The last two conference championship games were played on Sunday, with little drama attached as the four teams make up half of the NCAA’s East Region bracket:
ST. THOMAS AQUINAS 74 BRIDGEPORT 67
The third time was the charm for St. Thomas Aquinas, which rallied past top-seeded Bridgeport in Washington for its fourth ECC Championship in five years. In a battle of nationally ranked teams, tournament Most Outstanding Player Osbel Caraballo shined brightest, racking up 25 points and 11 rebounds, converting 15 of 17 foul shots, including the go-ahead tosses with 1:41 to play, snapping a 64-64 tie. Then – after the #14 Purple Knights missed four shots and D’Vonne Trumbo clanged a pair of free throws – Caraballo sank two more freebies as the sophomore forward delivered 10 points in the final three minutes, punctuated by a game-ending slam as the #18 Spartans nailed eight straight at the stripe over the last 1:41 to salt it away. Prior to that key stretch, Bridgeport had used a 12-2 spurt in flipping a 51-45 deficit into a 57-53 advantage following a Juan Coffi lay-up with 6:04 left. It was still 59-55 inside of the five-minute mark when Jamar Sudan (10 bench points) scored inside to spark a 9-2 charge that put STAC back on top, 64-61 with 2:18 remaining. Ryo Kobayashi knotted the count 15 seconds later with one of his patented 3-pointers (his only shot attempt of the day), leading to Caraballo’s heroics. The Spartans – who had lost the two regular-season encounters by a combined six points – dominated the first half, limiting the P-Knights to 28% shooting in constructing a 36-23 halftime bulge. Grant Singleton contributed 12 points and four steals for the winners, who also received 11 points apiece from Demetre Roberts and Sikou Cisse; the latter adding 10 rebounds to his stat line. Bakary Camara was high man for Bridgeport with 15 points, six boards and four assists, followed by Jayden Iturmendi (12 points), Trumbo (12 points, seven rebounds in 39 minutes despite 3-of-16 shooting) and Hashem Abbas (11, 6). The game was plagued by a whopping 52 fouls (27 by UB), resulting in four disqualified players, all Purple Knights. The shooting percentages were also unbefitting of a championship game (STAC 38%, UB 37%). STAC – which held Bridgeport 52 points lower than its previous output a day earlier vs. Molloy – fared much better at the foul line (27-32 to 14-25), which was a key factor in the outcome. Despite the loss, Bridgeport will host the regional, beginning next Saturday (match-ups listed below).
DOMINICAN 75 JEFFERSON 63
The other Rockland County, NY team was also victorious away from home in its title tilt as Dominican avenged a January home loss by knocking off #12 Jefferson in Philadelphia to earn a second straight automatic bid to the NCAAs. Jalen Burgess (eight rebounds) and CACC Tournament MVP Jonathan Garcia each recorded 19 points and four assists in 40 minutes for the Chargers, who trailed just once in the second half – at 40-39 following a Kylan Guerra triple with 14:47 to go – before rattling off 11 unanswered to seize control: 50-40 with 11:20 on the clock. The Rams narrowed their arrears to 54-49 on a Deondre Bourne free throw with 6:55 to play, and it was still a 57-53 ballgame with under four minutes left when Dominican unleashed a 9-0 run – capped by a right-corner trey by Rookie of the Year Tederick Wilcox (16 points, seven rebounds) that provided a 66-53 comfort zone with 1:47 showing; the margin bouncing between nine and 15 thereafter as the North Division leader earned its sixth straight win. Guerra notched 19 points to pace the South Division champs, as Jefferson also saw Bourne (16) and DeVaughn Mallory (10 points, seven rebounds) reach double figures in defeat, each playing the entire contest. The Chargers – who won the glass, 33-20 – shot at a 58% clip, while Jefferson made half of its attempts overall, as well as from beyond the arc (5-10).
EIGHT IS ENOUGH!
Due to a lack of tourney upsets, the eight teams listed in the most recent East Region rankings comprise this year’s bracket, with Bridgeport nabbing the #1 seed and hosting for the first time ever at Hubbell Gym. The Purple Knights will take on familiar foe Daemen, which nabbed the eight seed. The third ECC combatant – St. Thomas Aquinas – is the two seed and will square off with archrival and seventh-seeded Dominican for the second straight March (they’ve also played in the last two regular seasons). Third-seeded Jefferson will take on six seed Stonehill, while NE10 divisional champs St. Anselm and Le Moyne will square off in the 4-5 game. This will be the first time in the 64-team era that the NE10 will field as few as three participants.