AROUND THE RIM - JUST DANCE!

Posted: Mar 07, 2023

By Chris Granozio

Well, here we are again… on the precipice of another NCAA East Regional, to be played, for the second time ever (and both in the past five years), at St. Anselm. Throughout this edition of Around the Rim, I’ll detail how all the teams in the regional field made it to the Big Dance, and then break down the matchups.

The Hawks earned the top seed and hosting honors after knocking off three of the region’s top six teams over the span of a week at Stoutenburgh Gym, capturing their record 10th NE10 Tournament crown and the automatic bid that comes with it. In the last column, I recapped the wins vs. Pace and Bentley in the quarters and semis, respectively. In Saturday’s championship game – a rematch of the 2020 title tilt (also won by St. A’s, 65-63 in overtime) – the second-seeded hosts jumped out of the gate with a 31-14 lead and never relinquished it, although the fourth-seeded Chargers fought back, creeping within 47-46 midway through the second stanza. They would get no closer as St. Anselm outscored them 18-8 over the last 9:41 to prevail, 65-54 in front of a raucous, elated crowd. Miles Tention paced the Hawks with 24 points, while tourney MOP Tyler Arbuckle chipped in with 12 points and six assists. Quashawn Lane (21 points) and Ty Perry (19) did the heavy lifting for New Haven, which dropped two of three head-to-head match-ups this year.

The CACC semifinals and championship at Jefferson University provided heart-stopping sports theater, with each game coming down to the final possession. In the first semi, top-seeded Caldwell struggled against Chestnut Hill’s surprise zone, but rallied from a 12-point, second-half deficit, closing the contest with a 9-2 flourish capped by Kirk Parsons’ two free throws with 1.1 seconds left to prevail, 67-65. The Cougars had trailed, 63-58, with 1:35 on the clock before unleashing seven unanswered points, highlighted by Mark Heber’s go-ahead 3-pointer. Conor Regan – who closed out his Griffins career with 19 points and five blocked shots – knotted the score at the stripe with 19 seconds to play, setting up Parsons’ winning tosses. The freshman guard finished with 19 points (5-8 from long range) and was instrumental in the comeback, as was Tourney MOP Derrick Bueno (17 points, eight rebounds).

In the other semi, Jefferson and Bloomfield couldn’t settle things in 40 minutes, treating the loud crowd to an overtime affair that featured more plot twists than a Quentin Tarantino screenplay. The host Rams led most of the way (by as many as 10) and were enjoying a 56-48 advantage inside of eight minutes when the Bears reeled off nine unanswered, edging in front, 57-56, on a pair of foul shots at the five-minute mark by Josh Morris (he was a perfect 12-12 at the line, accounting for nearly half of his 25 points, while snatching 10 rebounds). Jefferson responded on an Ahmed Barba-Bey lay-up 22 seconds later, and the two teams remained in lock-step into the waning seconds, with both teams missing scoring chances in crunch time and a controversial blocked shot/goaltend play thrown into the mix. Bears rookie guard Izaiah Poole had a chance to play the hero as he was fouled on a tying lay-up with 2.2 ticks remaining, but missed the go-ahead free throw, necessitating the additional period. The Rams – despite having had three starters foul out in regulation – played through the adversity and accounted for the first six points of overtime. But Bloomfield – which had won seven straight and 10 of 11 to start the night – refused to quit, whittling its deficit to one (77-76) on a deep 3-pointer by Morris with 29 seconds to go. Both teams scored on their ensuing possession, but Jefferson left the door ajar as Darius Kinnel misfired on a pair of freebies with six seconds on the clock. Deavion Ellis (16 points) had a good look at a potential winning 3-pointer from the right wing that went halfway down and popped out at the final horn, adding to the Bears’ all-time frustrations at the Gallagher Center, where they are now 2-10 after this 80-79 heartbreaker. Erik Timko notched 25 points (9-15 FG, 4-7 from 3) to lead the winners, who also received double-doubles from Bismark Nsiah (15 points, 13 rebounds) and the 6-3 guard Barba-Bey (13, 12, along with six assists), who played 44 minutes and finished the game as the default “center.”

The championship game was another nail-biter, as Caldwell erased a late deficit to stun Jefferson, 72-69 for its second tourney trophy and first since 2007. The clash was just the fifth in the 15-years of CACC divisional play in which the North and South champs battled in the final (2009 Bloomfield-Philadelphia, 2011 Bloomfield-Goldey-Beacom, 2014 Bloomfield-Philadelphia, 2020 Dominican-Jefferson) and it was an intriguing encounter between longtime assistant coaches who took over the reins at their respective schools this season: Dean Johnson and Jimmy Reilly. The Cougars found themselves staring at a 65-62 deficit with 3:42 to play when they initiated a timely 8-0 spurt to take charge, 70-65, following two Bueno free throws with 28.8 left. A Barba-Bey trey gave the Rams late life, and one of two foul shots by Heber allowed Timko – the deadliest shooter in the conference – a decent look at a tying triple, but it wouldn’t fall as time expired, handing Jefferson its first loss on the home floor all season (TJU had been a region-best 11-0, with 13 straight triumphs dating back to last season). The Rams’ 18-12 final record snaps an eight-season streak of 20+ wins and represents their fewest wins since a 15-12 mark in 2010-11. As for Caldwell, Darnell Evans produced a game-high 23 points and eight rebounds, while Bueno racked up 22 and nine, respectively. Some more history: This was the Cougars’ first-ever win at the Gallagher Center in 10 tries (they had won at the old building, Althouse Hall) and marks the first time since 2005-06 that they had won two games in the series. Additionally, their 21 wins are a program-best since joining the NCAA ranks in 2002, and their three tournament wins the past week are more than the team had collected over the prior 16 years combined (2-7). With the setback, Daemen now boasts the region’s longest active home win streak at nine.

That leads us the ECC Tournament recap, as #20 St. Thomas Aquinas had little trouble with District of Columbia in the opening semifinal in Sparkill, 96-78. All 11 Spartans who dressed contributed at least one field goal, headlined by Jamal Barnes’ 21-point effort (6-8 FG), while Hartnel Haye matched that total for the Firebirds, tying a career best. STAC was holding a modest 34-32 lead before closing out the half with 10 unanswered points to take control at 44-32, never allowing UDC back within single digits after intermission.

Daemen punched its ticket to the final by dispatching longtime foe Roberts Wesleyan for the 27th time in the last 28 meetings, 73-61, reaching the 20-win plateau for the fifth time in as many full-length seasons. Dylan Fasoyiro exploded for 30 points in the Wildcats’ eighth straight win and 17th in 19 outings. They wrested control with a 16-3 upswing early in the second half that expanded a 33-30 lead to 49-33. Rian Carter was high man for the Redhawks with 13 in defeat.

That set up a third consecutive championship clash with St. Thomas Aquinas, and seventh all-time meeting in the ECC Tourney, all in the last eight years. And as was the case in every other matchup, STAC came out on top, thanks to gritty efforts by Freshman of the Year James Patterson (19 points, nine rebounds) and tourney MOP DeVante Jamison (15 points). An 18-4 second-half run was the difference in this one as the Spartans flipped a 40-38 deficit into a 56-44 advantage with 6:25 remaining. Daemen drew within three down the stretch, but could not overcome a 19-8 disparity in turnover points, ultimately falling 72-66. Fasoyiro dropped 21 in the loss, while Andrew Mason – the nation’s most accurate 3-point shooter at ALL levels with a 51.6 percentage – scored all 18 of his points on perfect 6-6 shooting from beyond the arc. The loss was a devastating for the Wildcats, as they were the first team out after a prolonged debate by the regional and national committees resulted in Dominican taking the last at-large berth. St. Thomas Aquinas has now emerged victorious in seven of the last eight ECC Tournaments.

 

The Regional Field

Of the eight teams vying for this year’s regional crown and automatic ticket to the Elite 8 in Evansville, six are repeaters from last March, with Caldwell taking the place of Felician as the party-crasher with the AQ from the CACC. Southern New Hampshire also takes fellow Granite State rival Franklin Pierce’s place as a higher seed. Each team has won at least 20 games for the first time in five seasons, and for the first time in the region’s history, the top five seeds are representatives from the same conference – the NE10, in this case. The last eight times a regional was played, eight different programs advanced to the Elite-8, with the last repeater being Bentley in 2008. Here’s a breakdown on each of this year’s contenders:

  1. ST. ANSELM (22-7) is the AQ as the NE10 champion and is participating in its 26th NCAA Tournament… the most in the field… and a 10th straight appearance in which it was eligible (the Hawks didn’t compete during the 2020-21 COVID year). They have two regional titles to their credit (2000, 2019), including the only other time they hosted at Stoutenburgh, four years ago. St. A’s has met its opponent, Caldwell, only twice before, the last time on December 20, 2006, and won both games. Keith Dickson leads all regional coaches in wins (703) and seasons coached (37).
  2. BENTLEY (21-6) is the top at-large selection and defending regional champion. The Falcons are taking part in their 20th regional and have emerged victorious in four of them (2007, 2008, 2010, 2022). They have won four of six all-time meetings with Dominican, including a 95-58 home victory on November 26. NE10 Player of the Year Zach Laput ranks second in the region in scoring (behind Timko) and head coach Jay Lawson has 606 career wins, second most to Dickson in the region.
  3. SOUTHERN NEW HAMPSHIRE (20-8) is an at-large team that has played in 21 regionals and won a whopping third of them (1980, 1981, 1987, 1993, 1994, 1995, 2015) – most in the region. The Penmen are also the last team to three-peat (1993-95). SNHU is 1-2 all-time against St. Thomas Aquinas, the most recent meeting being a 104-90 STAC triumph in Sparkill on January 19, 2017. Interestingly, this will be the third time the Penmen have played in their hometown while not wearing the host hat. The other two times, they took the court at their very own Stan Spirou Field House: 1995 with St. Anselm as the top seed and 2013 with Franklin Pierce as the official “host.”
  4. NEW HAVEN (20-10) is an at-large entry that is making its 10th NCAA appearance, never winning more than one game at any regional to date. The Chargers will take on NE10 rival Pace in the first-round’s lone intra-conference matchup. New Haven is 20-15 in the all-time series, winning the one meeting this season, 56-50, on January 21. The Chargers are tops in the region and nationally ranked in scoring defense (62.2%, #11), field-goal defense (39.3%, #4) and fewest fouls per game (10.7, #1), one rung above Bentley.
  5. PACE (20-10) is also an at-large team from the NE10 with an identical record to its first-round opponent. This is the sixth NCAA appearance for the Setters, and first back-to-back showing after bowing in overtime at Bentley in last year’s regional semis. That equaled the program’s best showing in March. Lyron Bennett ranks second in all of D2 in minutes played at 38.21 per game. Pace, New Haven and Bentley have more in common than just being conference rivals. For each club, this will mark its fourth trip to Manchester this winter, and second time in the postseason.
  6. ST. THOMAS AQUINAS (26-4) is here on the strength of the AQ as ECC champion. It’s the Spartans’ eighth straight regional – most among this year’s participants as they were the only 2023 member that actually played in the truncated 2021 “regional.” Last year's runner-up has one championship under its belt (2017), with first-year head coach Matt Capell having served as an assistant that season. The last time an ECC team played in at least eight straight NCAA Tournaments was Adelphi, which danced for nine consecutive years between 1995-2003. Fun tidbit: star point guard DeVante Jamison was coached by former St. Anselm great Sean Ryan at Burke High School in Boston (credit to Tom Killion for that terrific nugget)!
  7. DOMINICAN (21-8) had to hold its collective breath for five long days before receiving the call it had been hoping for. The last at-large entry from the CACC saw its league tournament hopes dashed in an unprecedented scoring debacle in the league quarterfinals in a story we covered in great detail in last Friday’s Around the Rim. The nod makes the Chargers the first-ever CACC team to advance to five straight regionals as Philadelphia went to four between 2007-10 and Bloomfield the following four Marches from 2011-14.
  8. CALDWELL (21-9) is here for the third time the first coming in 2007, when the Cougars gave Bentley a genuine scare in the 1-8 game, holding a lead inside of the final three minutes before succumbing. Head Coach Dean Johnson was an assistant under Mark Corino that season, as was current Pace assistant Bruce Hamburger. Caldwell also won a game in the 2020 pseudo-regional. The talented and youthful Cougars may be a year ahead of schedule, but any team playing with house money is always dangerous. That being said, facing a hot, battle-tested team on its home floor in one of the most intimidating venues is no small task. Jarnel Rancy is the nation's best shot-blocker at all levels as he rejects 4.27 attempts per game.

There you have the matchups, with the festivities set to kick off Saturday at noon. I’ll be there, and if you can’t be, check out the action online through the St. Anselm Hawks’ website. I’ll also have a full recap in the next column, early next week.

 

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!