Three of the top-4 seeds advanced in the 2013 Northeast Conference Men's Basketball Tournament Quarterfinal round Wednsday evening at campus sites. Top-seeded Robert Morris defeated St. Francis Brooklyn by a 75-57 count, No. 2 Wagner downed Central Connecticut 72-50 and No. 3 and two-time defending champ LIU Brooklyn beat Quinnipiac 91-83. No. 5 Mount St. Mary's pulled the only upset of the night, defeating No. 4 Bryant 75-69 at the Chace Center.
#1 Robert Morris 75, #8 St. Francis Brooklyn 57
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Moon Township, PA -- Moon Township, Pa. - Junior guard Karvel Anderson (Elkhart, IN/Glen Oaks Community College) scored 13 of his game-high 20 points in the second half to lead a balanced offensive attack as the Robert Morris University men's basketball team earned a 75-57 victory over No. 8 seed St. Francis Brooklyn Thursday night at the Charles L. Sewall Center in quarterfinal action of the 2013 Northeast Conference Tournament.
RMU improved to 23-9 overall on the 2012-13 season and will face No. 5 seed Mount St. Mary's Saturday afternoon in a 2:30 p.m. tip in the semifinals at the Sewall Center.
The Colonials never trailed against the Terriers, jumping out to leads of 13-4 and 18-6 in the first four minutes of action as forwards Russell Johnson (Chester, PA/Chester) and Lucky Jones (Newark, NJ/St. Anthony) and guard Coron Williams (Midlothian, VA/Christchurch School) each connected from beyond the arc.
St. Francis Brooklyn, which finished its season with an overall record of 12-18, whittled its deficit to 20-16 thanks to a 10-2 spurt as Dre Calloway (Harlem, NY/Lincoln (CO)) scored seven points and Travis Nichols (Brooklyn, NY/Food & Finance) drained a three-pointer.
Robert Morris responded by scoring the game's next six points to get its advantage back up to double-digits, 26-16, at the 7:52 mark of the first half as Johnson, junior forward Mike McFadden (Newark, NJ/Technology (Iona)) and Anderson each converted for the Colonials.
The lead eventually swelled to 37-23 at halftime when Anderson rebounded a missed three-pointer by Williams and scored a layup with less than a minute to play before the break.
Williams opened the second half with a three-pointer to push RMU's lead to 40-23, and the biggest lead of the night came at the 12:10 mark of the second half, when Anderson's three-pointer opened up a 56-33 edge.
Anderson also sealed the victory with eight straight points with under seven minutes remaining, the last of which came courtesy of a jumper off an offensive rebound that gave Robert Morris a 70-47 cushion.
On the night, Anderson connected for eight of his 14 attempts from the field, including 4-of-8 from deep, and added four rebounds, two blocks and a steal.
Johnson finished with 19 points, seven rebounds and five steals, while Jones added 16 points and seven caroms.
St. Francis Brooklyn was led by Jalen Cannon (Allentown, PA/William Allen), who scored 15 points and grabbed six rebounds. Calloway added 14 points off the bench for the Terriers.
Johnson and fellow senior Velton Jones (Philadelphia, PA/Northeast Catholic) each established career school records in NEC Tournament play, as a game-high eight assists from Velton Jones pushed his career total to 47, breaking the mark of 43 that was held by former Colonial point guard Forest Grant (1981-84).
Johnson's seven rebounds pushed his career total in the NEC Tournament to 52, eclipsing the mark of 49 that was held by former Colonial Phil Coles (1981-84).
#2 Wagner 72, #7 Central Connecticut 50
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Staten Island, NY -- Second-seeded Wagner defeated No. 3 Central Connecticut by a 72-50 count Wednesday evening in the Northeast Conference Tournament Quarterfinals, hosted at the Spiro Sports Center in Staten Island, NY.
The Seahawks improved to 19-11 and will host LIU Brooklyn on Saturday, March 9 at 12:00 pm in game that will be televised on
MSG2,
Fox College Sports (FCS) and
ESPN3. The Blue Devils, meanwhile, end their season with a 13-17 record.
Senior
Jonathon Williams (Richmond, CA/Kennedy (City College of San Francisco)) notched at least 20 points for the third-straight game and the seventh time this season, finishing with an even 20, on 8-of-15 shooting, with six rebounds. Sophomore
Marcus Burton (Charlotte, NC/David W. Butler) added 15 points, six rebounds and five assists to lead the Green & White second unit, which posted a 26-5 scoring advantage over its counterparts.
Wagner took command in the first half thanks to a defense that forced Central Connecticut into just 22.2 percent (6-of-27) shooting, including 14.3 percent (1-of-7) from long range while using a pair of big runs. Trailing 6-4 with 16:22 remaining in the first half, the Seahawks scored nine-straight points – highlighted by five markers from Williams – en route to building up a 13-6 lead at the 9:33 mark of the first half.
The Blue Devils would rally to cut the deficit to 20-17 with 4:20 following a
Kyle Vinales (Detroit, MI/Phelps School) three pointer. However, Burton responded with four-straight free throws and a triple to spark a half-ending 12-2 run to make it 32-19 at halftime.
CCSU trimmed the Green & White lead to 11 early in the second half, before Williams converted an old-fashioned three-point play and Burton a pair of three pointers to extend the Green & White lead to 46-26 with 14:31 to play. Wagner's advantage would not dip below 15 the rest of the way as the Seahawks cruised to the win.
Vinales 16 of his game-high 23 points after halftime while Malcolm McMillan added 10 points to pace CCSU. Vinales finished up the season as the NEC scoring leader at 21.6 points per game while his 649 total points are a school record.
#3 LIU Brooklyn 91, #6 Quinnipiac 83
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Brooklyn, NY -- Senior C.J. Garner (Silver Spring, Md/South Alabama) scored 30 points for the second consecutive game, and helped the third-seeded LIU Brooklyn men's basketball team erase a nine-point deficit midway through the second half and earn a come-from-behind 91-83 win over No. 6 Quinnipiac in a Northeast Conference quarterfinal matchup on Wednesday evening.
With the victory, the Blackbirds move on to play No. 2 Wagner in an NEC Tournament semifinal on Staten Island on Saturday, March 9 at 12 noon. The game will be televised by MSG2 Network, Fox College Sports and also broadcasted on ESPN3.
Garner went 10-for-20 from the floor and hit three of his six three-point attempts as he matched his career high, also set against the Bobcats just four days ago. The 5-10 guard became the first LIU player to score 30 or more points in back-to-back games since Antawn Dobie turned the trick against Central Connecticut and Sacred Heart in February of 2002.
Senior Jamal Olasewere (Silver Spring, MD/Springbrook) chipped in with 20 points while battling foul trouble for much of the contest. The NEC Player of the Year grabbed six rebounds and matched his season high with four assists in 25 minutes, and moved to within six points of Joe Griffin (1991-95) for the top spot on LIU Brooklyn's all-time scoring list.
Senior Brandon Thompson (San Antonio, TX/South Plains College) contributed 13 points while junior Jason Brickman (San Antonio, TX/Clark) added 10 points and seven assists. Brickman's assist of a Garner layup at the 15:33 mark of the second half gave the nation's leading assist man the NEC single-season record that was set by Andre Van Drost of Wagner in 1987 (260).
A layup from QU's Jamee Jackson (Newark, NJ/St. Anthony's) gave the visitors a nine-point lead with 7:57 to go, before Garner came right back with a tough jumper in the pain to cut the deficit to seven. A steal from Thompson led to a fast break that saw his layup attempt goaltended as he was fouled. The ensuing free throw brought the Blackbirds to within four at 72-68 with 7:17 on the clock.
Evan Conti (Bayside, NY/Holy Cross) connected on a three-pointer from the right corner to re-up Quinnipiac's cushion to seven, but a three-point play from Olasewere and free throws from Garner, Thompson and senior Kenny Onyechi (Sugarland, TX/Kempner) comprised a 7-0 run that tied the contest for the 14th time at 75-75 with 5:04 to play.
Following a split pair of free throws from Ousmane Drame (Boston, MA/New Mission (Marianapolis Prep)), Garner hit again to give LIU its first lead since the early stages of the second half at 77-76. Conti followed with a runner in the lane, but Garner connected on a free throw to once again knot the game with 4:16 remaining.
An offensive rebound of the missed second attempt from Garner led to a jumper in the lane by Olasewere that gave the 6-7 forward 20 points and LIU a two-point cushion. But on the next trip defensively, Olasewere was called for a blocking foul that ended his night with 3:32 left.
Quinnipiac hit two of its next four free throws on consecutive trips to tie the game, before Thompson hit a pair of clutch tries from the charity stripe to put the score at 82-80 with 2:34 left in regulation. After a timeout by the Bobcats, Onyechi and senior Booker Hucks (Bay Shore, NY/Bay Shore) came up with two huge plays at the defensive end.
Onyechi swatted a put-back attempt from James Ford, Jr. (Hopewell, VA/Quality Education Academy), then Hucks drew a charge on Drame that fouled Quinnipiac's 6-8 center out of the game. Previously, Drame had scored 23 points and pulled down nine rebounds, six of which were offensive.
With both Drame and All-NEC Second Team forward Ike Azotam (Boston, MA/O'Bryant (Marianapolis Prep)) fouled out of the game, the Blackbirds went to work. Garner connected on another jumper to give LIU an 84-80 lead with 1:34 left then, after another offensive foul on Quinnipiac, Brickman found Onyechi all alone in the paint for a thunderous dunk that brought the frenzied crowd to its feet.
With under a minute remaining and a six-point lead at 86-80, Quinnipiac guard Shaq Shannon (Philadelphia, PA/Communications Tech) cut the lead to four with a layup at the 39-second mark. But Brickman sealed the win by hitting five of his six foul shots down the stretch to send the Blackbirds packing to Staten Island.
In addition to Drame, Conti and Azotam both had 14 for the Bobcats, who had a 47-32 advantage on the boards.
#4 Bryant 69, #5 Mount St. Mary's 75
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Smithfield, RI -- Rashad Whack (Hyattsville, MD/Bishop McNamara) scored 17 of his team-high 19 points in the second half to lead fifth-seeded Mount St. Mary's to a 75-69 win at fourth-seeded Bryant in the Northeast Conference Tournament Quarterfinals on Wednesday night. The Mount rallied from a seven-point halftime deficit to earn the victory.
Trailing 39-32 early in the second half, the Mount went on a 7-0 run to even the score at 39-39. Shivaughn Wiggins (Charlotte, NC/North Mecklenburg) started the streak with a three-point play while Kristijan Krajina (Osijek, Croatia/Blue Ridge School (VA)) and Whack added buckets to cap the run.
Whack then drilled a three-pointer to put the Mount ahead, 42-41, with 13:42 left in the game. It was the Mount's first lead since 4-2. After a Frankie Dobbs (Berea, OH/Saint Edward (Ohio University)) three-pointer gave Bryant the lead back, Whack made another three-point basket to put the Mount ahead 45-44 with just over 12 minutes remaining.
The lead changed hands three more times before an 11-2 run gave the Mount (17-13) a 58-50 advantage with 6:28 on the clock. Raven Barber (Edgewood, MD/Paul VI (VA)) started the run with a pair of free throws, Julian Norfleet (Virginia Beach, VA/Landstown) added a nice pull-up jumper, and Whack converted 2-of-2 at the line for a 53-48 lead. After a Bryant basket, Whack connected on a three-pointer and Wiggins scored on the fast break to give the Mountaineers the eight-point advantage.
Bryant (19-11) did not go away, getting back-to-back buckets from Vlad Kondratyev (Nikolayev, Ukraine/The Rock School (FL)) to make it 58-54. Norfleet, however, silenced the crowd with a three-point basket for a 61-54 advantage with 5:00 on the clock. Bryant cut the gap to 65-61 with just under three minutes left, but Wiggins converted a drive in the paint and hit two free throws with 1:28 left to push the lead back to eight.
Dobbs nailed a three-pointer for Bryant and Corey Maynard (Adelaide, Australia/Sacred Heart College HS) had a chance to make it a one-possession game with 42 seconds left, but he missed the front end of the one-and-one. From there, the Mount iced the game with four straight free throws for the win.
Whack led the Mountaineers with 19 points, eight rebounds and four assists. Wiggins added 16 points, while Norfleet and Barber chipped in 14 each in the win. The Mount went 26-of-27 (.963) at the foul line for the win. The performance at the charity stripe is the fifth-best single-game mark in Mount history.
Alex Francis (Harlem, NY/Holderness Prep (NH)) had 25 points and eight rebounds in the loss while Dyami Starks (Duluth, MN/Duluth East (Columbia)) chipped in 19 points and eight boards.
The Mount outscored Bryant 47-34 in the second half, shooting 43.8 percent from the field and 15-of-15 at the foul line. Mount St. Mary's committed just two turnovers in the second half.
In the first half, the Mountaineers took an early 4-2 lead on a pair of Barber baskets, but the Bulldogs countered with a 7-0 spurt to take a 9-4 advantage.
The Mount fought back, cutting the deficit to 16-15 on a Sam Prescott (Philadelphia, PA/Imhotep Charter) three-pointer with 11:23 left in the opening half. The Bulldogs, however, pulled out to a 30-24 lead with 4:08 left on a Francis jump shot. Barber and Norfleet each went 2-for-2 at the line to make it 30-28, but Starks scored a lay-up and a three-pointer in the final minute to grab a seven-point halftime lead.
The Mountaineers struggled from the floor in the first half, shooting just 7-of-25 (.280) from the field and 3-of-11 (.273) from three-point range. The Mount scored one basket in the final 11:20 of the half, but stayed in the game by hitting 11 of 12 free throws over that stretch.
Francis (14) and Starks (12) combined to score 26 of Bryant's 35 first-half points. The Bulldogs shot 48.4 percent in the opening half and committed just five turnovers.