A pair of lower seeds claimed victories in the NCAA's East Regional quarterfinals in Manchester, including a stunning comeback:
ST. THOMAS AQUINAS 61 Le MOYNE 59
In a battle of the last two regional champions, St. Thomas Aquinas rallied from a 19-point second-half deficit to clip defending champ Le Moyne and reach the semifinals for the third time in four years. Trailing 45-26 after a Tom Brown lay-up at the 16:39 mark, the sixth-seeded Spartans embarked on a 35-12 tear, staking themselves to a 61-57 advantage after a Demetre Roberts jumper with 1:44 to play. Kobi Nwandu (10 points) answered with a put-back at the 1:03 juncture, and that would be the last scoring play of the contest as Roberts (13 points) missed the front end of a one-and-one and Malik Garner's potential game-winning 3-pointer from the left wing rimmed out as time expired. The third-seeded Dolphins - who were paced by Brown's 17 points (7-8 FG) and C.J. Asuncion-Byrd's 12 off the bench in his career finale - shot a shade better from the floor (44%-40%) but were uncharacteristically outperformed at the foul ilne (15-18 to 10-17), including two huge front-end misses down the stretch. STAC - which was powered by Osbel Caraballo's 17 points and six rebounds - will face neighbor and archrival Dominican in Sundays' semis.
DOMINICAN 64 MERRIMACK 50
Dominican earned its first NCAA victory in resounding fashion, stifling second-seeded Merrimack in a dominant second half, outscoring the Warriors 28-7 over the first 12:38 of the last stanza, flipping a 26-23 halftime deficit into a 51-33 cushion after a pair of Ian Gardener foul shots; the margin barely budging between 14 and 18 the remainder of the ballgame as Merrimack's run as a Division 2 program came to a bitter end (the team will become a member of the D1 Northeast Conference next fall). The Warriors got off to a quick start, riding four 3-pointers from Ryan Boulter (19 points, 5-8 from 3, seven rebounds in his collegiate finale) in establishing a 23-13 advantage before the Chargers outscored them 10-3 over the last 6:02 of the half, kicking off a 38-10 blitz over a span of 18:40 overall. Jonathan Garcia racked up a career-high 20 points (7-12 FG), 10 rebounds and three blocked shots for Dominican, which also received 13 points and seven boards from Gardener, as well as 11 bench points from Donnell Hill. Juvaris Hayes finished with an unusual double-double of 19 points and 10 rebounds in a losing effort, though he did established NCAA history by becoming the first player EVER at ANY level to amass 600 points, 200 rebounds, 200 assists and 100 steals in a season, eclipsing his own NE10 record with 125 thefts this winter. Dominican - which has a chance to avenge a home loss to St. Thomas Aquinas in Sunday's semis - scored twice as often in the paint (44-22), owned the glass (49-32) and tallied 14 of the game's 15 fast-break points.
ST. ANSELM 81 MOLLOY 71
A 19-4 second-half run carried top-seed St. Anselm past Molloy, spoiling its initial NCAA appearance and first-ever visit to Stoutenburgh Gym. A close game most of the way (St. A's held a slim 30-29 edge at the break), the #20 Hawks were staring at a 35-32 deficit just over two minutes into the final frame when Tim Guers banged a jumper and 3-pointer to commence the upswing, which put the hosts in control at 51-39 with 11:29 on the clock. The Lions - who were fronted by Nick Corbett (21 points), Curtis Jenkins (17 points, nine rebounds) and Mike Torre (13, 6) - came within six points no fewer than seven times down the stretch... the last occurrence at 77-71 following a Jenkins lay-up with 24 ticks remaining. However, Chris Paul (23 points, 11 boards) answered quickly in transition five seconds later, earning the Hawks their first-ever NCAA victory on their home floor. Guers collected 21 points, 15 rebounds and four assists for the winners, who also received 16 points (4-8 from 3) and six rebounds from Cody Ball and made a killing at the stripe (21-29 to 9-12), offsetting a 22-12 disparity on the offensive glass. St. Anselm will face NE10 foe New Haven in the semifinals.
NEW HAVEN 72 DAEMEN 67
Elijah Bailey led a balanced attack with 17 points (9-10 FT), including the uncontested, go-ahead lay-up with 1:13 to go as New Haven slipped past Daemen in the 4-5 game. An 11-2 flourish over the final 3:17 of the first half - capped by Derrick Rowland's buzzer-beating, right-corner three - snappped a 28-28 tie and put the Chargers on top at 39-30. The Wildcats - who were powered by Andrew Sischo's 19 points (8-13 FG) and eight rebounds - opened the second stanza with nine unanswered to draw even, but New Haven countered with a 14-5 surge to open up the game's largest spread at 53-44 following a Rowland free throw with 9:09 to play. Daemen battled back to tie twice. First, at 64-64 on a Sischo lay-up at the 2:27 juncture and again at 66-66 courtesy of a lay-up by Darius Garvin (11 points, seven rebounds off the bench) at 1:40, setting up Bailey's big basket. The Wildcats had four shots to answer but couldn't connvert, though a Sischo free throw with 20 seconds left made it a one-point game. Bailey was fouled and split a pair, and the Chargers' defense came up big in the waning moments as Quashawn Lane (14 points) blocked Garvin's floater, was fouled and made one of two at the stripe with nine seconds remaining to give his team a 70-67 advantage. Jeff Redband (11 points) had a contested look at a corner triple to tie, but it was off the mark and Lane cemented the result at the line with 1.5 seconds on the clock. Roy Kane, Jr. (14 points, 2-2 from deep, eight rebounds) and Rowland (13, 6) rounded out the double-figure scorers for New Haven, which overcame a 34-16 shortfall in the paint. The Wildcats turned it over half as many times (6-12) but were outworked at the foul line (24-29 to 8-12) in their first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance.
CEDARVILLE 64 ROBERTS WESLEYAN 48
In the championship game of the NCCCA Tournament in Winona Lake, Indiana, top-seeded Cedarville (OH) erased a 19-point, first-half deficit to knock off #2 seed Roberts Wesleyan. The Redhawks sprinted out to a 23-4 lead before the Yellow Jackets responded with a 22-3 spree over the last 9:37 of the half to enter the intermission deadlocked at 26-26. They carried that momentum into the second period, using a 10-4 flurry to jump in front 36-30. Back came Roberts, though, nosing in front 46-44 on a Peyton McLaurin 3-ball with 7:59 on the clock. The lead extended to 60-56 inside of four minutes when Cedarville reeled off eight straight - bookended by Colton Linkous 3-pointers - to pull in front 60-56 with 59 seconds left. Four straight free throws over the final 10 seconds kept their former American Mideast Conference rivals at arm's length as the Yellow Jackets were led by Conner Tenhove's 14 points and Linkous' 12 on 4-of-7 long-range shooting. Fope Okuyiga was high man for the Redhawks with 16 points, followed by Jean Toussaint (15 points, 11 rebounds, four steals in his last college game), Justin Vaughan (14 points, four assists) and McLaurin (10, 4 in his swan song).