The Northeast 10 playoff bracket is now officially set. Here’s how the circuit's regular season concluded on Tuesday:
ST. ANSELM 94 BENTLEY 55
For the third consecutive year, St. Anselm has captured the Northeast Division crown, blitzing Bentley at Stoutenburgh Gym in the most lopsided meeting of the series’ 99-game history. Chris Paul fronted the assault with 25 points (10-14 FG, 3-3 from long range), seven rebounds and six assists as the Hawks led from pillar to post, using a 40-9 blitz over the last 14:12 of the half to open up a 53-16 chasm, then keeping its foot on the proverbial pedal as the Falcons never came closer than 33 points over the final 20 minutes; the margin maxing out at 74-33 on a Danny Evans 3-pointer at the 11:44 mark. Gustav Suhr-Jessen – who instigated the power run with a dunk – racked up 16 points and 13 rebounds for the winners, who also received 15 points, six boards and three blocked shots from Evans, as well as 11 points from Tyler Arbuckle. Chris Hudson (11 points, seven rebounds, four assists) and Brian Wright-Kinsey (10 points) were the lone bright spots for the Falcons, who finish in fourth and will host New Haven in Friday’s playoff opener. St. A’s – which has won eight straight – was the vastly superior shooting club (59%-32%), especially from beyond the arc (13-22 to 7-30), while also winning the glass, 43-31. The Hawks will host the winner of Friday’s other 4-5 game – Southern New Hampshire at Pace – in Sunday’s quarterfinal action. St. Anselm's previous biggest win vs. Bentley had been 86-60 on February 11, 1998 in Manchester. The Hawks lead the all-time series by the narrowest of margins (50-49).
PACE 85 Le MOYNE 73
Pace grabbed the four seed in the Southwest after knocking off four-time defending division champ Le Moyne in Syracuse, avenging a January home loss. This one was a rollercoaster affair as the Setters jumped out to a 20-7 lead, only to see their hosts slash it to 24-20. A 23-8 burst over the last 8:39 of the half extended the advantage to 47-28 by the break, but a 34-13 tear after the restart gave the Dolphins their second (and biggest) lead at 62-60 after a Lonnie Rivera basket with 7:55 to play. League scoring leader Peyton Wejnert quelled the momentum with a tying lay-up 21 seconds later, sparking a 16-3 counter-run that put Pace in control at 76-65 with 3:37 left, never allowing its hosts to come closer than six points in the closing moments as the road team prevailed for the fourth consecutive regular-season meeting in the series (with a Le Moyne home playoff win wedged in between last winter). Wejnert topped the Setters’ scoresheet with 28 points (9-12 FT) and 10 rebounds, followed by Brandon Jacobs (14 points, six assists) and the freshman tandem of Bryan Powell (13 points, nine boards off the bench) and Christian Adams (12, 6). Rivera was instrumental in the Fins’ comeback bid with 14 second-half points (5-7 FG, 4-5 from deep), while Malik Garner matched that total. Oshea Gairey (13 points, six rebounds in a reserve role) and Tom Brown (10 points, seven rebounds, two blocks) rounded out the double-figurer scorers for Le Moyne, which turned it over a season-high 20 times but is still the league’s #1 overall seed and will host the winner of the New Haven-Bentley first-round game on Sunday. The all-time series between these two Empire State rivals is now dead even at 31-31.
SOUTHERN NEW HAMPSHIRE 70 ST. MICHAEL’S 54
For the third time this season, Southern New Hampshire will square off vs. Pace – this time for the right to advance to the tournament quarterfinals – as the fifth-place Penmen defeated St. Michael’s for the eighth straight time at the Spirou Fieldhouse. A 23-6 spell reversed an early 6-2 deficit and put the hosts in the driver’s seat at 25-12 en route to a 40-26 halftime advantage. The Purple Knights opened the second stanza with a 14-4 charge to draw within 44-40 following a Jalen Gorham lay-up, but that’s as close as they would come as Eamonn Joyce (13 points, four blocked shots) scored a hoop 26 seconds later to trigger a 17-6 run and open things up again at 61-46 with 5:36 remaining; the margin hovering between 11 and 16 the remainder of the ballgame. Michael Almonacy was high man for SNHU with 18 points, seven rebounds and four assists off the bench, while Jacari Sanders and Shawn Montague (seven caroms, four blocks) each netted 10. Eli DiGrande recorded 16 points and six rebounds in his final game for St. Mike’s, which also landed Thomas Jackson III (12 points, 5-7 FG, 2-2 from 3) and Gorham (11 points, 10 rebounds in reserve duty) in twin figures. The Penmen – whose last home loss in the series was on November 16, 2011 (59-57) – won despite being slightly outshot (42%-41%) and outrebounded (38-36), faring better from long distance (12-31 to 4-18), at the foul line (8-9 to 0-6) and in the assist-turnover category (12/13 to 3/19). The P-Knights close out the campaign with five straight setbacks.
SOUTHERN CONNECTICUT 94 ADELPHI 78
The rookie combo of Lyron Bennett (22 points, six rebounds, six assists) and Levar Allen (21 points on 9-of-15 shooting) each offered personal scoring bests, leading Southern Connecticut past Adelphi in Garden City, repaying a home loss and finishing even with the Panthers in the standings, albeit earning the three-seed by virtue of Adelphi’s win over first-place Le Moyne two weeks ago. The Owls – who also placed Isaiah Boissard (19 points, 8-11 FG, 3-5 from afar, eight rebounds) and Taurus Adams II (18 points on 8-of-12 shooting) in double digits – trailed 65-61 before Adams converted a lay-up and tying jumper to initiate a 9-0 spurt that put the visitors in front for good at 70-65 with 9:26 to go. Adelphi – which was powered by Ronnie Silva’s 25-point outing – closed within 76-74 inside of six minutes, but Adams again came through with an inside hoop that orchestrated an 18-4, game-closing flourish for Southern. Austin Beech logged 14 points, seven rebounds and six assists for the Panthers, who also saw Chris Coalmon (13 points, six boards) and Duaine Williams (12 bench points) make impacts in a losing cause. The Owls were the more accurate shooting team (59%-44%) and won both the paint (44-24) and the glass (38-29), offsetting their hosts’ 3-point assault (16-43 to 9-20) as Adelphi attempted a mere 23 shots inside the arc all night. Both sides turned in positive assist-turnover lines (SCSU 16/12, AU 18/11). Southern Connecticut plays at Stonehill in Sundays quarters while Adelphi welcomes Franklin Pierce in a do-or-die match-up between two teams that dropped their last three regular-season affairs.
ASSUMPTION 84 FRANKLIN PIERCE 73
Branislav Vujadinovic closed out his career in style, cranking out half of his 22 points during a 26-6, game-ending jaunt as Assumption rallied past Franklin Pierce at Laska Gym to finish over the .500 mark for the first time since 2012-13. A 24-7 upswing snapped a 21-21 tie and put Pierce up 45-28 with 42 seconds to play in the first half, and it was still a 17-point divide (48-31) 30 seconds into the second when the Greyhounds embarked on a 23-7 run, creeping within 55-54 on a lay-up by Isiah Gaiter with 12:56 on the clock. The Ravens responded with a 12-4 spell to boost the lead back to 67-58 before Vujadinovic knocked down back-to-back threes (he was 6-9 from downtown Worcester) to ignite the big run as the Hounds accounted for the final 10 points. The senior guard added seven rebounds and six assists to his stat line, while being supported by Matthew Kelly (13 points, 3-4 from 3, four helpers), Jordan White (13 points, seven rebounds, two swats off the bench) and Gaiter (10 points, nine rebounds in a reserve role). Isaiah Moore registered 16 points (7-11 FG, 2-2 from distance) and six assists for Franklin Pierce, which will open its playoff run at Adelphi Sunday. Doyin Fadojutimi (14 points, nine boards) and Max Zegarowski (13 points off the pine) also made their presences felt in a losing effort. Both teams boasted solid assist-turnover ratios (AC 18/11, FPU 16/11).
SAINT ROSE 75 AMERICAN INTERNATIONAL 73
The best finish, as fate would have it, featured two teams whose seasons came to an end in Albany as Adam Anderson – on the night he ascended the 1,000-point plateau – overshadowed that feat by knocking down a buzzer-beating, 15-footer from the left baseline, lifting Saint Rose past American International. The Golden Knights led the majority of the game, and by as much as 65-54 after a trey by Josh McGettigan (11 points, 3-5 from deep) with 8:13 left before the Yellow Jackets crafted a 17-6 run, equalizing at 71-71 on a Shyheim Hicks triple with 1:44 remaining. Sekou Sylla – who notched his D2-best 20th double-double (18 points, 15 rebounds) – grabbed an offensive rebound, was fouled and converted the go-ahead foul shots 29 seconds later, but Jordan Vidal (eight points) followed suit with 31 seconds to go, setting up a bizarre finish. After Saint Rose was guilty of a shot-clock violation with 1.2 seconds showing, AIC’s inbounds pass, targeted for the frontcourt, hit the ceiling, affording the hosts possession on their own baseline, which resulted in the winning shot. All five Golden Knights starters finished in double figures, including lone departing senior Michael Wearne (14 points, six assists), Anderson (14 points) and Cartier Bowman (13 points, 12 caroms, three blocks). Trevaun Hyatt mustered 16 points and Zekiah Owens 14 with nine rebounds off the bench in their final outings for AIC, which was the better shooting team (46%-43%) and capitalized off turnovers (23-8) but was slightly outworked beyond the arc (8-19 to 5-20), at the line (15-17 to 10-15) and on the glass (42-30), leading to a 21-6 edge in second-chance scoring.
MOLLOY 74 NEW HAVEN 67
The region’s last regular-season crossover contest took place in West Haven as Molloy turned aside former ECC foe New Haven in the two programs’ first encounter since December 29, 2012. Nick Corbett again paved the way for the Lions with 27 points (10-18 FG, 5-10 from long range) as his team allowed the first 11 points, then rode a 23-8 wave over the last 8:45 of the half in flipping a 21-11 deficit into a 34-29 advantage. It was a 41-40 ballgame just over five minutes into the final frame when the visitors erupted for a 15-2 run to forge a 56-42 lead with 10:46 to play. Will Muller – who matched his career high with 16 points (7-10 FG) and snatched six rebounds in a reserve outing – was responsible for 10 points during the stretch, and the margin crested at 68-53 on a 3-ball by Frankie Phelan (10 bench points) with 2:26 left, and the visitors converted six of seven foul shots over the final 1:16 to slam the door as Molloy defeated New Haven for the first time since November 15, 2009 (70-67) and first time at Charger Gym since December 20, 2003 (61-60). Elijah Bailey collected 24 points (4-8 from 3) and Kessly Felizor 21 (5-8 from distance) with six rebounds for the Chargers, who will travel to Bentley in Friday’s NE10 Tournament opener. The Lions were more careless with the rock (13-7 in turnovers, resulting in a 21-9 scoring differential) but they controlled the backboards (40-24) in prevailing.
POLL POSITION
The latest NABC Top 25 Coaches’ Poll was released Tuesday and Jefferson still leads the local pack at #8, inching up a spot. St. Thomas Aquinas rose three rungs to #12 while Bridgeport dipped from #11 to #16. Le Moyne and St. Anselm received votes for a second straight week while defending champion Northwest Missouri State remained a unanimous #1.