A barnburner and a blowout comprised the NCAA Regional Semifinals, leaving the Northeast-10’s two divisional winners as the last teams standing. Here’s how it happened:
SOUTHERN NEW HAMPSHIRE 59 USCIENCES 53
For the second time in as many days, Southern New Hampshire clamped down on defense and used a late run to pull out a victory, outscoring University of the Sciences 23-8 over the last nine-and-a-half minutes to earn the hard-fought semifinal win in Springfield. Aleksandar Dobrovic registered 12 of his 16 points in the second half and garnered six steals to lead the Penmen, who allowed the first eight points and trailed for the first 36:37 before getting off the mat. Regional Player of the Year Garret Kerr picked up right where he left off 24 hours earlier, scoring his team’s first dozen points en route to a 34-point, 12-rebound final performance. The Devils were on top 32-23 at the break, stretched the lead to 10 on two occasions shortly after play resumed and were still in control at 45-36 after a Kerr corner three with 9:42 to play when the Penmen began to claw their way back, using stifling defense to keep their first-time opponent without a hoop for a 7:10 stretch and finally taking their first lead – 50-49 – on a pair of Dobrovic foul shots with 3:23 left. That would be the first of five lead changes over the next two-plus minutes. Sho Da-Silva – who totaled 11 points (including the 1,000th of his career) and five blocked shots off the bench – scored on a driving lay-up with 1:16 remaining to give USciences its last advantage at 53-52, and it would prove to be his team’s final points of the season as B.J. Cardarelli (11 points, six rebounds) nailed a dagger 3-ball from the right wing with 41 seconds to go that gave SNHU the lead for keeps at 55-53. Kerr got a good look from the top of the key, but his potential go-ahead triple with 29 seconds on the clock rimmed out. He had another shot from the right perimeter 14 seconds later after a Dobrovic missed front-end at the line, but that, too, did not fall. Elijah Bonsignore (six points) converted a pair at the stripe to make it a two-possession game and a fast-break slam by Rodney Sanders (14 points, 6-8 FG, seven rebounds) supplied the punctuation mark as the Penmen closed the contest with a 7-0 flourish one day after victimizing Stonehill with a 17-1 flurry to win going away. Both teams struggled to shoot 38% from the field and made 30% of their 3-point tries (SNHU 6-20, US 3-10). The Devils – who were playing their second opponent from Manchester, New Hampshire in as many days (their only two NE-10 foes all year) – won the glass (40-31) but turned it over twice as often (14-7), leading to a costly 12-3 discrepancy in mistake points. Southern New Hampshire Tuesday will play in its first regional final since 1997. The opponent will be the same as then: former NECC rival Southern Connecticut.
SOUTHERN CONNECTICUT 86 AMERICAN INTERNATIONAL 65
The third time was the charm for defending regional champ Southern Connecticut, which pulled away late from host American Intenational at Butova Gym to earn a second straight trip to the Sweet 16. Luke Houston led five in double figures with 20 points and eight rebounds for the Owls, who feasted on the offensive glass, outscoring the Yellow Jackets 29-12 on second chances, with one of the most dramatic examples being Stefon Williams’ banked-in shot at the halftime buzzer while falling down, giving Southern a 37-35 upper hand. Despite the lopsided final margin, this was a deceivingly tight game most of the way, with eight ties, 11 lead changes and no more than a seven-point separation over the first 35:46. The visitors were ahead 68-63 inside of the final five minutes when a Houston lay-up touched off an 18-2, game-ending blitz. Desmond Williams (11 rebounds) notched seven of his 18 points during the surge as the Owls snapped AIC’s five-game winning streak and captured its fifth straight NCAA regional triumph. Michael Mallory came up big off the bench yet again with 17 points for Southern Connecticut, which also received strong outings from Tylon Smith (12 points, eight rebounds, five assists) and Stefon Williams (10 points, 5-7 FG, six caroms). Oscar Assie notched a 15-point, 12-rebound double-double in defeat for the Jackets, while Cameron Dobbs (13 points) and Nolan Woodward (11 points, eight rebounds off the bench) also reached twin figures. Neither team shot at a high clip overall (SCSU 42%, AIC 38%) or from beyond the arc (SCSU 6-26, AIC 5-24) but the Owls were more efficient at the foul line (20-27 to 14-26) and scored nearly twice as often off turnovers (21-11). Though the Yellow Jackets become the second of the NCAA’s eight #1 seeds to fall on Saturday, Andy Burkholder’s team has nothing to hang its heads about as the club dramatically improved from a nine-win team last season to 24 victories and NCAA regional semifinal appearance just 12 months later.
KERR-IFIC
Rarely is this space reserved for editorial comment, but in light of Sunday’s developments, please allow me to share a few thoughts as we close the book on one of the greatest careers in regional history. University of the Sciences senior forward and likely National Player of the Year Garret Kerr has more than left his imprint on the program, shattering the school records for points (2,434) and rebounds (1,391) while also finishing near the top in virtually every other category. He won the national rebounding title both as a freshman and sophomore, and finished his final season second in the nation in both scoring and rebounding. His spectacular performance in Springfield this weekend turned heads and will not soon be forgotten as the Academic All-American averaged a ridiculous 37 points and 13 boards in his only two NCAA Tournament games, becoming the first regional player to drop 40 in this regional in 20 years. The son of former NHL star Tim Kerr and All-America triathlete Midge Kerr also achieved the extremely rare feat of meriting conference’s Player of the Year honors for three consecutive seasons. Over my 33 years covering Division II basketball, Kerr is on my very short list of favorite four-year players who performed at such an elite level. That list includes: Lambert Shell of Bridgeport, Rob Paternostro of New Hampshire College (now SNHU), Elad Inbar of UMass-Lowell, Ryan McCormack of Adelphi, Laurence Ekperigin of Le Moyne, Tayron Thomas and Randy Stover of Philadelphia and both Ahmad Smith and Andre Dabney of Bloomfield. He may not be the most athletically gifted player, but considering his uncanny instincts, warrior heart and sterling character, Garret Kerr is peerless. To paraphrase his consummate coach Dave Pauley, he epitomizes all that is right about college athletics, and will be greatly missed.