The lower seeds prevailed in the CACC Tournament Semifinals on Friday night. Here are the crazy details:
WILMINGTON 75 HOLY FAMILY 71
Tyaire Ponzo-Meek generated 28 points and seven assists, while Kevin Ohen notched his first career double-double with 12 points and just as many rebounds as Wilmington shocked Holy Family to reach its first-ever tournament championship game as an NCAA member. An incredibly tight tilt throughout, there were seven ties and 13 lead changes with the widest spread being seven (42-35) following a Ponzo-Meek 3-pointer shortly after the break. Isaiah Gans – who finished with 16 points and nine rebounds – responded with seven straight for the Tigers to equalize, and there were successive ties at 46, 48, 50, 52, 56 and 57. The game later took a bizarre turn with 1:35 to play and the Wildcats up 65-62. A loose ball foul and accompanying technical on Tyrik Gass (all eight points after halftime) resulted in four straight free throws and a 66-65 Holy Family advantage. They also received possession but came up short on the shot that would have translated into a six-point possession. Ponzo-Meek was then fouled while scoring a floater in the lane for an “And-1” that sparked a crucial 8-0 run and opened up a 73-66 lead with 26 seconds left. Five quick Tigers points sandwiching two Valentino Thompson misses at the line made it a 73-71 nail-biter with 2.7 seconds remaining but Ponzo-Meek again came through, sinking the two clinching foul shots, snapping the Tigers’ four-game win streak and leaving them in limbo regarding a possible at-large NCAA bid. Rashaun Rasheed contributed 10 points and six boards off the bench for Wilmington, which established a new NCAA-era program record for wins with 11. Reggie Charles led the charge for Holy family with 23 points and nine assists but disparities in shooting (43%-33%), rebounding (44-25) and free-throw production (24-33 to 15-21) hurt the cause. The Tigers were also outscored in the paint (32-18) but made up for that from beyond the arc (12-35 to 5-15). Wilmington will play Philadelphia for the automatic NCAA bid in Saturday’s championship at the Gallagher Center, where the Wildcats pulled off another stunning upset in January, delaying Herb Magee’s 1,000-win celebration.
PHILADELPHIA 84 USCIENCES 82 (OT)
Defending tourney champ Philadelphia will attempt a measure of revenge against Wilmington in Saturday’s title game, reaching the final yet again thanks to a thrilling comeback victory over crosstown rival and 16th-ranked University of the Sciences, snapping its 14-game winning streak in the process. All five starters reached double figures and accounted for all the Rams’ points, led by Nick Schlitzer’s career-high 36-point explosion (10-17 FG, 6-8 from deep, 10-10 FT). The senior guard capped a critical 8-0 spurt in the extra session with a traditional 3-point play and long-range bomb in back-to-back possessions, helping his team transform a 79-76 deficit into an 84-79 upper hand with 1:05 to go. Three Sciences freebies brought the top-seeded visitors within a deuce, and the Devils had late life after two uncharacteristic misses at the stripe by Derek Johnson (he was 1-of-5 from the line after shooting 87% on the season coming in) with 5.7 seconds on the clock. However, a baseline jumper by rookie guard Flo Da-Silva (13 points off the bench) to tie was off the mark prior to the final horn, polishing off the upset. Philadelphia led for all of regulation – and by as many as 13 points on three occasions late in the opening half - before a 7-1 flourish over the final 52 seconds forced the bonus round. Garret Kerr – who amassed 29 points (11-18 FG), eight rebounds and four assists – delivered the game-tying triple from the left wing with 14 seconds to play, then stole the ball and missed a three-quarter-court heave as time expired. Johnson generated 16 points for the winners, who also received 12 points and six caroms from Peter Alexis, as well as 10 points apiece from T.J. Huggins (eight rebounds) and Andre Gibbs (six boards, four assists). Will Gregorits logged 15 points in defeat for the Devils, who will likely receive an at-large NCAA bid nonetheless. Both clubs shot it well from the floor (PU 56%, US 49%) and from downtown (PU 11-19, US 9-20). Sciences turned it over just six times to Philly U’s 11.