The Northeast-10 semifinals were played in the same town, while the first-round ECC playoffs took place less than a mile apart on Long Island as March Madness continued on Wednesday. Let’s kick off the roundup with a head-to-head battle between the region’s top two ranked teams:
AMERICAN INTERNATIONAL 82 SOUTHERN NEW HAMPSHIRE 79
Cameron Dobbs exploded for 28 of his career-high 38 points before halftime and drilled an NE-10 Tournament-tying nine 3-pointers in 11 attempts to lead American International past Southern New Hampshire in Manchester, snapping its hosts’ seven-game win streak and avenging a double-overtime loss in Springfield two months ago. After the Penmen enjoyed the largest separation of the night at 34-24, the game tightened like a fist with AIC closing out the first half on a 15-4 run, culminating in a Bobby Harris bomb from just inside of half-court at the buzzer, as the visitors grabbed a 45-43 advantage. Dobbs connected on 8-of-9 from long distance over the initial 20 minutes, and the final period saw neither team lead by more than four points. Three foul shots from Aleksandar Dobrovic – who scored a season-high 20 points and pulled down six rebounds – tied the contest, 75-75, with three free throws at the 2:16 mark. Dobbs then converted a lay-up and two freebies around Dobrovic’s missed front end to put the Yellow Jackets on top for good at 79-75 with 1:27 to play. Harris – who finished with 17 points and five assists – left the door ajar by splitting a pair at the stripe with nine seconds left, but a step-back, left-corner three to tie by Devin Gilligan (six points and rebounds off the bench) bounced off the rim as time expired, landing AIC in the championship game for the first time since losing at Merrimack in 2000. Marcus Porter contributed 11 points and 12 rebounds for the Jackets, who won the glass (38-29) and shot better from beyond the arc (10-18 to 7-21). B.J. Cardarelli (17 points, 7-11 FG, 3-6 from 3), Rodney Sanders (14) and Elijah Bonsignore (13) were solid in support for SNHU. Both teams shot pretty well from the field (AIC 47%, SNHU 48%) and turned it over just 13 times combined in a terrific game that saw 12 ties and nine lead changes.
ST. ANSELM 80 ST. MICHAEL’S 68
The other team in town – St. Anselm – closed out its contest with a 30-11 blitz, transforming a 57-50 deficit with 8:45 remaining into an 80-68 victory over St. Michael’s at Stoutenburgh Gym, earning the right to host the NE-10 Championship Game for the first time since 1996 (also against AIC, coincidentally). Chris Santo lived up to his Player of the Year moniker with 33 points, 14 of which came during the big flourish, while snatching 10 rebounds. Six was the widest gap of the first half, which the Hawks led 34-29 after tallying the last 10 points of the period. Seven of the game’s 12 lead changes came within the first 10-and-a-half minutes of the second stanza before the visitors forged that 57-50 lead following a 3-point play by Dom Ditlefsen (11 points). St. A’s – which also received strong games from Mark Schulze (16 points, 6-9 FG, four steals), Harrison Taggart (12 points, five assists) and Victor Joshua (10 points, seven rebounds), both of whom hit dagger threes in the closing minutes – made 14 of 16 foul shots over the last 3:54. Santo himself swished a career-best 15 freebies in 19 attempts on the night as the hosts handled the Purple Knights for the third time in as many meetings this season and seventh straight time overall. James Cambronne was high man for St. Mike’s with 19 points (4-7 from deep) and six rebounds. He was flanked by Corey Crawford II (14 points) and Mike Thompson (12 points, nine rebounds) as the five senior starters accounted for 64 of the club’s 68 points. St. Anselm – which will be competing in its conference-best 11th championship game, and first since 2006 – shot better overall (49%-40%), hitting at a 57% clip after the break, while benefiting from a 24-11 foul advantage, resulting in a free-throw bounty (23-29 to 7-8). The P-Knights – who were playing in just their first league semifinal since 2001, and first on the road since 1994 – made more trifectas (11-28 to 7-22) and held a modest 34-32 rebounding edge. They are currently on the outside looking in but still hoping for an NCAA at-large bid.
DOWLING 82 NYIT 74
The four Long Island schools were all within shouting distance as the East Coast Conference’s play-in round got underway on the North Shore. And for the third straight season, the six seed knocked off the three seed in this tourney. In Old Westbury, Evan Maxwell paced five in double figures with 19 points (7-10 FG, 3-3 from long range) and 14 rebounds, connecting on a critical triple with the shot clock expiring that put Dowling ahead to stay vs. New York Institute of Technology. The Golden Lions used a 12-4 spurt at the start of the final frame, flipping a four-point deficit into a four-point (46-42) lead after a steal and lay-up from Darien Davis (19 points). They stretched it to a game-high 67-57 advantage with seven-and-a-half minutes to go when the Bears came out of hibernation, setting in motion a 14-2 spell that was punctuated by Darian Hooker’s tying 3-pointer and go-ahead foul shots with 2:48 on the clock. That’s when Maxwell knocked down his clutch three from the left wing to give Dowling a 72-71 lead. After a stop, the junior forward converted a lay-up in transition as the visitors closed out the contest with a 13-3 upswing (seven coming from Maxwell). NYIT had erased a 27-18 shortfall with a 20-7 surge over the last 7:13 of the half in taking a 38-34 lead into the locker room. Backup forward Jerrel Green (11 rebounds and four blocks off the bench) spearheaded the attack with nine of his 11 points, while Hooker – the nation’s leading scorer – called it a career with 28 points on just 7-of-30 shooting (11-13 FT). Kachi Nzerem chipped in with 13 points in a reserve role for the Bears, who were outshot from the floor (45%-33%) and the 3-point line (8-18 to 7-26) while getting punished on the break (18-2). Donte Adams dropped a dozen points for the Golden Lions, who also received 10 apiece from Ryan Hickey (six rebounds, four assists) and Michael Guzzardi (three blocks off the pine). Dowling – which nearly hurt itself at the foul line (10-19 compared to NYIT’s 17-23) – has now defeated the Bears in three straight playoff match-ups over the past four seasons, and has prevailed in eight of its last 10 games at Recreation Hall. Next up is an encounter with second-seeded Bridgeport at LIU Post in Saturday’s semifinals.
LIU POST 68 MOLLOY 60
Just eight-tenths of a mile down Northern Boulevard, LIU Post used a 10-0 second-half charge to pull away from Molloy at the Pratt Center to secure its spot in the Saturday’s semis against top-seeded St. Thomas Aquinas at home. P.J. Torres led the way with 18 points for the Pioneers, who were clinging to a 51-49 lead inside of the final nine minutes before rattling off 10 straight over the next five minutes, stretching the margin to 61-49 following a 3-pointer by Isiah Stokley (eight points) with 4:47 to play. The Lions – who saw Brandon Williams rack up 14 of his 16 points before intermission – came as close as 66-60 after a Maurice Gatson basket with 27 ticks remaining, but a Torres free throw eight seconds later cinched the result in favor of the hosts. Greg Dotson totaled 13 points (5-6 FG) off the bench for Post, which also received a double-double from Tyuan Williams (12 points, 11 boards). Gatson logged 11 points (5-7 FG) in reserve duty for Molloy, which grabbed a 37-35 halftime lead on Williams’ buzzer-beating, 35-foot heave. However, the team’s prospects dimmed significantly when Matt Mcleod (nine points in his final game) fouled out at the 5:51 mark. The Pioneers were more efficient from downtown Brookville (5-10 to 4-16), scored twice as often in the paint (32-16) and fashioned the superior assist-turnover line (17/14 to 8/17). Both teams struggled from the stripe (LIUP 11-22, MC 12-19).
DAEMEN 69 INDIANA-SOUTH BEND 63
United States Collegiate Athletics Association Division I Player of the Year Gerald Beverly amassed 21 points, 19 rebounds and three blocked shots and Daemen rode a 13-2 wave over the game’s last 4:27 to upend Indiana-South Bend in the quarterfinals of the USCAA Tournament in Uniontown, PA. The Wildcats trailed the Titans for much of the afternoon, finally drawing even at 48-48 after Kyle Clifford’s jumper with 12:16 left topped off an 8-0 spurt. Five lead changes ensued, the last one coming on Beverly’s slam with 3:57 to go as he and fellow Rochester native Supreme Hannah (seven of his 13 points down the stretch) came up big in crunch time. Jordan Greene and Clifford (seven rebounds, four assists) each pitched in with 12 points for the victors, who won the glass (46-29, including 17-8 on the offensive end), thrived on second chances (24-10) and dominated both in the paint (32-16) and at the line (20-23 to 6-12), offsetting IUSB’s vastly superior 3-point attack (13-27 to 3-20). Jacob Foster topped the Titans’ scorecard with 16 points (3-6 from deep) and five assists. Daemen will square off with Concordia-Alabama in Thursday’s semifinals.
POLL POSITION
The penultimate NCAA regional poll has been released, including results prior to Wednesday’s action. Here’s how they stand, with last week’s rankings in parentheses:
1. Southern New Hampshire (2)
2. American International (5)
3. St. Anselm (3)
4. Bridgeport (4)
5. Southern Connecticut (1)
6. USciences (6)
7. Holy Family (8)
8. Stonehill (7)
9. St. Michael’s (9)
10. Philadelphia (10)
Here’s the D2SIDA Media Poll:
1. USciences (2)
2. Southern New Hampshire (3)
3. Southern Connecticut (1)
T4. Bridgeport (5)
T4. American International (4)
6. Holy Family (7)
7. St. Anselm (6)
8. Philadelphia (T9)
9. St. Michael’s (T9)
10. Stonehill (8)
Receiving Votes: St. Thomas Aquinas
In the national polls, only University of the Sciences is represented in the Top 25, coming in at #16 in the NABC coaches’ poll and #17 in the D2SIDA rankings. Southern Connecticut and American International are receiving votes in both, while Florida Southern retains the top spot in each.