Milestones, marathons and miracles highlighted a four-pack of payoff games on Wednesday. We commence the recap with the region’s longest postseason game in a dozen years:
NEW HAVEN 101 STONEHILL 100
For the third time in six days, the Cardiac Kids from New Haven pulled another rabbit out of their proverbial hat, winning another heart-stopper on the road in the NE10 Tournament, this time victimizing Stonehill at Merkert Gym in an instant classic that took three overtime periods to decide. Elijah Bailey matched a career high with 33 points, 12 of which came in the extra sessions, as the senior guard played all 55 minutes, leading the visitors to their third NE10 Championship Game, and second straight. Quashawn Lane recorded a new career best with 23 points (10-14 FG), seven rebounds and four steals in 51 minutes for the Chargers, and it was the sophomore playmaker’s improbable turnaround 3-pointer from the corner off a long offensive rebound that gave his team a seemingly safe 97-95 lead with 0.5 seconds left. But the story was far from finished as Michael Boen’s Hail-Mary pass into the frontcourt was deflected out of bounds and the buzzer sounded. The officials huddled up and determined that 0.2 seconds should be put back on the clock… enough for only a quick tip-in. And that’s exactly what materialized as the ensuing inbounds pass toward the rim grazed off Andrew Sims’ left hand and into the hoop as the clock once again hit triple zeroes. New Haven – which has now played five overtime games this season (winning the last three), including the regular-season triumph in North Easton two months ago – never trailed in the third OT, taking a 101-97 lead after baskets by Derrick Rowland (15 points in 51 minutes) and Kessly Felizor (17 points, 6-8 FG, 14 rebounds without taking a break). Will Moreton – who was named NE10 Player of the Year earlier this week – banged a 3-pointer with 2:43 to play, but that would be the last scoring play in the thriller as both teams missed their final three shots, including Moreton’s last-second, long-range attempt for the win, snapping Stonehill’s four-game winning streak. The tug-of-war featured a whopping 18 ties, 17 lead changes and only one separation of more than two possessions, when the hosts extended to a 65-58 lead inside of the seven-minute mark of the second half. New Haven battled back, eventually equalizing on a lay-up by Davontrey Thomas (10 points, six rebounds, five assists) with five seconds remaining. After Moreton was called for an offensive foul, Rowland had a good look at a potential winning jumper, but it wouldn’t fall, ending regulation at 75-all. The Chargers also had a golden opportunity to end the game at the end of the first bonus period. After Lane delivered the tying lay-up with 19 seconds to go, he was fouled after coming away with a steal, but missed both his free throw attempts with 12 seconds on the clock. The Skyhawks couldn’t get a shot off in their last possession, prolonging the game even more. All five New Haven starters finished in double figures and accounted for 98 of the 101 points as the Chargers have played five overtime periods this postseason alone, winning all three road games by a total of nine points. Owen Chose equaled a career high with 28 points (11-17 FG, 6-9 from 3) in 51 minutes, including 23 after halftime. He was followed by Moreton, who stuffed the stat sheet with 24 points, nine rebounds, four assists, four blocks and three steals in 54 minutes, while Brandon Twitty (16 points, four assists in 50 minutes) and Monty Urmilivicius (12 points, 5-7 FG, four helpers) also made key contributions in the tough loss. Both teams shot it well (UNH 55%, SC 56%), with the Skyhawks crafting the superior assist-turnover line (20/10 to 13/13) and scoring more often off turnovers (17-7). The Chargers will now attempt to become the first NE10 team ever to earn a championship by winning four road playoff games as they take on St. Anselm on Saturday. There was only one other 3 OT game in the region this season – on November 24, when Queens outlasted Nyack, 96-92. The playoff was the longest postseason game in the region since March 15, 2008, when Saint Rose slipped past Philadelphia (now Jefferson) in FOUR overtimes in a regional quarterfinal at Bentley. This was also the longest NE10 Tournament contest since Merrimack edged Stonehill, 88-87, on March 6, 1992, also in three overtimes.
ST. ANSELM 80 FRANKLIN PIERCE 66
St. Anselm punched its ticket to a record 14th NE10 Championship Game after bouncing fellow Granite State rival Franklin Pierce in Manchester for its region-best 10th straight victory and sixth 20-win season in the last seven years. Chris Paul paved the way with 28 points and six rebounds while playing all 40 minutes for the Hawks, who spotted their guests the first basket before taking flight, jumping out to a 31-16 lead, then extending it to 65-43 on a lay-up from Gustav Suhr-Jessen (15 points, 13 rebounds) with 9:36 to play as the Ravens never came closer than the 14-point final margin the remainder of the ballgame – its third loss in as many encounters this season. Tyler Arbuckle chipped in with 13 points (3-5 from deep) and Danny Evans compiled 12 points, 10 rebounds and four assists for St. A’s, which owned the glass (53-34, including 14-4 on the offensive end) and dished out 18 of the game’s 25 assists. Isaiah Moore shined brightest for Pierce with 23 points (10-16 FG) and eight rebounds, followed by Falu Seck’s 12-point effort in his final career contest.
DAEMEN 90 QUEENS 76
The higher seeds prevailed in the opening round of the ECC Tournament, with two marquee players reaching new heights along the way. In Buffalo, Andrew Sischo exploded for a career-high, program-record and regional season-best 47 points while snatching 15 rebounds, leading third-seeded Daemen past #6 seed Queens and advancing to a Saturday semifinal vs. St. Thomas Aquinas in Washington. Sischo – who is the odds-on favorite to capture the league’s Player of the Year Award – also registered his national-best 21st double-double, became the first Wildcat with 19 field goals in a game (in 29 attempts) and shattered Darian Hooker’s league record of 736 points in a season (2014-15) with 750 and counting. Joey Wallace registered 13 points, six rebounds and seven assists for Daemen, which also saw Breon Harris add 12 points, including the 1,000th of his career – though that achievement was obfuscated by Sischo’s brilliant performance. A close game most of the way, Daemen was clinging to a 70-67 lead with just over six minutes left when Sischo commandeered a critical, 12-1 run with nine points as the Cats expanded the advantage to 82-67 with 2:54 remaining, and it bounced between 12 and 16 thereafter. There was yet another noteworthy personal achievement on the night as Elijah Bovell also ascended the 1,000-point plateau with a 27-point, six-rebound outing, while also becoming the first Knight to score 500 points in a season since Jerry Mordi turned the trick in 2012-13. Dwayne Henry, Jr. netted 15 points off the bench, Tyrese Crosdale 11 and Shomari Redd 10 with five assists in his last game for Queens, which has now dropped nine straight in the series and all nine of its games at Lumsden Gym. Both teams shot it well (DC 49%, QC 47%) but Daemen took better care of the ball (16/5 assist-turnover ratio compared to 11/10 for QC). Prior to Sischo’s offensive display, Rob Robinson had held the program scoring record, having amassed 44 points vs. Westminster (PA) on January 16, 1991. And with Harris scoring his 1,000th point, Daemen becomes the first regional team on record to boast five players who have achieved that feat (Wallace, Jeff Redband and Jay Sarkis are the others).
MOLLOY 68 NEW YORK TECH 61
It was a storybook night for defending ECC Player of the Week Nick Corbett, who scored 19 of his 25 points in the second half as Molloy held off fellow Long Island foe New York Tech at Quealy Gym to advance to Saturday’s semifinals in the nation’s capital. The senior guard – whose back-to-back triples capped an 8-0 run that put the Lions on top to stay at 56-51 with 6:19 on the clock – now has 2,013 career point - the fourth-highest total in ECC history - as he eclipsed John Petrucelli’s program record by two. The hotly contested affair saw neither side muster more than a five-point spread in the first half, but the Bears constructed the largest lead of the game at 44-35 with 12:35 to go in the second and were still ahead 51-48 before the key spurt. The divide barely budged between three and five until the waning seconds, when Corbett came up huge with a baseline jumper at the 27-second mark and with the shot clock winding down, affording the hosts a little breathing room at 64-59. After a stop, Nolan Kelly (12 bench points, 7-7 FT), converted the clinching free throws that made it 66-59 with 14 seconds showing, cementing the result. Jordan Fuchs was the lone double-digit scorer for NYIT with 17 points (7-10 FG, 3-4 from distance) in a reserve role as his team was the more accurate shooting side (43%-36%) but was outworked at the line (15-16 to 9-12) and on the glass (44-33, including 19-8 offensive). Neither team distinguished itself from beyond the arc (MC 5-18, NYIT 6-23). Molloy will take on top-seeded Bridgeport on Saturday in D,C.
HOW THEY RANK
The latest Regional Rankings have been released, through the games of last Sunday:
- Bridgeport
- St. Thomas Aquinas
- Jefferson
- St. Anselm
- Le Moyne
- Stonehill
- Daemen
- Dominican
- Franklin Pierce
- Pace