAMPIONS
The Ohio Wesleyan Bishops served notice early in the 1987-88 season that they would be a dominant force in Division III basketball. In their third game, they knocked off Division I Ohio University, 122-115, as All-American Scott Tedder scored 50 points. The Bishops were beaten by Allegheny in their North Coast Athletic Conference opener, but they rebounded with 11 straight league victories to share the NCAC title. When Wesleyan won the NCAC Tournament with wins over Kenyon and Allegheny, it was selected to host the NCAA Division III Great Lakes Regional. Coach Gene Mehaffey‘s team never lost its momentum, defeating Ohio Northern, 77-70, and edging Hope, 110-107, in two overtimes. Then Tedder scored 39 points in a 106-103 decision over Illinois Wesleyan. Moving on to the national quarterfinals at Grand Rapids, Mich., the Bishops beat Nebraska Wesleyan, 87-71, before winning the national championship with a 92-70 victory over two-time champion Scranton.
