The Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference playoffs got underway on Tuesday, and nearly everything went according to the chalk, with one notable exception:
SCIENCES 72 BLOOMFIELD 63
Brendan Crawford amassed 22 points (11-14 FT) and career-high 13 rebounds, while fellow big man Will Gregorits racked up 20 points (6-9 FG, 8-8 FT), 11 boards and five assists as University of the Sciences – the four seed in the South – stunned North Division champ Bloomfield at The Den, handing the Bears their first-ever home playoff loss since joining the NCAA ranks in 2003. Playing each other for the fourth time over the last six seasons in the quarterfinal round, the game was an old-fashioned rock fight, with the defense several steps ahead of the offense all night, and neither team separated by more than a single possession over the first 17:43. A 10-0 run – capped by back-to-back Paddy Casey 3-pointers – flipped an 18-15 deficit into a 25-18 advantage for the Devils with 2:16 to play in the opening half… a lead the visitors would never relinquish. The Bears came as close as 29-27 just over four minutes into the final frame before a Crawford three to beat the shot clock sparked a 9-2 spurt and expanded USciences’ lead to 38-29. It was a 44-40 game approaching the five-minute mark when Casey banged another huge trifecta, and the Devils eventually extended the margin to 12 (62-50) on a Flo Da-Silva breakaway dunk with 57 seconds left, and Crawford knocked down 10-of-12 from the stripe over the last 1:07 to keep the hosts at arm’s length as Bloomfield poured in 13 points over the final 55 seconds but failed to gain any traction. Casey posted 14 points (4-7 from long range) for Sciences, which shot better overall (43%-35%), from beyond the arc (5-11 to 4-22) and at the foul line (23-28 to 11-20), while winning the glass, 48-35. Safee Abdus-Sabur topped the Bears’ scorecard with 16 points, though he missed four straight foul shots in crunch time. Keith Washington posted all 14 of his points over the last 9:09 and added five assists in a losing effort, while Rakwan Kelly managed 12 points and seven rebounds. The defenses were so dominant, two teams’ top scoring threats were held to six points: Nick Davidson (2-16 FG, 0-6 from deep) and Flo Da-Silva (3-13 FG, 0-3 from 3). USciences advances to play at Jefferson in Saturday’s CACC Tournament Semifinals while Bloomfield – which won the turnover battle, 19-10 – now awaits its fate for a possible NCAA Tournament bid.
JEFFERSON 75 CALDWELL 70
Jefferson survived a late scare from Caldwell to prevail in Philadelphia and take advantage of home court in this weekend’s semis. Kylan Guerra recorded 23 points (10-12 FT) in 40 minutes of a foul-plagued game as the Rams only trailed once (6-5) before constructing a 50-29 cushion early in the second half. The Cougars showed great character, however, and stormed back, chiseling a 67-49 deficit inside of the seven-minute mark down to one (71-70) thanks to a 21-4 tear, Ahmad Harrison (three points, four steals) was fouled with 41 seconds remaining and had a chance to equalize at the line but only made the second toss, maintaining the hosts’ razor-thin advantage. The next possession was critical as Kaison Randolph missed a 3-pointer but Yevgen Sakhniuk (six points, 3-3 FG, six rebounds, seven assists) followed it home to make it a 73-70 game with 18 seconds to go. Derek Dorn missed a potential trying trey and seldom-used Kareem Matthew was fouled. The rookie guard - who had played a total of 11 minutes all season - came up big under pressure, converting the clinching free throws with 4.5 seconds on the clock, doubling his collegiate scoring output. Alexander Gorton churned out 21 points for Jefferson, which also received 10 points and five assists from Randolph. Vaughn Covington was high man for Caldwell with 18 points and four helpers off the bench, while Dorn (14 points, six rebounds), Ruud Lutterman (12 points on 6-of-8 shooting) and Eric Johnson-Alford (11 points) also made their presences felt. The Cougars were vastly superior in the paint (40-18) and punished the Rams 23-6 off turnovers, but a poor 12-of-23 performance at the line (JU was 23-29) torpedoed their chances for the upset. Jefferson – which will host USciences in Saturday night’s semifinals – was also more prolific from long distance (10-23 to 4-11) in snapping Caldwell’s five-game win streak.
GOLDEY-BEACOM 87 FELICIAN 80
On the day he was named CACC Player of the Year, Corey Taite compiled 28 points, nine rebounds and five assists to lead Goldey-Beacom past Felician at the Joseph West Jones Center, clinching the program’s second straight 20-win season to tie a club record. An 18-7 flurry over the last 4:15 of the first half transformed a 31-25 deficit into a 43-38 advantage, and the teams two-stepped through the majority of the second stanza, the margin bouncing between three and eight until a 12-3 surge increased a 66-62 lead to 78-65 with 3:11 to play. Backup senior forward Chandler Levingston Simon (six points) kicked off the run with a lay-up and topped it off with two foul shots as the visitors never came closer than the seven-point final spread thereafter. Mahir Johnson returned to the starting lineup in style, registering 22 points (7-11 FG, 4-5 from long range), while point guard Isiah Graves dropped a dozen for the Lightning, which won despite being outshot (50%-44%), outrebounded (42-28 including 20-9 on the offensive end) and out-assisted (20-9). Goldey made up for those disparities with near-perfect foul shooting (17-18 compared to FU’s 9-12) and taking much better care of the basketball (eight turnovers compared to 20 for FU). Terrell Spaulding collected 29 points (11-18 FG, 4-7 from deep) and 12 rebounds to front Felician, with notable support from Zamir Wright (17 points, six rebounds, five assists), Gjaimeir Stanford (14 points in his final game) and Rahsaan Williams (10 points, seven caroms). The Lightning advances to a semifinal encounter with Dominican on Saturday at Jefferson.
DOMINICAN 86 WILMINGTON 57
That’s because in Orangeburg, Dominican doubled up Wilmington in a dominant second-half, 56-28, punching its ticket to the semifinals vs. Goldey-Beacom. The Chargers trailed just twice on the night (26-25 and 29-28) before Daniel Grant (17 points) scored the final hoop of the half with 1:09 left to provide a slim 30-29 lead. It remained tight past the midway mark of the second (53-48 under nine minutes) before the hosts closed out the contest with a 33-9 blitz over the last 8:59 to provide the misleading final. Sayon Charles (16 points, six rebounds) returned to form and lit the fuse for the big finish while at the foul line. He was flanked by Tyjon Gilmore (13 points in a reserve capacity, 5-7 FG, 3-4 from 3), Jonathan Garcia (seven points, 10 rebounds, five assists) and Farouk Brimah, who made the most of his two-minute bench outing, making all three of his shot attempts and garnering a personal-best eight points. Newly-dubbed CACC Rookie of the Year Jermaine Head powered the Wildcats with 22 points and four assists, followed by Nick Richards (16 points and nine rebounds despite 6-of-19 shooting in his collegiate finale) and Miles Gillette (11 points, 3-4 from 3, six boards). Dominican held distinct advantages in shooting (49%-34%) and assists (16-6) while also scoring much more frequently in the paint (38-20), on second chances (19-5) and off turnovers (19-5).
RANK AND FILE
Bridgeport is the lone regional team in the new NABC/Division 2 Top 25 Coaches’ Poll, climbing a spot to #16. Le Moyne drops from #22 back to Receiving Votes. Lincoln Memorial (TN) retains the #1 spot. The new Regional Rankings will be released later this afternoon, though these games will not be reflected in the numbers.