The first postseason games of 2020 took place on Friday, while the ECC playoff picture got even muddier:
NEW HAVEN 88 BENTLEY 82 (2 OT)
Elijah Bailey notched nine of his 24 points in the second overtime while playing all 50 minutes as New Haven nipped Bentley in Waltham in the first of two NE10 Tournament First-Round games. The Chargers – who held the lead for exactly 15 seconds during regulation and the first OT (9-7) – fell behind by as many as nine points in the first half (27-18) and eight in the second (49-41) before forging ties at 58, 61 and 67 on a Davontrey Thomas lay-up with 24 seconds to play. Jordan Mello-Klein had a shot to win it, but left his driving lay-up short, forcing bonus basketball. Three was the largest lead of the first extra period, with the Falcons’ last basket coming at the 4:30 mark. Derrick Rowland – who registered 12 points and eight rebounds in 49 minutes – laid one in with 50 seconds left to knot the count once more, at 72-72, and the visitors had three chances to win on their last possession of the period, but Chris Hudson blocked two of them, and the teams played on into a second overtime, where New Haven took the lead for keeps at 76-65 following a Bailey basket with 3:36 remaining. The senior guard added another with 2:50 on the clock, then knocked down a huge 3-pointer with 90 seconds to go that made it 83-77. After a free throw from reserve senior guard D’Nathan Knox extended to 84-77, Mason Webb split a pair at the stripe, and a second-chance triple from Isaac Martin (seven bench points) gave Bentley late life at 84-81 with 50.5 seconds showing. The Chargers took charge from there, however, as Thomas and Knox (all three of his points in the second OT, as well as a career-high seven rebounds) combined to sink four foul shots over the final 24 seconds to seal the deal, advancing to a quarterfinal game at top-seeded Le Moyne on Sunday. Thomas recorded career highs of 20 points (6-7 FG) and 14 rebounds in 43 minutes of action for the winners, who also saw Quashawn Lane reach double figures with 14 points, six boards and four assists in 46 minutes of court time. Mello-Klein topped the Falcons’ scorecard with 24 points (5-9 from long range), 10 rebounds and six assists, followed by Hudson (17 points, six rebounds in his final game), Webb (15 points) and Brian Wright-Kinsey (10), each of whom played a minimum of 42 minutes in the difficult loss. Bentley held a 17-8 edge in assists, but New Haven dominated the glass, 56-37, including 18-8 on the offensive end.
PACE 90 SOUTHERN NEW HAMPSHIRE 75
The other NE10 playoff wasn’t nearly as dramatic as Pace upended Southern New Hampshire for a second time at the Goldstein Center this season, winning an opening-round playoff game for the second straight year vs. a Granite State team (Franklin Pierce on the road last winter). In the two teams’ first postseason encounter since 2006, it was career scoring highs by Tyrone Cohen, Jr. (27 points on 9-of-14 shooting, plus three blocked shots) and Bryan Powell (24 points, 7-10 FG, 3-3 from 3, 13 rebounds off the bench) that carried the day for the Setters, who used a 16-4 second-half run – bookended by Peyton Wejnert hoops – in stretching a 47-44 lead to 63-48 with 8:08 to play. The Penmen were only able to draw within single digits once thereafter (74-65 on a Corry Long 3-ball with 2:51 left), as UNH converted 14-of-16 foul shots over the last 2:46, with a Powell lay-up mixed in between, to put the game on ice. Wejnert totaled 17 points and eight rebounds for the victors, who also received 12 points and seven assists from Brandon Jacobs, who played the entire game. All five starters reached twin figures in defeat for short-handed SNHU: Eamonn Joyce (16 points and seven rebounds in his last game), Mikey Buscetto (personal-best 15 points, 3-5 from deep), Michael Almonacy (14 points, four assists), Long (12 points) and Shawn Montague (10 points, six assists in his career finale). Pace shot 52% from the floor, made more trips to the line (23-30 to 12-17) and won the glass, 40-29. Both teams sported positive assist-turnover ratios (PU 20/11, SNHU 13/9). The Setters will now take on the other Manchester school – St. Anselm – on the road in Sunday’s quarterfinals.
DAEMEN 92 MOLLOY 78
The last weekend of regular-season play in the ECC launched with a pair of games on Long Island. In Rockville Centre, Andrews Sischo compiled 27 points (10-13 FG) and 11 rebounds while setting school and conference records for field goals in a season as Daemen pounded Molloy and pulled even with idle St. Thomas Aquinas for second place and the first-round bye that accompanies it. Breon Harris tallied 18 points (7-11 FG) and five steals for the Wildcats, who trailed just once (2-0) and used a 25-4 blitz in expanding a slim 21-20 lead to 46-24 with 1:15 remaining in the half. The margin crested at 65-40 after a pair of foul shots by Joey Wallace (18 points, nine rebounds, four assists) with 12:53 to go, and it was 75-50 inside of eight minutes when the Lions finally showed signs of life, eventually coming as close as 14 points right before the final horn. Sischo finished the game with 260 baskets this season, eclipsing Chris Lewis’ program record of 257 in 1989-90 and Jeffrey Hayden’s ECC mark of 252 just two seasons ago with New York Tech. Nick Corbett cranked out 21 of his 31 points after intermission for fourth-place Molloy, which also placed Pano Pavlidis in double figures with 10 points and seven caroms. Daemen was the superior shooting team (53%-37%) and fared better at the foul line (21-25 to 12-17) in earning its fifth consecutive victory and 50th straight when scoring at least 90 points dating back to a 98-93 overtime loss at Dominican on January 7, 2014. The sloppy contest featured 43 turnovers (23 by DC), 26 of which were committed in the second half.
ROBERTS WESLEYAN 74 NEW YORK TECH 69
The other Western New York club – Roberts Wesleyan – prevailed just down the road at Recreation Hall, earning back-to-back wins for the first time this season, while also avenging a January home loss and throwing a monkey wrench in New York Tech’s playoff plans. A 32-16, second-half tear transformed a 43-35 deficit into a 67-59 lead after a Reggie Clark jumper with 5:32 to play, and it was a 70-61 divide (matching the largest of the game) inside of the three-minute mark when the Bears awoke from their hibernation, clawing their way to within three points twice in the waning moments, including 72-69 on a Jordan Fuchs lay-up with 50 seconds on the clock. They had a shot to get closer after a stop, but Opong Bramble’s lay-up bounced off the rim with five seconds left, leading to Shane Fanning’s clinching tosses one second later, as he capped a 17-point (6-9 FG), 10-rebound night. Amari Lee (six steals) and Clark (six rebounds) each netted 20 points for the Redhawks, who won despite being outshot (43%-35%), outrebounded (46-30), out-assisted (14-10) and outmuscled in the paint (34-16). They offset those disparities with better work beyond the arc (11-31 to 7-25), at the line (21-25 to 10-17) and off turnovers (28-12). Jeffrey Hayden collected 18 points and 10 rebounds for New York Tech, with Bramble (15 points, 3-5 from distance, nine rebounds) and Fuchs (14, 8 off the bench) close behind. The Bears need a win Sunday vs. Daemen to steal the sixth and final playoff spot from idle Queens.