AROUND THE RIM - FEBRUARY 24 EDITION

Posted: Feb 24, 2023

By Chris Granozio

In this edition of ATR, I will lay out the playoff scenarios for each league, but before that goes down, let’s take a look at the latest items of interest from around the region.

In a season filled with coaching milestones, we kick off this Friday’s column with a particularly noteworthy one as St. Anselm’s Keith Dickson – now in his 37th year at the helm of the Hawks – earned win #700 in Tuesday’s regular-season finale: a 65-64 nailbiter on the road vs. New Haven, avenging an earlier home loss to the Chargers. Dickson becomes just the second coach in this region’s history to reach this lofty plateau, trailing only Hall of Fame Philadelphia/Jefferson Coach Herb Magee, who retired after last season with an astounding 1,144 victories – second only to Mike Krzyzewski all-time, across all divisions. Earlier this season, Bentley mentor Jay Lawson – Dickson’s former teammate at the University of New Hampshire back in the day – ascended the 600-win threshold, Dominican’s Joe Clinton racked up #500 (including his days in NAIA), Franklin Pierce’s David Chadbourne surpassed 400 wins (counting 63 W’s as the Ravens’ women’s head coach between 1996-99), Tobin Anderson – most recently with St. Thomas Aquinas last season – also reached the 400-win mark earlier this winter with Fairleigh Dickinson, and rounding out the milestone men are Matt Healing (Pace) and Dan Burke (Wilmington), both of whom celebrated their 100th.

Some more context: There are just seven active head coaches across all of NCAA basketball with at least 700 triumphs, and five are in D2, including Dickson. Interestingly, three of those coaches work for schools in the Sunshine State Conference: Steve Ridder (Embry-Riddle) with 757, Tom Klusman (Rollins) with 745 and Richard Schmidt (Tampa) with 719. The others are Jim Boeheim (Syracuse-1,104 – 1,205 if counting 101 vacated wins), Dr. Dave Holmquist (Biola-1,039, including NAIA games) and Brian Baptiste (UMass-Dartmouth-705).

Here's a list of coaches who have graced our region and who recorded at least 400 wins:

  1. Herb Magee-Jefferson/Philadelphia/Philadelphia Textile – 1,144
  2. Keith Dickson-St. Anselm – 700
  3. Brian Beaury-Saint Rose – 643 (includes NAIA seasons)
  4. Stan Spirou-Southern New Hampshire/New Hampshire College – 640
  5. Mark Corino-Caldwell – 606 (includes NAIA seasons)
  6. Jay Lawson-Bentley – 605
  7. Dr. Bruce Webster-Bridgeport – 549
  8. Dave Bike-Sacred Heart – 528 (includes D1 seasons)
  9. Bert Hammel-Merrimack – 526
  10. Joe Clinton-Dominican – 507 (includes NAIA seasons)
  11. Tom Galeazzi-C.W. Post – 466
  12. Mike MacDonald-Daemen - 434
  13. David Chadbourne-Franklin Pierce – 407 (counting wins for the women’s program)
  14. Mike Ruane-Bridgeport – 404

Knocking on the door: Gerald Holmes-Bloomfield – 371 and Charlie Marquardt-Molloy – 323

*Other notable coaches who passed through schools in our region: John Beilein-Le Moyne – 754 (counting D1 seasons – though the Dolphins were in what’s now the Atlantic Region at the time), P.J. Carlesimo-New Hampshire College – 516 (includes D1 and NBA seasons) and Doc Sauers-Albany - 702 (includes D3 seasons)

There were some other noteworthy tidbits from East precincts this past week:

On Wednesday in North Jersey, Bloomfield guard Tyrek Battle-Holley became just the second regional player – and 12th across all of D2 – to register a triple-double this season. The senior compiled 19 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists (not to mention four steals) in a brilliant all-around game vs. Bridgeport, as he joined Queens’ Sunnie Diamond, who also achieved the feat on November 23 vs. Alliance.

A night earlier, Pace’s Brandon Powell exploded for a regional individual high of 44 points (34 after halftime) as he almost singlehandedly defeated Franklin Pierce in Pleasantville. The senior guard shot 14-21 overall and an electric 11-17 from behind the 3-point line, tying Rodney Reese’s program record for threes in a game that was set over 40 years ago (February 10, 1990 vs. Adelphi). Powell added 10 rebounds to his gaudy stat line as he outscored all his teammates collectively by seven points on the night. The 11 threes are the most by an NE10 player since Justin Exum shot 11-16 in a loss at Le Moyne on November 28, 2010. The most prolific individual 3-point performance in all the years I’ve covered the region came just four years ago – almost to the day! – as Bridgeport walk-on Floyd Prieto embarrassed a threadbare LIU Post team on February 20, 2019 at Hubbell Gym with 55 points in 28 minutes, featuring 15-22 long-range shooting.

One week ago today, Daemen handed St. Thomas Aquinas its first conference loss of the campaign, 83-57 in Buffalo (STAC had sported the only unblemished league mark in the region entering that game and had only been outscored by 14 points in its three other losses). The unfriendly hosts outshot the Spartans, 65%-32%, with Justin Hemphill leading the onslaught with a career-high 21 points and nine rebounds off the bench. The Wildcats exacted retribution for a heartbreaking road loss back in December that saw Aquinas outscore them 12-0 over the last 3:20 to eke out a 72-70 victory thanks to a Jamal Barnes 3-ball with eight seconds left. The 26-point loss was the most lopsided for STAC in an ECC game since an 81-49 drubbing at Bridgeport on February 22, 2012. The 57 points were the Spartans’ fewest in a game since a 53-49 win at Stonehill on December 1, 2021 and the fewest in a loss since a 74-49 setback in the 2019 regional championship game at St. Anselm.

Despite the bad night, STAC rebounded to knock off D’Youville less than 48 hours later to earn a split of its Western New York trip, then barely held off upset-minded Queens in Sparkill in clinching its sixth regular-season league title.

Daemen didn’t suffer a letdown on Sunday, hammering Mercy for its 20th win in as many all-time meetings. It was the sixth straight triumph for the surging Wildcats, who have outscored their opponents by an average of 22 points over that stretch. They’ve also won 15 of 17 overall.

NE10 Notes:

  • Saint Rose’s Josh McGettigan is finishing out his career with a flair, notching double-doubles of 25 points and 10 rebounds vs. Pace and 19/10 vs. Adelphi.
  • Talk about hot and cold: New Haven’s Ty Perry matched a career high with 24 points vs. Le Moyne, then went scoreless in a season-low 15 minutes vs. St. Anselm three days later.
  • Miles Tention was the star for St. Anselm in its win at New Haven, canning 6 of 9 threes as part of a 20-point performance as the Hawks sewed up the #2 seed in the upcoming tournament.
  • Across town, Southern Connecticut seniors Ulyen Coleman and Zack Penn are making the most out of their final collegiate games, with Coleman tallying 20 of his 22 points in the second half vs. American International, then tossing in a season-high 26 vs. Assumption, while Penn recorded double-doubles in both games (14 & 10, then 16 & 12).
  • Sean Trumper’s left-wing trey with 45 seconds left was the centerpiece of an 8-0 game-ending flourish in Franklin Pierce’s comeback win over Bentley in Rindge. The sophomore forward capped the run with two foul shots after Zach Laput – who scored a career-high 30 points – missed a short jumper that would have given the Falcons the lead in the waning seconds. Matt Leritz hauled in 20 rebounds in Bentley’s most recent game vs. AIC – the most by an NE10 player this season and most by a Falcon since Charlie Wooten snared just as many vs. Tufts (MA) in 1978.
  • Assumption shot a sizzling 58% overall and 11-22 from distance in its win at Southern Connecticut, avenging a December home loss. The dangerous Greyhounds have won nine of 11 but still will be on the road for the first round of the playoffs, taking on Franklin Pierce. For the record, the Hounds won a first-round road playoff game last year at Adelphi.
  • Southern New Hampshire continues to be the hottest team around these parts, capturing nine straight and 15 of 16 since a dispiriting home loss to Post on December 10 that dropped the Penmen record to 4-6. SNHU’s win over St. Michael’s on Tuesday secured the program’s third NE10 regular-season crown and first since 2017. Evan Guillory’s career-high 30 points spearheaded the attack, eclipsing his prior personal best of 24, set just three days earlier at Assumption.

CACC Notes:

  • Isayis Aris amassed 22 points and 17 rebounds in a 68-67 squeaker vs. Caldwell, joining the 1,000-Point Club in the process. The Cougars – who received 28 points from freshman phenom Darnell Evans – saw their 10-game win streak come to an end in the cruelest of fashions. Leading by one with 0.7 seconds remaining, Alliance turned the ball over but the Cougars called a timeout they didn’t have, resulting in technical foul shots by Joel Bailey that decided matters. The win kept the Warriors’ slim playoff hopes alive. Caldwell had already clinched the conference’s top record.
  • Bridgeport is the first of the region’s 35 teams to pack up its gear as they have the bye on Saturday and did not qualify for the CACC Tournament in its first season as a member. A once-promising season ended with a nine-game slide – three of the losses in overtime, as fate would have it – the longest skid for the Purple Knights since the 1999-2000 season.
  • Reserve sophomore big Edward Ngene has rejected 19 shots in Bloomfield’s last four games as the Bears continue to roll, taking their last five and eight of their last nine.
  • Etnik Peci’s 3-pointer with 1:03 to go in overtime gave Felician the lead for keeps and sparked a 7-0 run to close things out vs. Bridgeport. The redshirt senior exploded for a career-high 35 points (7-11 from 3). Matt Turner had extended the contest with a triple of his own that knotted the score at 88-88 with seven seconds to play in regulation. Sean McCarthy came up big with 32 points (15-19 FG) in a road loss to Alliance.
  • It was a happy home finale for Holy Family, which received 52 points from the three players honored before tip-off: Eric Esposito (21 points), Rick’Keem Mixson (18) and Nate Conyer (13) shot a combined 19-31 as the Tigers never trailed vs. Wilmington. In their previous outing, the Wildcats battled back from a 63-44 second-half deficit to prevail at Georgian Court in a must-win game. A 41-16 power run turned the tide and gave the ‘Cats an 85-79 upper hand with 32 ticks left. Foul shooting was crucial as Wilmington sank 17 of 18 down the stretch.
  • James Rider V drilled the tiebreaking trifecta with 2:42 on the clock and Chestnut Hill hung on for dear life at Goldey-Beacom to clinch a playoff berth. The Lightning have lost four in a row, but Damani Thomas has been a genuine bright spot, shooting 12-21 from downtown in the last two games.

And in the ECC:

  • Congratulations to Staten Island, which, in its first year of eligibility as a D2 institution, will be playing postseason ball, despite a three-game dry spell.
  • Sunnie Diamond flirted with his second triple-double of the season, totaling a career-best 26 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists in Queens’ tough loss at STAC – the Knights’ eighth straight defeat that eliminated them from the playoff picture. DeVante Jamison generated 22 points for the Spartans, who won despite being outshot (41%-37%) and outrebounded (48-42) as they forced twice as many turnovers (22-11) and outscored their guests 25-7 off of mistakes in overcoming a 13-point, second-half deficit.
  • District of Columbia’s win over Roberts Wesleyan last night in the nation’s capital clinched a home playoff berth. And that may mean a return trip to DC for the Redhawks, should they win at CSI on Saturday. The Firebirds have been… ahem… on fire, winning four in a row (scoring at least 80 in each) and six of seven. Three-point shooting was the major difference vs. Roberts as UDC connected on 14 of 30, as opposed to a paltry 4-28 for the Redhawks. Michael Aiken – perhaps the best walk-on in the country – continues to play at a superstar pace with 21 and 19 points, respectively, in his last two games, shooting 15-22 from the floor and 7-10 from long range.
  • Mercy may not be hooping during the playoffs, but the Mavericks are clearly playing their best ball of the year, winning three of four to match last year’s win total and provide a ray of hope heading into next season. During this recent stretch, the Mavs paid back D’Youville for an earlier home loss and stung Molloy for the fourth time in the last five meetings, orchestrating a 21-8 second-half run that took nearly nine minutes and expanded a modest 51-48 lead to 72-56. The hosts then held off a furious Lions run down the stretch, which was spearheaded by Player of the Year candidate Darren Fergus (33 points, 12 boards, five assists in 40 minutes). Sean Smith, Jr. provided the final touches with 3-4 at the stripe over the last 22 seconds. Perhaps Molloy could chalk up the result to rust as it was the Lions’ first game in 11 days.

 

And now, here are the playoff and NCAA scenarios for all the teams by league, beginning with the Northeast-10, which, as usual, wrapped up its regular season first.

Southern New Hampshire – Secured the #1 seed and is a lock for the NCAAs. The Penmen will host the winner of Assumption-Franklin Pierce on Sunday. SNHU went a combined 3-0 vs. those two opponents.

St. Anselm – the #2 seed will host the winner of Adelphi-Pace, and the Hawks are secretly hoping it’s not the Setters, who swept them by a cumulative 48 points this winter. Regardless, St. A’s is an NCAA lock.

Bentley – The Falcons were on top of the conference most of the season, but a .500 February brought them back to the pack. Still a very dangerous team with pedigree as the defending regional champs are an NCAA lock and the favorites to host the regional.

New Haven – will welcome last-place American International to Connecticut in the 4-13 game. The Chargers are the best defensive team in the region and will be a tough out, though they are not quite NCAA locks just yet. UNH swept the season series.

Southern Connecticut – gets the highest seeding in a four-way tie for fifth and will host Saint Rose in the 5-12 game. The Owls needs to string some wins together as they are sitting ninth in the regional rankings and need to jump a minimum of two spots to have a crack at the NCAAs. An attractive Elm City quarterfinal match-up awaits if the chalk holds. SCSU swept the season series vs. the Golden Knights.

Le Moyne – will host St. Michael’s in the 6-11 game and needs to win the NE10 Tournament to go dancing. The teams split their season series, with the Purple Knights prevailing in the most recent meeting, nine days ago in Vermont.

Pace – will host Adelphi in the 7-10 game and has a solid chance to repeat as an NCAA team if there are minimal upsets in the three conference tournaments. A couple of wins would do the Setters a world of good. They swept the season series, but both games went down to the wire.

Franklin Pierce – will host Assumption in the 8-9 game and needs a couple of wins at the very least to fortify its NCAA resume. The Ravens won a pair of tight contests against the Greyhounds this season.

Assumption – The hot Hounds realistically need to win the tournament to reach the NCAAs. They’re playing their best basketball at the right time and are a sexy dark-horse pick.

Adelphi, St. Michael’s, Saint Rose, American International – all need to run the table to crash the party.

 

Here’s the Central Atlantic landscape with one more Saturday of regular-season action on the docket, starting with the North Division:

Caldwell – Clinched the best record in the conference and is the hottest team in the circuit. They host their local rival Bloomfield in the season finale and the game is nothing more than a pride play for the Cougars.

Bloomfield – a win at rival Caldwell Saturday and the Bears would win the tiebreaker vs. Dominican for the coveted #2 seed and the home game that comes with it. Bloomfield has revenge on its mind after losing by double-digits at home last month. These two teams are playing the best ball in the league, and this game should be a blockbuster.

Dominican – does not control its own destiny, and that must be irksome for a club that won 15 of its first 16 games and is in the mix for an at-large NCAA berth. The Chargers would clinch second place with a Bloomfield loss at Caldwell, regardless of its result at Alliance. Otherwise, it’s third place and a first-round road game vs. Chestnut Hill, which already beat Dominican at Sorgenti Arena a month ago. Hard to believe a team that’s ranked fifth in the region may have to play exclusively on the road in its own tournament.

Post – needs to defeat Felician at home or have Dominican win at Alliance to secure a playoff spot. The Eagles won their first game against the Golden Falcons with ease. The prize this time around would be a first-round game at Jefferson, which is 5-0 lifetime vs. the Eagles in the playoffs – all first-round encounters at the Gallagher Center.

Alliance – has come on strong of late but needs to beat Dominican for a second time while praying Felician can pull off a miracle vs. Post in Waterbury. If that comes to pass, Alliance would claim the tiebreaker by virtue of its crazy win last Saturday vs. first-place Caldwell (see above).

Bridgeport and Felician will be spectators during the tourney.

In the South, the top two seeds are set, with Jefferson winning the lottery and playing at home as long as it can advance, since the Gallagher Center was the pre-determined site for both the men’s and women’s semifinals and championship games. The Rams will draw either Post or Alliance in the first round and are three home wins away from crashing the dance.

Chestnut Hill has clinched second and will host its second playoff game as a D2 program in as many years, drawing either Bloomfield or Dominican, having defeated both during the regular season, the former on the road.

There’s a three-way tie for third place, and the game of musical chairs is pretty simple to deduce. Georgian Court has already clinched its second postseason berth as the Lions hold tiebreakers against both the Delaware teams, who will be duking out in Newark for the division’s final playoff spot – essentially, a play-in game. The winner will get the #3 seed if Georgian Court loses at Chestnut Hill in the region’s last regular-season game (Saturday at 7 pm) or fourth if GCU wins. Goldey-Beacom lost the first game to its crosstown rivals last month at home.

Holy Family has been eliminated from postseason consideration.

 

There’s also one more Saturday of action in the East Coast Conference, with every team but District of Columbia in action.

St. Thomas Aquinas has been the class of the conference all winter and holds the #1 seed, which means hosting the semifinals after a first-round bye. The Spartans have a tenuous hold on an at-large spot for the NCAA Tournament and the ECC is likely going to be a one-bid league.

Daemen – needs a home win vs. D’Youville or Molloy home loss to STAC to claim second place and the bye that comes with it. The hot Wildcats won a heart-stopper vs. their neighbors the first time around. They don’t have a discernable path to an at-large NCAA bid.

Molloy – can do no worse than third but needs a win vs Aquinas, coupled with a Daemen loss vs. D’Youville to earn a bye. Short of that, the Lions will host the loser of Saturday’s Roberts Wesleyan-Staten Island contest.

District of Columbia – is locked into the four spot thanks to Molloy’s sweep of second-place Daemen. The streaking Firebirds will host the winner of Saturday’s Roberts Wesleyan-Staten Island tilt.

Roberts Wesleyan – will be on the road in the first round, either at Molloy or UDC (see above scenarios)

Staten Island – Ditto

Queens and Mercy have been eliminated from playoff contention. D’Youville was not eligible but will be next season.

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St. Thomas Aquinas is the lone East Region representative in the NABC Top 25 Coaches’ Poll this week, slipping seven spots to #23. Bentley fell out but is essentially #26, receiving the most votes among the rest of the pack, which includes Southern New Hampshire and now Daemen. Nova Southeastern (FL) – the lone undefeated team in D2 – is still #1.

Here are the regional rankings, through last Sunday’s games:

  1. Bentley
  2. St. Anselm
  3. Southern New Hampshire
  4. New Haven
  5. Dominican
  6. Pace
  7. Franklin Pierce
  8. St. Thomas Aquinas
  9. Southern Connecticut
  10. Daemen

There will be one more ranking release on Wednesday before the NCAA field is selected following the league tournament finales the first weekend of March.

I welcome all comments, questions and suggestions:  chrisgranozio@gmail.com. Please follow us on Twitter for updates, live action photos and more. And please consider becoming a Patreon partner at: https://www.patreon.com/D2easthoops. Until next time, stay safe and Happy Hooping to All!