The regional basketball season came to an end in the national quarterfinals in Evansville, Indiana. Here’s how it went down::
FLORIDA SOUTHERN 81 SOUTHERN NEW HAMPSHIRE 70
Two-time All-American senior guard Kevin Capers recorded 28 points (11-19 FG), five assists and six steals to lead #1 Florida Southern past Southern New Hampshire in Elite-8 action at the Ford Center. Yet despite enduring that individual performance, severe foul trouble and 24 turnovers, the Penmen hung with the Moccasins for the majority of the game, using a 13-0 burst to build a 29-19 lead before a 19-8 flourish to end the half gave the Mocs a 38-37 edge. The run extended to 27-10 early in the second half as SNHU went 11-and-a-half minutes without a basket, yet still only trailed 46-39 at the 14:09 mark. A traditional 3-point play from Elijah Bonsignore (16 points, six rebounds, four assists in his final collegiate game) knotted the score at 54-54 with 9:38 to play, but a critical 26-9 run over the next 8:08 – highlighted by two dagger threes by backup sophomore guard Michael Volovic (13 points, 34 from 3) – put the game on ice at 80-63 with 90 seconds remaining. Southern New Hampshire – which was making its first Elite-8 appearance in 20 years and seventh overall – fared better from beyond the arc (11-26 to 5-21) and won the glass (37-29). They shot 56% in the first half and 36% after intermission, while Florida Southern made 51% of its attempts over the final 20 minutes in turning the tide. Turnovers were the key stat, however (24-11), as the Mocs punished the Penmen 28-10 off of mistakes. The also made more trips to the line (16-21 to 7-9). B.J. Cardarelli tossed in 17 points (5-6 from downtown Evansville) and eight rebounds to lead SNHU, and Aleksandar Dobrovic added seven to just reach the 1,000-point plateau in his last game but it was not enough to cool down the Mocs, who have now won a season-high 23 straight games and 34 of 35 this season. With the result, the East Region (formerly known as the Northeast and New England) has now gone 27 straight seasons without a national championship – the longest drought among the eight regions of Division II – dating back to Lowell’s 1988 title. And it’s now been 10 years since a regional club has played in the national championship game – namely Bryant (like Mass-Lowell a Division I team these days), which lost to Virginia Union in North Dakota at the 2005 Elite-8.
FINISH LINE
Thus wraps up another season of reports from every corner of the East Region. My sincerest thanks to all the coaches, sports information directors, players and administrators who have helped provide the information and hospitality as I have made it a point to visit all 40 schools over the course of the winter. And thanks to all of you fans and supporters who have perused the recaps and checked out all the stats and standings during the first year of this new website. For those of you who have requested an “Around the Rim” column, I plan to write one in a couple of weeks after I digest the past five months of action. Check in periodically under the FEATURES tab for that. And until we cross paths again, God bless!