By Chris Granozio
For the 10th straight regional, a completely different champion has been crowned. And that now makes 15 straight seasons with no repeat champion as New Haven snagged its first title last night inside Stoutenburgh Gym on a day when over a foot of snow fell in Manchester. Here’s the recap of a regional that featured just about everything, with the notable exception of a dramatic finish (nine was the closest final margin).
A 19-2 run early in the championship game set the tone for an undermanned, fourth-seeded New Haven team that held defending regional champ and 2-seed Bentley at arm’s length all night in punching its first-ever ticket to the Elite-8 by a count of 69-60. The Chargers – who were led by reliable and talented fifth-year point guard Quashawn Lane – allowed a Zach Laput jumper, then scored 19 of the game’s next 21 points to gain control. The #25 Falcons, who saw New Haven orchestrate an epic comeback in their only regular-season meeting on January 18 in Waltham (rallying from 27 down in the second half to win, 60-59, on Lane’s left-baseline floater at the buzzer), stabilized as Mason Webb got hot, and were within 33-26 at the half. However, the final 20 minutes resembled a cat-and-mouse game, with the Chargers maintaining between a 7 and 12-point advantage the ENTIRE period, never allowing Bentley to initiate any kind of run. In one of the most methodical postseason games you will ever see, neither of the nation’s least-fouling teams incurred a single whistle until the 6:09 mark (a Majur Majak reach-in) and Bentley didn’t pick up its first infraction until 3:05 was on the clock – the first of nine straight over the waning minutes as the game conditions warranted that many (New Haven was whistled for just four fouls all night). There were even fewer turnovers, as both teams combined to commit a mere five (UNH had just one until the final 2:36) as compared to 27 assists! The Chargers’ effective zone defense – anchored by Majak in the paint – forced Bentley out of its normal comfort zone and nearly 20 points below its seasonal scoring average (the 59 and 60 points scored vs. UNH were BU’s two lowest-scoring contests of the year). Lane topped the scoresheet with 19 points (7-11 FG) and dished out six assists while playing all 40 minutes. But the team received key contributions from its understudies, specifically Kendell McMillan (11 points in his third straight start following Victor Olawoye’s season-ending injury), Justin Hendrick (personal-best 10 off the bench) and Sean Braithwaite, whose only attempt was a dagger three from the left corner with 8:05 to play that stretched the lead to 52-41. Majak contributed eight points, 13 rebounds, three blocked shots and countless intimidations in the paint while never taking a break. The Chargers – who shot 50% for the entire regional – connected on 51% of its attempts in the ultimate contest while limiting the region’s best shooting team to an uncharacteristic 38%. The Falcons, who saw all five starters boast double-digit scoring averages on the year, lived up to those numbers as the front five accounted for every point and all but two shot attempts. Laput led the way with 14 points, eight boards and six assists, followed by a trio that thrived this year and saw their careers come to an end: Webb (13 points), Matt Leritz (12) and Brian Wright-Kinsey (11).
New Haven’s triumph marks the first time that a 4-seed emerged from the region since Stonehill edged St. Anselm in overtime in the final seven years ago at Holy Family. With their landmark win, the Chargers have been seeded seventh in the upcoming Elite-8 and have drawn high-flying West Liberty in Evansville next Tuesday, as the second-seeded Hilltoppers stunned host IUP – the #3 team in the nation – last night in Western Pennsylvania, ruining what could’ve been a tasty, defensive-minded rematch of a November game that saw the Crimson Hawks shade New Haven, 65-60, at the Kovalchick Center.
The Chargers earned their second-ever trip to the regional final (the last coming in 1988, when they lost at eventual national champion, Lowell) by defeating Cinderella Caldwell in the semis, 77-56, once again distinguishing the game with their swarming defense and efficient offense. Davontrey Thomas was the lead horse in this one, netting 18 points (7-9 FG, 4-6 from beyond the arc), including the 1,000th of his career. Tyrone Perry (17 points on 6-9 shooting), Lane (15 points, career high-tying nine helpers) and Majak (nine points, 17 rebounds, five blocks) also played pivotal roles as New Haven took control early with a 29-8 lead en route to a 40-20 halftime bulge. The Cougars – who had ousted top-seeded St. Anselm the night before – came as close as 60-48 after a steal and lay-up from sensational rookie playmaker Darnell Evans with 8:40 left. But they would get no closer as the Chargers unleashed a 14-3 run to put the game on ice, 74-51 with 4:02 remaining. Mark Heber was high man for Caldwell with 15 points and four assists as his team was outshot, 53%-34%, and outrebounded, 40-29.
The youthful Cougars shocked the region on Saturday Night in their takedown of the host Hawks, 80-71, becoming just the third East Region team to pull the 8-1 upset since the NCAA expanded the field to 64 teams 20 years ago. The first two teams to achieve this were feat were Southern New Hampshire at Holy Family in 2016 and Merrimack at Le Moyne the following March. Caldwell trailed for a total of 32 seconds at 2-0, and the game was tied at 15 before a 16-4 uprising, capped by another steal and score by Evans, took the massive crowd out of it at 31-19 with 6:12 to go until halftime. It was a 41-27 differential at intermission (St. A’s biggest home halftime deficit all season) and crested at 48-33 less than five minutes into the final period when the 24th-ranked Hawks made their expected run, outscoring their first-time guests 23-9 and creeping within a single point (57-56) after two foul shots by Miles Tention (17 points and four assists in his final game) with 6:40 on the clock. The Cougars may have bent, but they didn’t break, as an Evans lay-up sparked 10 unanswered points as part of a bigger 15-2 counter-run that completely took the air out of the building, making it 72-58 with 1:21; the Cougars nailing eight straight at the stripe to complete the major upset. Evans notched 18 of his 22 points in the second half (9-11 FT), while adding six assists and four steals. He was flanked by Heber (19 points, eight caroms), who scored his team’s first nine points, and backup big Derrick Bueno (17 points, 7-10 FG). Tyler Arbuckle produced 19 points, seven rebounds and four assists in 40 minutes for St. Anselm, which also saw Owen McGlashan toss in 15 points and seven boards. Caldwell was the better shooting team (46%-38%) and made the Hawks pay dearly for their turnovers by a count of 23-3.
New Haven began its championship run with a Northeast-10 encounter vs. Pace in the 4-5 “laundry” game, spotting the Setters a 10-6 lead (its biggest deficit at the regional) before righting the ship with an 18-5 rush that put the Chargers on top for good at 24-15. The lead expanded to 43-29 by intermission and ballooned to 74-45 on a Majak dunk with 5:05 left before the night ended with a lopsided 83-57 final tally. New Haven proved the vastly better shooters (47%-36%) and rebounders (42-25). Perry had the hot hand in this one, erupting for a career-high and East Regional-best 30 points on 9-13 shooting from deep. He received support from Lane (12 points, six rebounds, seven assists), Thomas (12 points on 4-7 shooting from 3) and Majak (11 points, 15 rebounds, three rejections). Brandon and Bryan Powell carried the scoring load for Pace with 19 and 14 points, respectively… the former in his final collegiate contest.
Bentley cruised on its way to yet another regional final… its eighth in the last 18 years (while not being able to participate in 2021). The first opponent was 7-seed Dominican, which snagged the last at-large bid and had fallen, 95-58, in its regular-season clash in Waltham back in November. All five starters reached double figures, as per usual, led by Laput’s 20 points, 12 rebounds and four assists. A 27-8 burst over the final 13:20 of the first half snapped a 13-13 tie and put the Falcons squarely in the driver’s seat at 40-21. The margin mushroomed to 61-36, and was 70-47 when the Chargers’ pressure set in motion a 16-1 upswing that brought them right back into the game at 71-63. The problem was that there were only 48 seconds on the clock at that point and Bentley closed the floodgates by making its last six free throws for a final of 77-67. The Chargers finished the season 6-8 after starting 15-1.
The Falcons ran into very little resistance against league rival Southern New Hampshire in the semis, avenging a late-season home loss with a colossal blowout, 73-46. The match-up between mentor (Jay Lawson) and protégé (Jack Perri) was a one-sided affair as Bentley used a 25-9 blitz over the last 11:52 of the opening frame in lengthening a 16-11 lead to 41-20. It never got closer over the final 20 minutes, with the spread maxing out at 65-31 following a triple by Laput (19 points, seven rebounds) at the 8:24 mark. Wright-Kinsey chipped in with 16 and nine, respectively, for the winners, while Derrick Grant equaled a career high with a dozen points off the bench for the Penmen, who were outclassed in the shooting (51%-28%), rebounding (44-28) and assist (10-3) departments. SNHU misfired on its first 19 three-point attempts, establishing a dubious NCAA record, before connecting on three of its last four in the final 3:41.
By stark contrast, Southern New Hampshire shot an electric 13-23 from downtown in its opener vs. ECC champ St. Thomas Aquinas, prevailing despite being outscored 27-2 off turnovers. The game was deadlocked at 37-37 at the break before the Penmen hung the first nine points on the scoreboard upon the restart – part of a bigger 39-13 landslide that fattened the advantage to 76-50 after a pair of bombs by Matt Becht (24 points, 9-15 FG, 5-10 from 3). The Spartans closed out the affair with a 14-2 flourish to make the final score a more respectable 78-64. Ryan Layman (10 second-half points on 6-7 shooting, plus six boards and five assists) and Noah Kamba (4-5 from long distance in a reserve role) each dropped a dozen for the victors, who were the better overall shooters (58%-37%) and distributors (16-5 in assists) in winning for the 17th time in 19 games. DeVante Jamison totaled 18 points and four assists for STAC, which was participating in its region-high eighth straight NCAA East Regional.
My next and last report(s) of the season will be filed courtside at the Elite-8. As always, 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!