The NCAA East Regional bracket blew up in Syracuse on Saturday, with three of the four lower seeds winning for the first time since the eight-team format came into play. Here's how it all shook out:
MERRIMACK 72 Le MOYNE 68 (OT)
For the second consecutive season, the #8 seed upended the host school as Merrimack outlasted Le Moyne in an overtime thriller. Ryan Boulter's corner 3-pointer just over a minute into the extra session provided the 19th and final lead change, putting the Warriors ahead to stay at 66-65, and his two free throws with 20 seconds left proved the decisive blows, making it 72-67 and essentially ending the drama. The Dolphins rattled off 10 straight in the first half to open up the largest spread of the game at 21-13 but their NE10 foes and first-time NCAA opponents battled back with a 24-10 upswing spanning the halves to surge in front 37-31 just over four minutes into the final frame. Dan Kaigler's traditional 3-point play and lay-up sparked a 10-4 spurt to even things out at 41-41 and the game was played, amazingly, within one possession from the 15:16 stage of the second half until the final 20 seconds of OT, with 10 lead changes and three ties over the last 10:23 of regulation alone, the last one coming on a Stan Buczek corner triple with 8.8 seconds to play. Juvaris Hayes - who stuffed the stat sheet with 21 points (3-4 from deep), six rebounds, seven assists and four steals - missed a potential winning trey at the buzzer, forcing OT. Buczek - who closed out his career with 17 points (5-7 FG) and 12 rebounds - scored on his third put-back to open up the bonus round, setting up Boulter's bomb and a baby hook by Anthony Barry (all 12 points off the bench and after halftime) that made it 68-65. Boulter finished with 20 points (despite 3-13 shooting from 3) and nine rebounds for Merrimack, which was the lesser of two evils from beyond the arc (8-24 to 5-28) and scored nearly twice as often off turnovers (15-8) despite committing three more (15-12). Kaigler was strong off the bench for the Dolphins with 17 points on 7-of-8 shooting. Merrimack will take on St. Thomas Aquinas in Sunday's semifinals. Last year, Holy Family became the region's first #1 seed to fall to a #8, with Southern New Hampshire pulling the upset.
SOUTHERN CONNETICUT 109 SOUTHERN NEW HAMPSHIRE 97
The first surprise of the regional came a couple of hours earlier as Southern Connecticut - a longshot just to make the field and playing without suspended point guard Joey Wallace and head coach Scott Burrell - raced past old NECC rival Southern New Hampshire in a foul-plagued, high-scoring affair. Michael Mallory shook off a poor start (missing nine of his first 10 shots) and dominated the day in amassing 42 points (14-27 FG, 7-14 from long range) while obliterating Drew Adderly's NE10 career scoring record in the process. The senior guard - who now stands at 2,504 points - was responsible for 11 straight Owls points during a 14-5 surge that snapped a 37-37 tie and put the 7 seed ahead 51-42 with 2:06 remaining in the half. His trifecta just over five minutes into the final frame triggered an 11-2 run that expanded a 71-62 lead to 82-64 with 11:56 to go, but the Penmen staged a late comback attempt, pulling within 91-85 after a steal and slam by Dimitri Floras (21 points) with just over five minutes on the clock. They would get no closer, however, as Isaiah McLeod (19 points) sank a pair of free throws to set in motion a 9-3 jaunt to open things up at 102-90. Jerry Luckett, Jr. matched his personal best with 30 points (8-12 FG, 13-16 FT) for Southern, which dominated the glass (45-24, including 15-4 on the offensive end) and defeated SNHU in the NCAAs for the second time in three all-time meetings (the last win was at the Fieldhouse in 1997 en route to the regional title). Devin Gilligan was brilliant in defeat, equaling his career highs in scoring (31) and assists (five) while shooting 9-of-13 from the floor and 11-of-12 from the stripe and hauling in seven rebounds in his collegiate swan song. Chris Walters totaled 21 points (16 after halftime) and seven boards as well, including 9-of-10 foul shooting. The interminable game was marred by an absurd 57 fouls and 73 free-throw attempts, the former total ranking second in NCAA Tournament history behind a 61-foul game in 1983 between District of Columbia and Wright State. Both teams shot well from the floor (SCSU 55%, SNHU 54%) and posted nearly identical numbers at the line (SCSU 27-36, SNHU 27-37). The 109 points allowed were the most by SNHU since a 111-89 setback to Southern Indiana at the 1994 Elite-8 in Springfield. The Owls will play another NE10 rival - Saint Rose - in the semifinals.
SAINT ROSE 94 BLOOMFIELD 58
The two upsets were bookended by two blowouts as Saint Rose kicked off the action with a dominant demolition of Bloomfield, connecting on nine of its first 10 shots and landing 13 of 14 players in the score column. Chris Dorgler spearheaded the Golden Knights' attack with 19 points (7-11 FG, 3-5 from distance), nine rebounds, four assists and three steals as his team never trailed, using a 15-0 spell to open up a 24-7 lead. The Bears - who received 11 points and six rebounds apiece from Chiedozie Akawuaku and Nick Davidson - came within 11 points three times in the early stages of the second half, including 47-36 after a hoop by Marcus Fleming (10points, eight rebounds) with 14:18 to play. But the wheels fell off soon after as Damon Coleman was fouled attempting a desparation 3-pointer and nailed all three freebies, and Jack Jones (13 points off the bench) buried top-of-the-key threes on three straight possessions in boosting the lead to 72-47 with 7:03 left, part of a 47-22 game-closing blitz that afforded Saint Rose its most lopsided NCAA victory and 25 wins for the first time since the Final Four year of 1998-99. Mical-Ryan Boyd (13 points) and Tyler Sayre (10 points, eight boards) rounded out the Knights' double-figure scorers as their team vastly outshot (57%-31%), outrebounded (44-29) and out-assisted (24-7) Bloomfield, scoring three times as often from beyond the arc (12-26 to 4-21) and becoming the only higher seed to survive the regional's quarterfinal round.
ST. THOMAS AQUINAS 91 ST. ANSELM 72
It was sweet revenge for St. Thomas Aquinas, which closed out the day's action by thumping St. Anselm, the team that ousted the Spartans from last year's regional semifinals in Philadelphia. Two-time ECC Player of the Year Justin Reyes - who was forced to sit out last year's match-up due to a suspension from that ugly postgame brawl against Southern Connecticut - played like a man possessed, racking up 32 points (12-19 FG) and 15 rebounds as STAC never trailed, dominating tempo and style in racing out to a 33-15 lead. It shrunk to 44-31 after back-to-back triples from Tim Guers (14 points) and Cody Ball (17) to end the half, but the Hawks would never get closer over the final 20 minutes. The margin expanded to 79-54 after a fifth three in seven attempts by backup guard Adam Koziol (15 points) with 6:53 left, as Aquinas kept its foot on the pedal. Araon Cust (12 points), James Mitchell (11) and Chaz Watler (10) also reached twin figures for the Spartans, who were much more accurate from 3-point country (11-23 to 8-31) in capturing their seventh straight win. Chris Braley (16 points, 8-10 FG, 11 rebounds) was the bight spot for St. A's in his final game, while Harrison Taggart bowed out with 10 points.