Three tight-knit playoff games and one surprising blowout comprised the first March games of the postseason in the East Region, and we kick off the recap with a historic win in the nation’s capitol, highlighting the East Coast Conference’s riveting playoff openers:
MERCY 72 DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA 71
It was well worth the wait. Despite three losses in the final week of the regular season, Mercy made the most of its first playoff appearance in 15 years as Gerald McClease drilled the go-ahead 3-pointer from the left corner with five seconds left, lifting the sixth-seeded Mavericks past #3 seed District of Columbia in Washington for the program’s very first postseason victory. In a hard-fought game that featured 11 ties and 13 lead changes, the senior forward came through with the biggest shot of the night off K.J. Rose’s fast-break pass, just four seconds after Joseph Nickerson had given the Firebirds a 71-69 lead on a lay-up. That was the second straight inside hoop for the JUCO transfer forward, who had tied it up 42 seconds earlier and finished with a career-high 32 points (12-16 FG), 11 rebounds, six steals and five blocked shots in a losing cause. UDC had one last chance to answer, but Rose – who collected eight points, 11 rebounds and six assists – came away with a strip at half court before lofting the basketball toward the ceiling in jubilation. Tyseem Lyles was high man with 24 points (4-7 from 3-point range) and six rebounds for Mercy, which won all three games from UDC this season (two on the road) and reached the 13-win mark for the first time since the 1992-93 campaign. The Mavs had trailed by as many as eight points midway through the second half before storming back, grabbing a 64-61 advantage on a pair of Lyles free throws with 2:39 to play. The game was a tug-of-war from that point forward with Lyles burying a big three at the 56-second stage, setting up Nickerson’s tying and go-ahead scores. Will Robinson was a force inside for the winners with 21 points (13-18 FT) and 11 rebounds, while McClease added six points off the bench. Virgil Fleming tossed in 14 for the Firebirds, who were the superior shooters (46%-35%) and dominated the paint (42-20) but were outclassed from beyond the arc (8-17 to 4-18) and at the line (24-31 to 11-21). Mercy will take on second-seeded Daemen in Saturday’s semifinals at the same UDC Sports Complex.
LIU POST 73 BRIDGEPORT 68 (OT)
Dillon Burns’ 3-pointer with 4:05 remaining in overtime put 4-seed LIU Post ahead for good and sparked a crucial 11-2 run that fueled a quarterfinal win over fifth-seeded Bridgeport at the Pratt Center, clinching a semifinal appearance vs. top-seeded St. Thomas Aquinas on Saturday in D.C. It was looking quite bleak for the Pioneers after Devon Elliott’s triple with 3:18 to go gave the Purple Knights a 59-51 lead, but a 9-1 burst over a 1:14 stretch, capped by a Jared Hall trey with 1:31 on the clock, knotted the count at 60-60. Neither team could muster a point the rest of regulation, but LIU Post shot 8-12 from the line in the bonus round to bolster its cause. Greg Dotson recorded 22 points and nine rebounds while playing all 45 minutes for the Pioneers, with Hall (17, 6), Burns (11 points, four assists) and Barrington Alston (seven points and rebounds, including two key buckets during the key run late in regulation) providing quality depth. Elliott topped the P-Knights’ scorecard with 18 points (3-5 from deep), and he was flanked by Antoine Brown (12 points off the bench), Kyle Benjamin (11 points, six boards) and Ernest Rouse, who netted 11 points, including #1,000 in his final career contest. Post shot much better overall (46%-33%), though not from distance (6-20 to 9-21), and was a force in the paint (32-10) as well as on the glass (51-32, leading to a 14-3 edge in second-chance scoring). Bridgeport stayed close thanks to a 21-9 turnover edge. All four ECC semifinalists hail from New York.
SOUTHERN NEW HAMPSHIRE 75 ST. ANSELM 59
The second “Battle of Manchester” in eight days was a lot more one-sided than the last double-overtime buzzer-beater, but Southern New Hampshire prevailed once more, limiting St. Anselm to season lows in scoring (59 points, more than 27 points off its seasonal average) and shooting (39%) in the two rivals’ first-ever meeting in the NE-10 Tournament, and first postseason encounter since the 1993 NCAA Regionals across the river. The Penmen never trailed in this one, breaking away from the only tie (4-4) with 10 straight points and constructing as much as a 39-20 cushion before settling for a 43-28 halftime advantage. The Hawks came no closer than 13 after the break (45-32), as a 14-3 upswing quickly boosted the lead to 59-35 and the defending regional champs were never threatened thereafter in capturing their fourth straight win, three coming against two of the region's top three clubs. Rodney Sanders set the tone early for SNHU and finished with 22 points and six rebounds. Chris Walters (16, 8) and Adrian Oliveira (career-high 14 points) also made impacts for the visitors, who held St. A’s to a mere 3-22 from beyond the arc while shooting 6-19 themselves. Mike McCahey and Victor Joshua generated 14 points apiece in a losing cause, with the latter senior adding seven boards and six assists to his ledger. Chris Braley chipped in with a dozen points. The Penmen will play at Bentley on Saturday for the tourney title.
BENTLEY 89 STONEHILL 84
The threes were flying at the Dana Center as Bentley snapped a five-game losing streak to fellow Massachusetts foe Stonehill, punching its ticket to the championship game. Tyler McFarland was the man of the hour for the Falcons, amassing 28 points (10-10 FT), 11 rebounds and career-high seven assists in 39 error-free minutes, surpassing Jason Westrol as the #2 scorer in program history in the process. The two teams were separated by no more than five points over the last 10:47 of the opening half and first 12:52 of the second (nearly 24 minutes total) before Keegan Hyland 3-pointers on consecutive possessions capped a 15-2 surge that transformed a 60-56 deficit into a 71-62 lead with 6:18 to play. Bentley stretched the divide to 77-67 after two McFarland free throws at the 4:37 mark, but the Skyhawks – who landed all five of their starters in double figures and received only one bench point – made a late push, drawing within three twice in the waning moments, the last time being 87-84 following a trifecta by Adam Bramanti (19 points, 6-7 from 3) with four ticks remaining. They would get no closer, however, as McFarland – one of the nation’s premier foul shooters – calmly sank the icing tosses one second later. Hyland chalked up 16 of his 20 points after halftime and dished out six assists for Bentley, while Ferguson Duke (16 points, 4-6 from downtown Waltham) and Alex Furness (11 points) provided solid support. Ryan Logan notched 22 points for Stonehill, which also received fine individual efforts from Isaiah Bess (16 points, seven rebounds), Pierce Cumpstone (14 points, 4-8 from deep, 11 caroms, five blocks) and Carter Smith (12 points, nine assists). Both teams made more than half of their long-range attempts (BU 16-31, SC 17-32), with the 33 combined makes establishing a new NE-10 Tournament record (Stonehill and Adelphi set the previous mark three days earlier on Long Island). Both sides also authored sensational assist-turnover ratios (BU 20/9, SC 19/7). The Skyhawks were more effective on second chances (16-8) while the Falcons did more damage at the stripe (15-19 to 7-12). They will host Southern New Hampshire in Saturday afternoon’s tourney title tilt.
POLL POSITIONS
The final regional rankings have been released, through last Sunday’s games, and there’s very little change (last week’s rankings appear in parentheses):
- St. Anselm (1)
- Holy Family (2)
- Southern Connecticut (3)
- Stonehill (4)
- Bentley (6)
- St. Thomas Aquinas (7)
- Philadelphia (5)
- Southern New Hampshire (9)
- Adelphi (8)
- Merrimack (10)
Next Sunday, a few hours after the conclusion of the ECC tournament championship, the regional committee will announce this year's NCAA seedings.
There are no regional teams in the latest NABC Division 2 Coaches’ Poll, as St. Anselm slipped out from #21 and is now receiving votes along with Holy Family. West Liberty (WV) reclaims the #1 spot.