The CACC Tournament tipped off on Tuesday, and all four higher seeds earned victories. We commence the recap with the only game that was somewhat competitive down the stretch:
GOLDEY-BEACOM 86 CALDWELL 78
Corey Taite equaled his career high with 40 points (9-16 FG, 6-10 FG), including a perfect 16-of-16 from the foul line in extending his streak to 45 straight, as Goldey-Beacom held off Caldwell in Delaware to advance to the conference semifinals and deny its guests an opportunity to play on its home court this weekend. The senior guard – who also found time to hand out seven assists – sank two free throws with one second left in the half, giving Goldey a 38-33 lead at intermission, matching the largest spread of an air-tight first half. The hosts opened things up when play resumed, forging as much as a 66-51 advantage with nine and a half minutes to play. The Cougars – who received 21 points apiece from A.J. Kittles and Ahmad Harrison (8-13 FG, 4-8 from 3, five assists in his last game) – battled back late, drawing within six points twice in the waning moments; the last occurrence at 82-76 on a Ned Ogoemesim lay-up with 37 seconds left. Tevin Service and Taite then converted a pair of freebies apiece, sealing the deal at 86-76. Service (4-5 FG) and Troy Stancil (4-7 from deep) each dropped a dozen for the Lightning, which was slightly outshot (49%-47%) and outrebounded (33-32) but fared much better at the stripe (22-24 to 16-26) as well as on the break (14-0) in advancing to a semifinal clash vs. Bloomfield.
BLOOMFIELD 105 WILMINGTON 86
Red-hot Bloomfield torched Wilmington at The Den for its region-best 11th straight triumph, landing six in double figures while nearly doubling its guests on the glass, 55-28 (17-4 offensive). The Bears never trailed on the evening, bolting out to leads of 19-5 and 35-13 en route to a 52-33 halftime bulge. The Wildcats never came closer than 14 points in the final 20 minutes as the margin crested at 96-69 on a Keith Washington 3-pointer with 6:07 remaining. Kavione Green – who earlier in the day was named CACC Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year – lived up to the billing, amassing 31 points (12-15 FG, 7-10 from 3) and 13 rebounds, while two of his teammates also double-doubled: Matt Lajeunesse (12, 11) and Washington, who finished with 11 points and CACC Tourney-record 16 assists, shattering the prior mark of 12 set by fellow Bloomfield point guard Andre Dabney on March 3, 2004 vs. Dominincan. Rich Chapman (15 points), Tariq McKenith (10 points, four helpers) and Dontay Julius (10 points off the bench) also made impacts for the North Division champs, who made 52% of their shots and dominated the paint, 48-28. Jermaine Head was high man for Wilmington with a career-high 34 points (11-19 FG, 5-8 from long range) and seven assists. He was supported by Danny Walsh (15 points, 3-5 from distance, six helpers), Thomas Farrior (15 points in his collegiate finale) and Jordan Harding (10 points, six caroms). The Bears will play Goldey-Beacom at nearby Caldwell University in the first semifinal on Saturday.
JEFFERSON 85 FELICIAN 65
South Division champ Jefferson will play Dominican for the third straight tournament, securing its spot in the semis with an easy win over Felician in Philadelphia, improving to a phenomenal 19-1 in CACC Tourney home games. Josh Bradanese led the charge for the Rams with 26 points (10-16 FG) and seven rebounds, while DeVaughn Mallory compiled 21 and 12, respectively, for the winners, who used a 30-12 blitz to transform a 45-39 game into a 75-51 blowout with 5:29 on the clock. Deondre Bourne (11 points, four assists) and Alexander Gorton (10 bench points) also made their presences felt for Jefferson, which was the more accurate shooting team (49%-37%) and punished its guests 23-6 off turnovers. Aziz Parker registered 15 points and six rebounds in a reserve role for the Golden Falcons, who also placed Jay’von Jackson (11 points, 3-5 from beyond the arc, 12 rebounds) and Zamir Wright (11 points) in twin figures. Felician – which wrapped up its first winning season in eight years – won the rebound battle, 39-36, for small consolation.
DOMINICAN 71 HOLY FAMILY 59
A 31-9 second-half scoring spree powered Dominican past Holy Family at the Hennessy Center to clinch a semifinal match-up with Jefferson Saturday at Caldwell. DJ Rodwell recorded 19 points on near-perfect shooting (7-8 FG, 5-6 from deep) to pace the Chargers, who shot a blistering 10-of-19 from long distance in winning their fourth straight. An 11-2 flourish over the final 2:03 of the first half – capped by a Rodwell triple at the buzzer – erased the Tigers’ last lead (30-29) and put the hosts in front for good at 40-32. Holy Family – which was spearheaded by Branden Aughburns’ 16 points, six boards and three blocks – tallied the first five after the break to make it a one-possession game (40-37) before a 3-ball by Daniel Grant (12 points, four assists in reserve duty) triggered the mega-run that put Dominican in the driver’s seat at 71-46 with 3:37 to go; the Tigers claiming the game’s last 13 points to make the final score more palatable. Ian Gardener (13 points) and Tavon Ginyard (12, including his 1,000th) also played well for the Chargers, while Vincenzo Dalessandro (14 points, 6-9 FG) and Rookie of the Year Patrick Robinson (12 points, four dishes) also reached doubles in defeat. The game was diminished a bit by 39 turnovers (HFU 20, DC 19), with the home team capitalizing most: 24-11.
RANK AND FILE
The latest NABC Top 25 Coaches’ Poll has Daemen moving up three spots to #19 and St. Anselm slipping five to #23. St. Thomas Aquinas continues to receive votes, virtualy #28. Northwest Missouri State remains the undisputed, undefeated #1. The third and final East Regional Rankings will be released Wednesday afternoon and will be included in the next report, as well as tweeted out.