A six-pack of divisional CACC contests comprised the Tuesday regional slate, and each game affected the playoff races:
BLOOMFIELD 90 DOMINICAN 72
Turnabout was fair play for Bloomfield, which avenged its worst home loss in the NCAA era by hammering Dominican in Orangeburg to solidify its third-place position in the North Division. Safee Abdus-Sabur spearheaded the Bears' attack with 25 points (10-14 FG, 3-4 from 3-point range) and nine rebounds, followed by Darin Bellinger (15 points), Isaiah Sparks (personal-best 14 points, six rebounds) and Rich Chapman (14, 10 off the bench). A 33-12 romp over the last 11:15 of the first half stretched a modest 18-17 lead to 51-29, and the margin ballooned to 88-58 before the hosts closed the contest with a 14-2 flurry to make the final a little more respectable as their seven-game win streak came to a crashing halt. Eleven of the 12 Chargers who saw action scored, fronted by D.J. Rodwell (18 points, 5-8 from 3) and Tavon Ginyard (13 in a reserve role). Bloomfield – which lost by 41 points (96-55) in the prior meeting on December 7 – shot better from the foul line (18-25 to 12-23), which was its most notable statistical advantage. Dominican’s first-place lead was shaved to a half-game over Post, though the Chargers own the head-to-head tiebreaker.
POST 68 FELICIAN 62
A 9-0, game-closing flourish catapulted Post past Felician in a roller coaster game at the Drubner Center to clinch a home playoff berth and make things tighter atop the division. The Eagles used a 17-0 spell in flipping a 22-13 deficit into a 30-22 advantage, holding their guests without a field goal for a span of 8:23. The Golden Falcons responded with a 24-9 run spanning the halves, jumping back in front 46-39 after a Jeff Lewis jumper with 13:37 to play. A 16-4 counter-run put the hosts back up five (55-50), but after an exchange of inside hoops, a Colon 3-pointer sparked a 10-2 burst that gave Felician its final lead at 62-59 with 2:22 left. It would also be the last scoring play for the Golden Falcons as they missed their last five attempts and Post went 9-of-10 at the foul line over the final 2:03, grabbing the lead for good (64-62) on a pair from Devonte McCall (13 points, 10 rebounds, five blocks), then cementing the result on two tosses from Darrick Boyd (12 points) with 19 ticks remaining as Felician saw its four-game win streak evaporate. Marcus Johson (13 points, nine rebounds) and D.J. Frechette (10 bench points) also made impacts for the winners, who accounted for 10 of the game’s 12 blocked shots and held a 22-10 edge in second-chance scoring despite only grabbing one more offensive rebound (15-14). Lewis ascended the 20-point plateau for a third straight game with 25 (10-16 FG) while hauling in six rebounds. Jaylen Colon chipped in with 15 points (3-5 from downtown Waterbury), five assists and three steals. Both teams made just 36% of their shots, and were even colder from beyond the arc (PU 7-27, FU 6-23). Felician was also outperformed at the stripe (13-17 to 4-6) and fell into a fourth-place tie with idle North Jersey rival Caldwell.
NYACK 74 CONCORDIA 61
Joel Bailey produced 17 points (5-7 FG) and dished out four assists as Nyack clipped Concordia in Bronxville to move within a game of Felician and Caldwell for the North’s last playoff berth. A contested first half provided nothing greater than five points of separation, then the Warriors took control with a 12-2 spurt out of the break to open up a 45-33 lead. It expanded to 61-45 on a triple from Luis Escobar (his only points off the bench) with 9:46 to go, and the differential bounced between eight and 15 the rest of the way. Jah-Meer McDuffie (12 points, nine rebounds) and Jayden Dawson (11, 10) added quality depth for Nyack, which won the glass (43-29) and outscored its hosts 23-12 off turnovers. Jared Young registered 19 points and Jesse Breeding 12 in defeat for the Clippers.
JEFFERSON 73 GEORGIAN COURT 59
The win streak is now 16 for South Division champs Jefferson, which repelled Georgian Court at the Gallagher Center thanks to big games from the senior tandem of Devaughn Mallory (20 points, 10 rebounds) and Kylan Guerra (19 points, 6-9 FG, 5-6 from long distance, nine assists). Seven lead changes distinguished the first 15 minutes before the #9 Rams closed the half with a 19-4 surge, transforming a 22-21 deficit into a 40-26 lead that was never seriously challenged. The Lions came as close as nine points on four occasions during the last 20 minutes; the last instance at 59-50 following a 3-ball by Justin Figueroa (19 points, 8-12 FG, 3-3 from downtown Philly) with 10:59 on the clock. Mallory countered with two free throws and a hoop to trigger a 14-3 burst that put the game on ice at 73-53 with 3:23 to play. Prince Hickson and reserve sophomore guard Ja’zere Noel each netted 10 points for Jefferson, which nailed twice as many treys (12-24 to 6-13) and three times as many freebies (15-20 to 5-10). Alonzo Ortiz-Traylor submitted 15 points (3-4 from 3) and six rebounds for Georgian Court, while Matt Ringel notched 12 and seven, respectively. The Lions are now just a half-game up on Holy Family for the last playoff spot in the South.
HOLY FAMILY 89 SCIENCES 84
Across town in Northeast Philadelphia, Branden Aughburns cranked out 28 points (11-16 FG), eight rebounds and four blocks, while Eric Esposito compiled 18 points, 13 boards, six assists and two rejections, piloting Holy Family past city rival University of the Sciences to inch within a half-game of Georgian Court for fourth. This super-tight affair featured 11 ties, 16 lead swaps and nothing more than a two-point divide until the final six seconds as the Tigers seized the reins with an 11-2 upswing – capped by an Esposito lay-up – in reversing a 75-71 deficit with six-and-a-half minutes left and establishing an 82-77 upper hand at the 3:03 mark. The Devils – who are now on the verge of postseason extinction – closed within 82-81 on a Sean Simon lay-up with 1:33 to go, but Holy Family would put the game away with an 8-0 spell as Aughburns was fouled on an offensive rebound and converted two free throws before an Esposito three doubled the lead to 87-81 with 26 seconds on the clock, essentially ending the drama. Brendan Hoban finished with 19 points (7-12 FG) and five assists as the lone bench entity for Holy Family, which also landed Devon Moore in double figures with 11 points and eight assists in 39 minutes of action. Jordan White paced five in twin figures for USciences with 26 points (10-17 FG), nine rebounds and four assists. He was flanked by Paddy Casey (19, 8, 6, 5-7 from long range), Thomas Melonja (11 points), Simon (11 off the bench) and Connor Murphy (10 points, nine boards, five assists in 40 minutes). The Tigers made more trips to the line (11-15 to 4-6), the Devils won the rebound battle (42-36) and both sides authored positive assist-turnover lines (HFU 30/12, US 24/18).
GOLDEY-BEACOM 110 CHESTNUT HILL 101
Marcellus Livingston erupted for a career-high 34 points (12-21 FG, 5-8 from 3), seven rebounds and four assists to lead five in double figures, and Goldey-Beacom outlasted Chestnut Hill in a shootout at the Joseph West Jones Center to virtually wrap up second place. In the highest-scoring game in the region this season, Livingston’s trifecta three-and-a-half minutes in touched off a 13-2 tear that transformed an 8-7 deficit into a 20-10 lead that would never be relinquished, extending to 81-60 with 11:19 to play. The Griffins – who also placed five in double figures, led by Amir Warrick’s 28-point bench effort (10-15 FG) – made a late dash, outscoring their hosts 20-4 to draw within 85-80 after a Trevonn Pitts lay-up with 7:53 left. They pulled even closer at 96-92 after a 3-pointer by James Rider IV (20 bench points, 8-12 FG, 4-6 from deep) with 4:05 remaining, when Tyler Jones embarked on a personal 8-0 run, splashing back-to-back threes and following with a lay-up that gave the Lightning a 104-92 comfort zone at the 2:20 mark. The junior transfer from Fairleigh Dickinson totaled 24 points (8-12 FG, 6-9 from downtown Wilmington), while Kyle Elliott (5-6 FG) and Juran Ligonde (eight rebounds) each pitched in with 15 points for Goldey. Nazim Derry rounded out the double-digit scorers with 12 points and four assists in reserve duty as the Lightning won despite being outshot from the floor (60%-53%). Pitts poured in 20 on perfect shooting (7-7 FG, 1-1 from 3, 5-5 FT) for Chestnut Hill, which also received 12 points from Conor Regan and 10 from Keyon Butler as the Griffs remained two games out of the playoff picture in the wake of a fifth straight setback. Goldey-Beacom was the superior rebounding club (39-25), while both sides shot well from distance (GBC 12-23, CHC 9-21) and boasted solid assist-turnover ratios (GBC 16/11, CHC 17/11).
POLL POSITION
Not much changed for the regional teams ranked in the new NABC Top 25 Coaches’ Poll, with Jefferson inching up a spot to #9, Bridgeport holding steady at #11 and St. Thomas Aquinas slipping from #12 to #15. Le Moyne and St. Anselm are receiving votes once again, while defending national champion Northwest Missouri State remains the unanimous #1. The first official Regional Rankings will be released Wednesday and reported here Thursday.