It took an extra day, but the last puzzle piece to the NCAA Division 2 Elite-8 has finally materialized:
ST. THOMAS AQUINAS 69 SAINT ROSE 66
Justin Reyes converted the go-ahead 3-point play with 1:41 to go and fifth-seeded St. Thomas Aquinas nailed seven straight free throws down the stretch in holding off former NAIA and CACC rival Saint Rose in snowy Syracuse to capture its first NCAA East Regional championship, punching its ticket to next week’s Elite-8 in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. The Spartans – who have now won nine straight and become the first non-NE10 team ever to go 7-0 vs. that power conference in a season – used their pressure to open up a 12-2 lead just over two minutes into the contest before going over six minutes without scoring another point. The Golden Knights – who struggled from the floor all game (39% compared to STAC’s 46%) – could not draw even the rest of the period and saw a 34-26 halftime deficit extend to a game-high 42-30 gap after a Chaz Watler 3-pointer early in the second half. Tyler Sayre then rattled off 11 of his 26 points during a 21-4 Saint Rose attack that saw the #3 seed grab its largest lead – 51-46 – after a Chris Dorgler triple with 9:56 left. Aquinas battled back to force ties at 56 and 60 before a Dorgler lay-up gave the Knights their last lead at 62-60 with 2:07 remaining. Reyes responded with his huge “And-1” 26 seconds later, then added two more foul shots at the 1:04 mark following a missed Jack Jones trey, giving the Spartans a 65-62 advantage. Dorgler scored again to make it a one-point game but James Mitchell was sent to the line and sank both of his attempts with 32 seconds to play, restoring the three-point margin at 67-64. Dorgler misfired on a tying 3-point attempt, but Jones (four points off the bench) followed it home with 18 seconds on the clock to make things tight yet again. Mitchell was fouled once more and connected twice to provide the final points as a deep 3-point try to tie by Mical-Ryan Boyd (six points) was off the mark just before the final horn. Reyes – who was named regional MVP – amassed 26 points, 13 rebounds and four blocked shots for the winners, who also landed Watler (15 points, 4-5 from beyond the arc) and Shaq McFarlan (11 in a reserve role) in double figures. Sayre notched 18 of his 26 points after intermission while pulling down seven rebounds in his final collegiate contest, finishing as the program’s #4 all-time scorer (1,825). Fellow lefty senior Dorgler bowed out with 12 points, seven boards and four assists for the Golden Knights, who won the glass (36-31) and outscored STAC 12-5 on second chances, to no avail. The loss was the first for Saint Rose in four NCAA regional finals (they won in 1996, 1998 and 1999), and this was the first all-New York regional championship match-up since Saint Rose outlasted then-NYCAC foe Adelphi, 72-67, at UAlbany in 1999. St. Thomas Aquinas will be seeded seventh in the national quarterfinals and will take on second-seeded and NABC #1 Northwest Missouri State at 6 pm next Wednesday at the Sanford Pentagon. The other games feature Fairmont State (WV) vs. Rollins (FL), Bellarmine (KY) vs. Colorado School of Mines and Lincoln Memorial (TN) vs. Chico State (CA). St. Thomas Aquinas will try to snap a 28-year dry spell for our region since Lowell won the 1988 National Championship. Here is a list of all the East Regional Champions since the old New England and East regions merged in 1994:
Year champion runner-up score site
2017 St. Thomas Aquinas Saint Rose 69-66 Le Moyne
2016 Stonehill St. Anselm 82-76 (OT) Holy Family
2015 Southern NH Southern Conn 75-58 AIC
2014 Southern Conn St. Anselm 78-72 SCSU
2013 Franklin Pierce Bridgeport 57-52 SNHU
2012 Stonehill Bloomfield 75-70 Assumption
2011 Bloomfield Bentley 75-71 Bentley
2010 Bentley Philadelphia 81-69 Stonehill
2009 C.W. Post Bentley 82-76 C.W. Post
2008 Bentley Assumption 88-72 Bentley
2007 Bentley Bryant 63-54 Bentley
2006 Stonehill UMass-Lowell 89-80 Stonehill
2005 Bryant Bentley 74-64 Bentley
2004 UMass-Lowell Bryant 63-62 UMass-Lowell
2003 UMass-Lowell C.W. Post 79-69 UMass-Lowell
2002 Adelphi Assumption 77-56 Old Westbury
2001 Adephi St. Michael’s 78-64 Old Westbury
2000 St. Anselm Adelphi 76-72 Southern Conn
1999 Saint Rose Adelphi 72-67 UAlbany
1998 Saint Rose Stonehill 97-87 (2 OT) Siena
1997 Southern Conn New Hampshire Col 80-61 New Hampshire Col
1996 Saint Rose St. Anselm 87-76 New Hampshire Col
1995 New Hampshire Col Philadelphia 64-62 New Hampshire Col
1994 New Hampshire Col Philadelphia 79-78 (2 OT) St. Joseph’s
- 2017 marks the first year that both the men's and women's regional champions will be ECC teams. It is also the first time in this region's history (since the 1994 incorporation) that both champions will represent New York State.
- NE10 teams had won 12 of the last 14 regional titles prior to 2017.
- This year marks the seventh time in eight years that the host school will not be the regional champ after a stretch of 10 hosts winning over the prior 12 years.
- This year marks the nine different host site in as many years.
- This is also the first matchup of former NAIA programs, and the first match-up of New York State teams since Saint Rose beat Adelphi in 1999.
- New Hampshire College is now named Southern New Hampshire and C.W. Post is now designated as LIU Post.
- Bloomfield (2011) is the only CACC team to win a championship.
- Bloomfield (2011) and C.W. Post (2009) are the only regional champs during this stretch that have never been affiliated with the NE10 in basketball.
- New Hampshire College is the last school to three-peat (1993-95).
- Bryant (2005) is the only regional representative during this stretch to reach the national championship game, falling to Virginia Union in North Dakota.
- Adelphi in 2001, Bentley in 2008 and C.W. Post in 2009 are the only teams during this stretch to win the regional championship with undefeated seasonal records, each falling in the first round of the Elite-8; the latter two having been matched up with the only other undefeated teams in the nation (Winona State in ’08, Findlay in ’09).