For the first time since 1999, the regional championship will be an all-New York affair. Here’s the recap of Sunday’s semifinal action in Syracuse:
ST. THOMAS AQUINAS 76 MERRIMACK 73
Justin Reyes’ traditional 3-point play with 2:02 to play gave St. Thomas Aquinas the lead for good, and the Spartans held off a furious Merrimack charge in the waning seconds to claim their first-ever spot in the national Sweet 16 since joining the NCAA ranks in 2000. The back-to-back ECC Player of the Year came up huge yet again, totaling 24 points (10-14 FG) and 11 rebounds for STAC, which trailed the majority of the first half, and by as many as 11 points on four occasions, before closing out the period with a 7-0 flourish to inch within 39-37. A 10-0 spurt – sparked by a Reyes put-back – flipped a 43-39 deficit into a 49-43 lead just about five minutes into the final frame, and then a 10-1 upswing extended a 54-53 edge to 64-54 following a Shaq McFarlan jumper with 8:28 left. The Warriors refused to go down without a fight, however, using a 15-4 charge, highlighted by tying and go-ahead triples from Troy McLaughlin (at 3:03 and 2:28 respectively) to nose in front, 69-68. Reyes was then fouled on his finger roll lay-up and converted the “And-1” to make it 71-69 and St. Thomas never relinquished the lead. Ryan Boulter (17 points) was fouled with 49 ticks remaining but could only split his free throw attempts, leaving his team a point behind. Reyes scored inside one more time to make it a 73-70 game with 25 seconds to go, and Boulter missed a tying trey. The Spartans had a golden opportunity to seal the deal at the stripe with 10 seconds on the clock, but McFarlan (all 10 points in the second half, plus seven rebounds in a reserve role) misfired on both of his attempts, leaving the door open. Merrimack hustled upcourt but Juvaris Hayes (four points, nine assists) was short on a top-of-the-key three. Anthony Barry – who racked up 19 points and eight rebounds in his final collegiate outing – snagged the offensive rebound on the baseline, dribbled out to the corner and fired up a turnaround 3-pointer that hit the front rim as time expired, giving the Warriors their only loss in 17 games all season in which they held their opponent under 80 points. James Mitchell contributed 16 points (6-9 FG) and eight assists for Aquinas, which captured its eighth straight win and 17th in 18 games. McLaughlin finished with 16 points (4-7 from deep) for Merrimack, which was the slightly better shooting club (47%-45%) and much more efficient from beyond the arc (9-22 to 4-17) while also feasting on the break, 26-11, all to no avail. The Spartans’ pressure led to an 11-4 edge in steals, which aided their cause.
SAINT ROSE 67 SOUTHERN CONNECTICUT 47
The regional final will be the first ever between two former NAIA rivals as Saint Rose joins STAC in Tuesday’s title tilt after smothering Southern Connecticut in a wire-to-wire triumph. Tyler Sayre spearheaded the Golden Knights’ attack with 17 points (7-11 FG), while Mical-Ryan Boyd tossed in 16 on 5-of-7 shooting (4-of-5 from long range). Saint Rose – which was the vastly superior shooting team (54%-34%), especially from distance (7-15 to 6-22) – hung the first 10 points on the board and doubled up the differential by halftime at 38-18. The final 20 minutes provided nothing close to a run for either side as the Knights’ lead peaked at 51-25 on a lay-up by Julian Lipinski (13 points, six rebounds), and bounced between 17 and 22 points over the final 13:33. Chris Dorgler netted seven points for the winners, including the 1,000th of his career as Saint Rose boasted the stronger assist-turnover ratio (18/11 to 10-14), offsetting a 32-28 rebounding disparity that led to Southern scoring 15 of the game’s 20 second-chance points. Still, the Owls could get nothing going against the stifling Golden Knights’ defense as they mustered a season-low 47 points just 24 hours after tallying a season-best 109. Michael Mallory – who was smothered all night – closed out his brilliant career with 11 points (4-18 FG, 1-7 from 3) for an NE10-record 2,515. Jerry Luckett, Jr. also dropped 11 in a losing effort. This marks Saint Rose’s first trip to the regional final since 1999, when they topped then-NYCAC rival Adelphi 72-67 at UAlbany. That also marked the last time that two Empire State schools squared off in the championship game until this season. The Golden Knights are looking to become the 13th NE10 team in the last 15 years to reach the Elite-8, while STAC is bidding to become the first ECC club to turn the trick since C.W. Post (now LIU Post) in 2009. Both finalists were members of the Central Athletic Collegiate Conference before it went NCAA in 2004.