March Madness officially arrived on Friday with Two NE10 playoff games and two ECC contests with postseason implications. Let’s start with the first two survive-and-advance affairs in New England:
PACE 74 FRANKLIN PIERCE 61
For the first time in over 12 years, Pace earned a playoff victory, controlling Franklin Pierce from start to finish in Rindge to snap a five-game losing streak and advance to the NE10 quarterfinal round. Peyton Wejnert collected 22 points (7-11 FG) and 10 rebounds, with support from Brandon Jacobs (15 points, five assists), Greg Poleon (13 points, eight boards) and Austin Gilbertson (12, 6) as the Setters built a 39-22 halftime bulge and maintained between an 11- and 19-point advantage the entirety of the second period. Sean Fasoyiro (14 bench points) and Jeremy Arthur (13) were the bright spots for the Ravens, who were outshot (46%-35%) and outmuscled in the paint (42-24). Neither team shot well from 3-point range (PU 3-15, FPU 7-29). Pace – which will play at Southwest Division winner Le Moyne on Sunday – last won a postseason contest against that same Dolphins program on February 26, 2007 (79-70), while its last road playoff win came at top-seeded Stonehill on February 23, 1998 (81-78).
SOUTHERN CONNECTICUT 80 STONEHILL 75
The Southwest Division made it a two-game sweep after Southern Connecticut sneaked past Stonehill at Moore Field House, setting up a Sunday encounter with Northeast Division champ St. Anselm. Kealan Ives established a new Southern postseason scoring record with a career-high 37 (13-20 FG, 6-11 from 3) and seven assists, while C.J. Seaforth netted all 16 of his points (3-5 from deep) in the second half as the Owls battled back from a 31-18 first-half deficit, grabbing their first lead of the night at 61-59 on an Ives trifecta with 10:08 to play. Ties ensued at 61, 63 and 65 before Seaforth drained a trey to spark an 8-2 spurt that put the hosts ahead 73-67 with 5:21 left. The Skyhawks – who were powered by Brandon Twitty’s 21 points (7-11 FG, 5-8 from downtown New Haven) – responded with an identical 8-2 flurry to forge the game’s ninth and final tie at 75-75 with 1:07 remaining. Joey Wallace – who only had two points on the night heading into the final minute – connected on a go-ahead 3-pointer with 54 seconds on the clock, and Owen Chose (16 points, four assists) missed a tying triple try, leading to two icing free throws by Ives with 20 seconds to go. Isaiah McLeod chipped in with a dozen points for Southern, while Will Moreton (13 points, 14 rebounds) and Michael Boen (10 points) provided quality depth in defeat for Stonehill. Both teams shot it well (SCSU 50%, SC 51%), and made noise from beyond the arc (SCSUS 12-27, SC 12-23) while boasting near-perfect foul shooting (SCSU 10-11, SC 9-10). The Owls’ previous postseason scoring standard had been Desmond Williams’ 36 vs. Southern New Hampshire on February 28, 2016.
BRIDGEPORT 67 ROBERTS WESLEYAN 62
In the ECC, Bridgeport shook off an ice-cold start and tripped up Roberts Wesleyan in Rochester to claim fourth place and home court throughout the playoffs (UB hosts the tourney semifinals and championship next weekend). Eric Rankin produced 17 points and Bakary Camara 13 for the Purple Knights, who were staring at a 20-4 deficit with just over seven minutes to play in the first half before drawing within 32-24 at intermission. The deficit was 39-32 nearly five minutes into the final frame when Rankin’s 3-pointer and lay-up triggered a game-defining 16-2 run that put the visitors in front for good, 48-41 with 7:26 left. The Redhawks -who received 14 points apiece from Peyton McLaurin (10 rebounds) and Justin Vaughan – whittled the deficit down to 56-55 after a pair of foul shots by Reggie Clark (10 points in 11 bench minutes) at the 2:03 mark, but Rankin once again came through in the clutch with a lay-up and two freebies, initiating an 8-2 flourish that opened Bridgeport’s lead to 64-57 with 24 ticks remaining. Clark’s two tosses with six seconds to go made it a one-possession affair at 65-62, but Camara was immediately fouled and drilled the clinching free throws in a game that was diminished by poor shooting (UB 34%, RWC 37%) and more fouls (44) than baskets (41). Hashem Abbas chalked up 11 points (5-7 FG) and seven rebounds for the Purple Knights, who have won four straight heading into their regular-season finale at Daemen on Sunday. They then will open up their playoff run vs. the same Roberts team at home on Wednesday.
DAEMEN 89 MERCY 69
Just down the Thruway at Lumsden Gym, Daemen clinched a share of the regular-season title and eliminated Mercy from the playoff hunt, riding a huge second-half run to prevail for the 12th time in 13 outings. Reserves Quinn Lee Yaw (career-best 23 points in 23 bench minutes, 9-13 FG, eight rebounds) and Darius Garvin (14 points, 6-8 FG) paved the way for the Wildcats, who trailed 25-12 at the outset and 42-37 by the break before embarking on a 31-6 blitz to transform a 46-42 deficit into a 73-52 lead with 6:29 to go; the margin bouncing between 16 and 22 the balance of the ballgame. Breon Harris (14 points, 4-8 from long distance), Andrew Sischo (14 points, 11 rebounds) and Deion Hamilton (six points, including the 1,000th of his career) made impacts for the winners, who improved to a perfect 13-0 in the all-time series. Bryan Griffin amassed 26 points (15-19 FG, 3-5 from downtown Buffalo), nine rebounds and five blocked shots in a losing cause for the Mavericks, who shot a sizzling 9-of-13 from 3-point land in the opening period (12-25 for the game compared to DC’s 10-28) to give the home crowd pause. Matthew Alectus (18 points in a reserve role, 4-7 from 3) and Amir Atkins (14 points, six caroms) also made their presences felt for Daemen, which will earn the tourney’s top seed with a home win vs. Bridgeport on Sunday or slip to the 2-line with a loss behind Saturday’s Molloy-St. Thomas Aquinas winner. The Wildcats furnished the vastly superior assist-turnover line (20/5 to 9/16) and outscored their guests 15-5 off of miscues. With his 292 rebounds this winter, Griffin established a new Mercy single-season record, eclipsing James Harrison’s 283 during the 1983-84 campaign.