The CACC dominated the action on Tuesday, but we kick off the recap with the last crossover contest of the regular season – and a good one, to boot:
NEW HAVEN 85 BLOOMFIELD 80 (OT)
Derrick Rowland eclipsed his career high with 26 points and eight rebounds off the bench, while Danny Upchurch contributed 22 points (9-14 FG, 4-7 from long range), including the go-ahead lay-up with 1:37 to play in overtime, leading New Haven past Bloomfield in an ersatz “bracket-buster” game at Charger Gym. In a game that featured 15 ties, 10 lead changes and nothing more than a five-point spread over the final 21:22, Rowland knotted the count at 70-70 with a 3-pointer at the 2:45 mark of the second half, and neither team was able to muster a solitary point the rest of regulation as Keith Washington and Rowland each missed triple tries within the final three seconds. Washington – who finished with 22 points, six rebounds and four assists – did drain a trey with 3:15 left in OT, giving the Bears a 77-74 lead, but the Chargers countered with an 11-3 surge to take control at 85-80, then hit five of six at the foul line over the last 24 seconds to put a bow on it. Upchurch added five assists for the winners, who also received a strong outing from Kessly Felizor (18 points, 7-9 FG, 11 rebounds). Safee Abdus-Sabur (3-4 from 3) and Nacho Diez each tossed in 13 points for Bloomfield, which saw its five-game win streak come to an end. The Bears – who clinched the CACC North after an overtime win on Saturday at Jefferson – was more efficient from beyond the arc (12-23 to 9-27) but was outrebounded (39-31), outscored 17-4 on second chances and outworked in the paint, 48-28.
CHESTNUT HILL 79 WILMINGTON 77
Liban Awl’s free throws with 34 seconds remaining were the difference in Chestnut Hill’s upset of Wilmington in Newark. The reserve junior guard registered 20 points (7-12 FG, 4-6 from deep) and Chris Evans 19 for the Griffins, who built a 41-28 lead late in the first half and were still ahead 50-41 early in the second before the Wildcats initiated a 20-3 tear, capped by two Shawn Church free throws at the 8:50 mark, to surge ahead 61-53. The margin increased to 66-57 inside of seven minutes when Tony Toplyn, Jr. converted a traditional 3-point play to spark a 16-4 run and give the visitors a 73-70 advantage with 2:40 to go. After ties at 75 and 77, Awl sank his two tosses and the Cats misfired on no fewer than four shot attempts over the final 23 seconds to come up a bucket short. Toplyn collected a career-high 18 points along with nine rebounds and four blocked shots (his third straight game with four swats) for the winners, who also placed Demetrius Isaac (10 points, seven assists) in double figures. Jermaine Head compiled 26 points, seven rebounds and eight helpers to lead Wilmington, with Church (21 points, seven rebounds, five steals) and Miles Gillette (17 points, 14 boards) providing strong support in a losing effort. Chestnut Hill was the more accurate shooting club (50%-41%), especially from long distance (8-18 to 7-27), neutralizing glaring disparities in the paint (30-14), on the glass (42-35), on second chances (23-12) and off turnovers (18-7). The Wildcats maintain third place in the South Division.
GOLDEY-BEACOM 79 SCIENCES 73
University of the Sciences remains just a half-game back of Wilmington and has clinched the final playoff spot in the South despite falling in Philly to red-hot Goldey-Beacom in a hard-fought contest. Five players scored in double figures and accounted for 75 of 79 points for the Lightning, which has now won eight straight and increased its division lead to a full game over idle Jefferson. Marcellus Livingston paced the visitors with 22 points (7-12 FG, 5-9 from afar) as Goldey whittled a 29-16 first-half deficit down to 39-36 by intermission thanks to a 20-10 close-out. Seven ties and nine lead swaps ensued over the first 13:19 of the second stanza as neither side could muster more than four points of separation before a Livingston 3-ball provided a 65-60 upper hand with 5:37 on the clock. The lead peaked at 76-70 with just 58 seconds showing, but a triple by Paddy Casey (15 points) eight seconds later shaved the deficit in half. The key possession followed as Corey Taite (14 points) buried a dagger three from the right wing as the shot clock was expiring, restoring the six-point edge with 20 seconds to play and closing out the scoring. Dante Thompson chipped in with 15 points and nine boards for the victors, who also landed Mahir Johnson (14 points off the bench) and Troy Stancil (10) in double digits. Will Gregorits spearheaded the Devils’ attack with 19 points and eight rebounds, while fellow big Brendan Crawford totaled 18 and 12, respectively (7-10 FG). USciences shot a shade better from the floor (50%-48%) and scored more than twice as often on second chances (23-11) but the Lightning was more prolific from 3-point land (11-25 to 5-12) to fuel its triumph, clinching a home playoff game in the process.
CONCORDIA 72 FELICIAN 70
All 12 players recorded field goals, led by Cedric McFadden’s 14-point, four-assist outing, as Concordia snapped a six-game slide and stunned Felician at the Meyer Center. The Golden Falcons – who are still fourth in the North – constructed a 23-10 lead before the Clippers battled back, getting a big lift from freshman forward Alex White, Jr., who enjoyed his best game as a collegian with personal bests of 12 points and seven boards. The final 23:54 was played within a two-possession spread, and the visitors held a 68-63 edge before Concordia used a 9-2 flourish over the last 3:14 to steal the result, getting a tying trey from Jayson Cethoute (six points, six rebounds) with 57 seconds left and winning floater in the lane by Brandon Fields (nine points) with 3.3 seconds remaining for his second game-winner vs. a New Jersey team at home in a month (he hit a half-court shot at the buzzer vs. Caldwell on January 15). Felician – which was paced by Terrell Spaulding’s 21 points (8-12 FG, 5-9 from downtown Bronxville) and 11 rebounds – had one last chance to win, but Zamir Wright’s desperation heave was off the mark, closing out his fine line of 18 points on 7-of-12 shooting and 4-of-7 from long range. Gjaimeir Stanford also produced 18 points in defeat for the Golden Falcons, who fell despite outshooting their hosts from the floor (48%-40%) and outgunning them from distance (13-32 to 6-23). Concordia made up for those deficiencies by scoring more in the paint (34-16), at the line (12-5) and off turnovers (18-4).
DOMINICAN 67 POST 59
Felician and Post are battling for the league's last available playoff berth, though the latter team remains a long shot, down two games in the loss column (essentially three games due to an unfavorable head-to-head tiebreaker) after falling to Dominican in Orangeburg. Daniel Grant generated 26 points, including a tiebreaking trifecta with 14:32 to go that sparked a 9-0 spurt and gave the Chargers a 47-38 lead they would not relinquish. The Eagles got as close as 52-50 on a jumper by Tamas Okros (10 points, seven rebounds in a reserve role) with 7:29 on the clock, but Grant knocked down four straight foul shots (he was 11-15 from the stripe) to jump-start a 15-7 surge that put the game on ice at 67-57 with 30 seconds to play. Ian Gardener delivered 21 points and eight rebounds for second-place Dominican, which fared better at the foul line (18-23 to 10-14), the most glaring statistical advantage of the night. Tyler Desrosiers topped the Post scorecard with 17 points and six assists off the bench. He was flanked by Joseph Lockwood (12 points) and Darrick Boyd (11 points, eight boards). Both teams were miserable from beyond the arc (DC 3-14, PU 1-13).
CALDWELL 79 NYACK 59
For the first time all season, Caldwell has achieved a winning record, using a 34-5 blitz over the first 11:24 of the second half to fuel a blowout of Nyack at the Newman Center. The third-place Cougars got out of the gates slowly, falling behind 19-8 en route to a 30-28 halftime deficit. However, all cylinders were firing when the game restarted as the hosts held the Warriors without a field goal for over nine minutes and engineered a 62-35 chasm after an Ahmad Harrison lay-up with 8:36 left. Nyack came no closer than 16 points thereafter, despite strong efforts from Imran Ritchie (19 points, 7-11 FG, 4-5 from deep, six assists) and Deandre Osuigwe (13 points, 4-8 from 3). Harrison was high man for Caldwell with 18 points (7-12 FG) and six rebounds, followed by Eric Johnson-Alford (14 points, 6-8 FG, eight boards), Vaughn Covington (14 points off the bench) and Ruud Lutterman (10 points, eight rebounds, two blocks). The Warriors were the superior long-distance shooters (10-26 to 4-19) but were outworked at the stripe (19-25 to 5-13), in the paint (42-22), on the glass (43-26, including 17-6 on the offensive end) and on second chances (22-2).
HOLY FAMILY 82 GEORGIAN COURT 70
The region’s longest losing streak now belongs to idle New York Institute of Technology (11 games) after Holy Family ended a 12-game dry spell with a wire-to-wire triumph over Georgian Court in Lakewood, extinguishing its hosts’ flickering hopes for their inintial playoff berth. Maliq Sanders posted 24 points and six rebounds for the Tigers, who jumped out to a 13-3 lead on the way to a 48-36 bulge at the break. The Lions came as close as 59-53 near the midway mark of the second half before a Mekhi Bryant triple launched a game-defining 16-2 spell, increasing the Tigers’ lead to an insurmountable 75-55 with 5:38 remaining. An 11-1 counter-run slashed the deficit in half (76-66) with 2:20 to go, but a Sanders 3-ball restored order for the visitors, who did more damage from distance (10-28 to 4-15) and the foul line (14-21 to 6-13), offsetting a 39-34 rebounding disparity that fed Georgian Court’s 20-8 second-chance scoring advantage. Terrel Jones came up big with 20 points and nine boards for the Tigers, with ample support from Bryant (18 points, 4-7 from 3) and Jalen Thompson (11 points, 10 rebounds, two rejections). Sean Barksdale posted 14 points for the Lions, who also placed Jermaine Carter (12 points, eight boards) and Nikola Vujovic (11, 8) in twin figures, though it was not enough to prevent a fourth consecutive setback.
RANK AND FILE
Two regional teams now populate the NABC/Division 2 Top 25 Coaches' Poll. Bridgeport moves up a couple of spots to #18 while Le Moyne re-enters at #25. Lincoln Memorial (TN) retains the top spot. The first official regional rankings of the season will be released later this afternoon and will be included in tomorrow's report.