Two lower seeds advanced to the semifinal round of the NE10 Tournament on the first day of March, while the ECC playoff picture came into focus thanks to a complex tiebreaker scenario:
NEW HAVEN 75 Le MOYNE 73
Elijah Bailey’s banker in traffic with 1:25 to play snapped a 67-67 tie and New Haven hung on by its collective fingernails after squandering a 23-point, second-half lead vs. top-seeded Le Moyne in Syracuse. The Chargers – who never trailed in the contest – connected on 10 of their first 14 threes in opening up leads of 27-11, 40-24 and 53-30 more than five minutes into the second half. It was still 62-44 with nine-and-a-half minutes left when the Dolphins caught fire, outscoring their guests 21-3 and equalizing at 65-65 after a right-wing triple from Oshea Gairey (15 points off the bench) with 3:40 to go. After an exchange of hoops, Bailey’s go-ahead lay-in touched off a 6-0 spurt, and the Chargers appeared to be in control at 73-67 with 24 ticks remaining. However, Gairey was fouled attempting a three with seven seconds on the clock, converting each of his freebies. Then, after Bailey stepped out of bounds in the backcourt with 6.1 on the clock, the Fins went for the win, but Ryan Roland’s long-range attempt was off the mark, as well as Nino Hernandez’s follow in the lane just before time expired. Bailey finished with 16 points and seven rebounds for New Haven, which also received 16 points (4-5 FG, 3-3 from 3) and seven assists from Quashawn Lane, who played all 40 minutes. Derrick Rowland also pitched in with 11 points, including the 1,000th of his career as the Chargers shot it better overall (47%-37%) and from beyond the arc (10-20 to 8-29) but were outworked at the stripe (19-24 to 13-16) and victimized by a 15-6 turnover differential that led to a virtually symmetrical 16-6 scoring corollary. Roland totaled 15 points, six rebounds and four assists, while Tom Brown compiled 13 points and 10 boards for for Le Moyne, which awaits a certain NCAA Tournament at-large bid. New Haven marches on to play Stonehill in Wednesday’s semifinal action.
FRANKLIN PIERCE 76 ADELPHI 74
Isaiah Moore exploded for a career-high 29 points (10-14 FG) and dished out six assists, while Doyin Fadojutimi poured in 22 points and corralled six rebounds, guiding Franklin Pierce to a tight victory over Adelphi on Long Island. The Ravens led the entirety of the first period in building a 33-25 halftime advantage that increased to 47-34 after Fadojutimi’s windmill dunk with 16:13 to play. The Panthers then embarked on a 16-2 run, edging in front for the first time at 50-49 on a 4-point play by Chris Colamon (18 points in 40 minutes) with 13:28 left. It would be the first of three one-point leads for the hosts... the last one coming at 65-64 with six-and-a-half minutes remaining before Moore drained a trey and a successive jumper to spark a 12-4 spurt that gave Pierce a 76-69 lead at the 3:13 mark. Those would be the team’s final points, as it turned out, and it almost proved costly as Adelphi tallied the final five but came up short on last-second lay-up attempts to tie by Ronnie Silva (21 points, six assists) and Coalmon, consigning the hosts to a fourth straight loss to close out the campaign. Spencer Foley logged 17 points and nine rebounds for the Panthers, who also saw Austin Beech record 10 and six, respectively, in his final game. The Ravens were the more accurate shooting team (49%-40%) and overcame an 18-10 turnover deficiency in advancing to the semifinals and a date with in-state rival St. Anselm.
ST. ANSELM 82 PACE 77
All five starters reached double figures in St. Anselm’s rollercoaster victory over pesky Pace at Stoutenburgh Gym – its region-high ninth straight triumph. The Hawks jumped out to a 17-5 lead before the Setters unleashed a 28-10 spree to claim a 33-27 advantage that widened to 47-36 just before Miles Tention buried a buzzer-beating three at the break. The sophomore guard picked up right where he left off when play resumed, connecting on another 3-pointer 20 seconds into the second stanza, the first of his four trifectas that fueled a 20-6 run and gave the hosts the lead back at 59-53. Pace used a 14-4 counter-run, capped by a Tyrone Cohen, Jr. long ball just past the midway mark, to wrest the lead away again at 67-63. It was 71-68 before St. A’s used a 14-6 flourish over the last 3:42 to pull out the gritty win. Tyler Arbuckle (14 points) provided the go-ahead bucket (72-71 at 2:41), Gustav Suhr-Jessen (14 points, eight rebounds) knocked down a dagger 3-ball (75-71 2:06) and Chris Paul (15 point, six rebounds, seven assists in 40 minutes) capped the 7-0 upswing with two free throws at the 49-second juncture, but the Setters made things interesting in the waning seconds, closing within 77-75 on Ray Montilus’ steal of an inbounds pass and successive foul shots with 40 ticks remaining. They would get no closer, though, as Arbuckle scored a lay-up nine seconds later and the hosts converted three of four at the stripe over the final 23 seconds to close it out. Tention generated 18 of his 20 points (6-10 from downtown Manchester) during an 11:32 stretch bridging the halves, adding four assists in 40 minutes for the Hawks, who also saw Danny Evans record 13 points (4-5 from long range), six boards and four assists without taking a break. NE10 scoring leader Peyton Wejnert racked up 29 points (11-19 FG) and 11 rebounds in 40 minutes to finish his stellar career as just the third player in program history to collect 1,700 points and 700 caroms, joining Bert Brisbane and Tom McKenna. Brandon Jacobs (15 points, six assists) and Cohen, Jr. (14 points, 4-8 from deep) also played well for the Setters, whose 19 wins this season were their most since a 20-win campaign in 2006-07. Both teams shot 48% from the floor but St. Anselm – which will host divisional rival Franklin Pierce in the semis – was more formidable from long distance (14-25 to 8-22) and the foul line (20-28 to 11-16), obscuring deficiencies in the paint (40-18) and off turnovers (24-13).
STONEHILL 86 SOUTHERN CONNECTICUT 71
Owen Chose topped six in twin figures with 24 points on near-perfect shooting (8-9 FG, 4-5 from 3) as Stonehill eliminated Southern Connecticut in North Easton for its fourth straight victory. The Skyhawks held their guests scoreless over the initial six-and-a-half minutes in constructing an 8-0 lead, only to see the Owls surge in front, 14-13 at the 10:45 mark. That would turn out to be their only advantage of the contest, though, as the hosts reeled off 15 straight as part of an overall 32-8 explosion, staking them to a 45-22 cushion. Southern battled back yet again, eventually trimming its deficit to 64-59 after two free throws by Greg Jones (12 points, six rebounds) just inside of the six-minute mark. That’s when Josh Mack instigated a critical 10-2 flurry, bookending the run with buckets as the lead swelled to 74-61 with 3:15 to go and hovered between 10 and 15 the remainder of the game. Will Moreton garnered 13 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists for Stonehill, which also received 11 points apiece from Brandon Twitty, as well as reserves Andrew Sims and Mack (5-5 FG) as the Skyhawks' bench shot a sizzling 11-of-12 from the field. Monty Urmilivicius tossed in 10 for the victors, who were the hotter shooting club (60%-49%), including from 3-point land (9-16 to 6-12) and at the foul line (15-18 to 7-17). Taurus Adams II closed out his fine career with 16 points (7-10 FG) and eight rebounds for the Owls, who also saw Lyron Bennett and Isaiah Boissard drop a baker’s dozen apiece. Stonehill welcomes New Haven to Merkert Gym on Wednesday.
NEW YORK TECH 85 DAEMEN 82 (OT)
Marcus Saint-Furcy’s pull-up jumper with 9.8 seconds on the clock broke an 82-82 tie and lifted New York Tech past Daemen at Recreation Hall in the final game of the region’s regular season – and an ersatz playoff game for the Bears, who needed the overtime victory to qualify for the ECC Tournament for the first time in five years. In a tight affair that featured 11 ties and 13 lead changes, the home team enjoyed the largest spread of the afternoon at 44-37 after a basket by Jeffrey Hayden (24 points, 10 rebounds in 44 minutes) with 14:15 to play. A 12-2 surge gave the Wildcats the upper hand at 49-46 after a Joey Wallace 3-pointer with 11:35 left, and it was 64-60 with three-and-a-half minutes remaining when NYIT drilled three straight triples, two of which came from the fingertips of Laurynas Stonkas (15 bench points on 5-of-9 long-distance shooting), giving the Bears a 69-64 advantage with 2:05 to go. The lead was 71-67 before Wallace’s driving dunk halved the deficit at the 20-second stage, then - after two missed front ends by Hayden (at :15 and :07) - Wallace converted a coast-to-coast lay-up with one second showing, knotting the count and forcing the extra session. Saint-Furcy then took over, accounting for seven of his 12 points in OT, including the go-ahead jumper and ensuing foul shot with 1.2 seconds on the clock that capped the scoring as Daemen’s desperation heave was off the mark. Jordan Fuchs contributed 15 of his 19 bench points after intermission for Tech, adding seven rebounds and three blocks to his ledger, while Saint-Furcy doled out five assists. The victory – which snapped the Wildcats’ five-game win streak overall and nine-game success stretch in the series dating back to the same weekend five years ago – forced a three-way tie in the battle for the league’s last two playoff spots but actually earned the Bears the #5 seed as a result of a favorable tiebreaker (best win amongst the three) as Queens backed into the six spot and District of Columbia lost the excruciating game of musical chairs after a heartbreaking near-upset at St. Thomas Aquinas in overtime a day earlier (that tiebreaker with Queens was ultimately determined by the two teams tied for last heading into the final day – Roberts Wesleyan and Mercy, as the former’s win at Molloy essentially eliminated the Firebirds). Andrew Sischo amassed 25 points (10-16 FG) and 16 rebounds to tie Saint Rose’s Sekou Sylla for most double-doubles (20) in all of Division 2. Additionally, the redshirt senior center boosted his career field goal total to 694, eclipsing David Skolen’s program record, established between 1986-90. Wallace produced 23 points (10-18 FG), eight boards and seven assists for Daemen, which also saw Breon Harris stuff the stat sheet with 13 points, six rebounds, five helpers and six steals. Tajmin Holt also turned in a career-high 10 points off the bench. New York Tech – which will play at fellow Long Island foe Molloy in Wednesday’s first-round playoff – made half its shots and feasted on the break (23-6), while the Wildcats - who won the glass, 39-35 - will host Queens in their tourney opener, with the winner advancing to play #2 seed St. Thomas Aquinas at UDC in Saturday's semis.
ROBERTS WESLEYAN 106 MOLLOY 96
Barring one of our regional teams winning the national championship, the school that will end the season with the longest winning streak will be Roberts Wesleyan, which closed out an injury-plagued campaign on a high note, outgunning Molloy in Rockville Centre for its third straight win on the strength of brilliant performances by Armon Nasseri (career-high 35 points, 13-19 FG, 7-9 from 3, seven rebounds) and Reggie Clark (30 points, 9-13 FG, 5-8 from deep, six caroms). Fab freshman guard Amari Lee chimed in with 18 points (13-16 FT) and personal-best 10 assists for the Redhawks, who never trailed in the contest, engineering an 18-6 run in expanding a 22-18 lead to 40-24 with 4:51 to play in the half. Nasseri – who oddly scored his career-high 35 points just two days after going scoreless (0-6 FG in 27 minutes) at New York Tech – ignited the spell, and the margin mushroomed to 81-63 after Clark’s traditional 3-point play with 9:15 left. The Lions – who once again were buoyed by Nick Corbett (career-high and regional season-best 44 points on 15-of-28 shooting, along with four assists) – closed within 100-94 after a Corbett trey with 38 seconds remaining, but Lee converted two freebies two seconds later, the first of six straight Roberts tosses to put the game on ice. Steven Torre (13 points), James Montgomery (12) and Will Muller (11) all provided quality depth in reserve roles for Molloy, which was outshot overall (56%-44%), from beyond the arc (18-28 to 6-28) and at the stripe (26-29 to 20-28), neutralizing a 17-5 turnover disparity and 21-2 scoring shortfall off mistakes. The Lions also dominated the paint (44-22) and on second chances (15-4), albeit to no avail. They will host New York Tech in Wednesday’s playoff lid-lifter, with the winner facing top-seeded Bridgeport in Washington on Saturday.