OSHKOSH, Wis. – The University of Dubuque men's basketball team started their quest in the 2022 NCAA Division III men's basketball tournament this afternoon as they were selected to face the Case Western Reserve Spartans (CWR) who received one of the 20 at-large selections into the tournament. The University of Dubuque Spartans got the automatic bid by winning the American Rivers Conference tournament. The University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh was selected as the host site for the first two rounds by the selection committee.

The first half got off to a great start for the Spartans as Sam Kilburg would knock down a 3-point jumper on the Spartans very first possession to lead 3-0. Both teams would be knotted at 8-8 before a 7-0 Spartan run to take the early 15-8 lead with 15:42 remaining in the first half. CWR made a 7-0 of their own to tie the game up at 15-15. Peter Ragen would start to take over the game as he would score 18 points in the first half to lead all scorers and help the Spartans grab a 49-38 heading to the locker room. The Spartans couldn't have asked for a better first half from their senior, with multiple other players contributing to put the Spartans in prime position leading by 11.

The Spartans came out of the locker room knowing there was 20 minutes of game left and CWR would try and make a run with the season on the line. The Spartans responded well to start the second half increasing their lead to 63-50 with 14:06 remaining in the game and forcing the CWR timeout. CWR finally made their run and trimmed the Spartan lead to 74-70 which was the closest they got to the Spartans since the 1:16 mark of the first half. As he had all night, Peter Ragen found a way and buried a 3-pointer to extend their lead to seven. CWR would hold the Spartans to only four points the final 5:05 of regulation and managed to send the game to overtime by hitting two free throws and the Spartans unable to find the net at the buzzer.

With the whistle being blown a total of 46 times throughout the game, both teams found themselves in foul trouble heading to overtime. CWR got overtime started with a lay-up to lead 81-83 and Ragen would again tie the game with a lay-up at 83-83. CWR answered again with two free throws, but Ragen yet again buried a triple to retake the lead 86-85 with 3:17 remaining in overtime. The Spartans would only manage one free throw the rest of the way and CWR found a wide open 3-pointer with seven seconds left and managed to make a free throw to seal the game and ending the Spartans season 87-91.

In his final game as a Spartan, Peter Ragen ended the night with a game-high 32 points, three rebounds, one assist and was 10-12 from the free throw line. Jaylin McCants recorded a double-double with 18 points and 10 rebounds. Levi Scheuermann also recorded a double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds. Two other Spartans finish in double figures in scoring as Brock Simon added 12 and Sam Kilburg finished with 11.

Spartans close the 2021-2022 season with one of the best seasons in school history as they managed to win the American Rivers Conference regular season title and the American Rivers Conference tournament title, which ultimately earned them a berth in the NCAA tournament. The Spartans also earned many All-Conference honors that were released this week as well. The Spartans finish with a record of 21-7.