The NE-10, CACC and USCAA crowned tournament champions on Saturday, while the ECC unveiled its finalists. Here’s how it all went down:
AMERICAN INTERNATIONAL 85 ST. ANSELM 79
Tournament MVP Cameron Dobbs generated 27 points, including a huge contested 3-pointer from the right wing with 40 seconds to play as American International defeated St. Anselm in Manchester for its first Northeast-10 Tournament championship in 21 years. A terrific basketball game from start to finish, there were eight ties, 18 lead changes and no separation greater than seven points until the waning seconds. The score was deadlocked at 72-72 when Marcus Porter (23 points, 11 rebounds) hit a runner in the lane with 1:25 left. After a turnover, Dobbs came through with the deep three as the Yellow Jackets ran off eight straight to take complete control, 80-72, hitting eight free throws in 10 attempts over the final 31 seconds to close it out. Bobby Harris – who sank the last seven at the stripe – finished with 20 points, nine rebounds and four assists for AIC, which also placed Trahmier Burrell in double figures with 11 points (5-6 FG) and captured its fourth straight victory, snapping a seven-game losing streak against the Hawks and prevailing at Stoutenburh Gym for the first time since January 24, 2004. Victor Joshua registered 18 of his career-high 25 points in the second half for St. A’s, while Chris Santo (20 points, eight rebounds, four assists), Roy Mabrey (14 points, personal high-tying 11 rebounds) and Harrison Taggart (13 points, eight boards, five assists) also fared well in a losing effort. The Jackets – who have a shot at hosting next week’s NCAA regional – hit at a 51% clip on the afternoon and dominated in the paint (44-24) while the similarly NCAA-bound Hawks were deadlier from deep (11-32 to 6-15) and dished out twice as many assists (14-7).
PHILADELPHIA 77 WILMINGTON 68
In the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference championship in the City of Brotherly Love, Derek Johnson also delivered a critical triple down the stretch to open up a five-point lead as Philadelphia held off Cinderella Wilmington to repeat as tourney champs, sending Hall of Fame coach Herb Magee to an incomparable 28th NCAA Tournament in his 48 years at the helm (34th overall in program history). The junior forward led all scorers with 22 points (4-7 from long range) with solid support from Peter Alexis (18 points, 13 rebounds), tournament MVP Nick Schlitzer (15, 7) and Andre Gibbs (11 points). The Rams allowed the game’s first six points and trailed 22-21 before edging in front and systematically building a 39-32 halftime edge. A Schlitzer 3-ball with 7:52 remaining expanded the advantage to 61-50 before the Wildcats unleashed a 12-3 flurry, pulling within 64-62 on a three from Shai Henry (all 14 points off the bench after halftime on 5-of-7 shooting, 3-for-3 from 3) with 3:42 to go. It was 66-64 inside of the three-minute mark when Johnson’s bomb triggered a critical 11-1 run, pushing the margin to a game-high 12 (77-65) and rendering a Tyaire Ponzo-Meek 3-pointer with 11 seconds to play a mere footnote. The sophomore guard totaled 18 points for late-blooming Wilmington, while Tyrik Gass (eight rebounds) and Kevin Ohen each chipped in with 14. All the stats were close with the exception of turnovers (Philadelphia only committed three of the 13 in the contest). Philly U. has now won four straight heading into the NCAAs.
ST. THOMAS AQUINAS 80 LIU POST 78
There was a blowout and a barnburner in the East Coast Conference semifinals as the top seeds won their playoff openers in Brookville. For starters, St. Thomas Aquinas stormed back from a 10-point deficit with just over eight minutes on the clock to stun host LIU Post for a fifth consecutive triumph and second straight tourney final appearance. Trailing 72-63 inside of seven minutes, STAC touched off a 10-2 spurt, drawing within 74-73 after a pair of foul shots from Shaq McFarlan (13 points, eight rebounds, five steals) with 2:33 left. A Dillon Burns trey 16 seconds later stemmed the tide and amplified the lead to 77-73. Aquinas countered with the next seven points, however, jumping in front for good on a steal and fast-break lay-up by Chaz Watler (22 points, 12-13 FT) with 23 ticks remaining. Two big misses at the line by Charles McCann with 9.7 seconds to go kept Post behind the eight ball, and Justin Reyes (12 points, eight rebounds) was promptly fouled, converting two tosses with eight seconds on the clock. Burns – who dropped 13 points (2-2 from afar) – was sent to the stripe at the four-second mark, making the first and missing the second on purpose. Before his teammates could grab the basketball, though, a lane violation was whistled and neither team scored again. Marcus Henderson – who collected 12 points and four assists – missed two free throws at the end, but it tured out to be moot as the Pioneers could not get off a final shot. Greg Dotson paced five in double digits for LIU Post with 14 points off the bench, while Jared Hall (13 in a reserve role), Isiah Stokley (12 points, eight rebounds, four helpers) Tyuan Williams (11 points, eight caroms) and McCann (eight points, seven rebounds, four steals) all made impacts, the latter two doing so in their collegiate finales. The Spartans won despite being soundly outshot (51%-39%), outrebounded (37-28), out-assisted (16-11) and outscored in the paint (42-26). They made up for those discrepancies with superior foul shooting (34-42 to 18-33) and fewer mistakes (17 turnovers to 25). The game was marred by a whopping 51 fouls, resulting in 75 free throws.
BRIDGEPORT 93 DOWLING 75
In the other semifinal, Bridgeport demolished Dowling for the third time in as many tries this winter (by an average 100-78 score) for its eighth consecutive conquest, securing a spot in the seventh straight ECC championship game – and second straight against St. Thomas Aquinas. A 25-6 tear snapped a 21-21 tie near the midway mark of the opening period as the Purple Knights jumped in front to stay, 46-27. The Golden Lions – who saw Darien Davis close out his stellar career with 20 points and four assists – whittled the deficit down to 61-51 on a lay-up by Evan Maxwell (10 points, three blocked shots) with 12:48 to play, but the gap would never shrink to single digits as a 3-pointer by Jesse Jones (21 points, six rebounds, four assists off the pine) sparked a 21-5 charge that put the game well out of reach at 82-56. Dowling – which was outshot, 50%-40%, and killed on the glass, 49-31 – never came closer than the 18-point final margin. Devon Elliott recorded 21 points (8-13 FG, 5-8 from distance) for Bridgeport, which also landed Willie Williams III (20 points, 14 rebounds, six assist, four blocks) and Ernest Rouse (14 points) in twin figures. Donte Adams (12 points) and Ryan Hickey (11) chimed in for the Golden Lions, whose only positive on the stat sheet was an 18-8 advantage in mistake points.
DAEMEN 77 ROCHESTER 53
For the first – and last – time, Daemen claims the United States Collegiate Athletics Association tourney championship in Uniondale, PA, putting on a clinic against Rochester College (MI) in a rematch of title tilt two years ago. The Wildcats landed five in double figures and led from wire to wire, establishing leads of 20-7 and 40-16 before settling for a 43-21 halftime bulge. The lead mushroomed to a ridiculous 65-29 after a Supreme Hannah put-back with 11:06 left, punctuating a 22-8 burst to start the second stanza. From that point on, the Warriors (ironically, Daemen’s previous nickname) never came closer than the 24-point final margin as they placed only Nick Tatu in double figures with 16 points. Gerald Beverly capped his brilliant career with 19 points (9-11 FG) and eight rebounds, pushing him over 1,000 caroms for his career as the USCAA Division I Player of the Year and tournament MVP interestingly played his final game against a school with the same name as his hometown. He had plenty of support on this afternoon, most notably Jesse Lalka (career-high 16 points off the bench, 5-7 from 3), Kyle Clifford (14 points, six assists, four steals), Hannah (11 points, six boards, nine assists) and Jordan Greene (10 points, five dishes), who hit a 3-pointer in a 42nd consecutive game dating back to last season. Daemen outshot (54%-38%), outrebounded (41-29) and out-assisted (23-13) Rochester while also faring better from beyond the arc (11-23 to 5-21), on second chances (24-8) and off turnovers (28-15). The Wildcats’ next game will be as full-fledged NCAA members.
SELECTION SHOW
The NCAA will announce the Division 2 field of 64 on Sunday night. You can catch the show here: http://www.ncaa.com/liveschedule/2015/03/08