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Top-3 Seeds Plus Saint Francis U Survive #NEC15 Men's Quarterfinal Round

3/4/2015

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It was an exciting and entertaining start to the 2015 NEC Tournament. In the end, St. Francis Brooklyn, Robert Morris, Bryant and Saint Francis U are all moving onto the semifinal round. No. 5 Saint Francis U pulled off the lone “upset” of the night, running past defending champion, and No. 4 seed, Mount St. Mary’s at Knott Arena. In search of their first-ever conference crown, the top-seeded Terriers survived a scare from borough rival No. 8 LIU Brooklyn. In the featured game of the night on MSG+ and Fox College Sports Atlantic, No. 3 Bryant and No. 6 Sacred Heart tussled through two overtimes with the home team eventually prevailing. Bryant forced the first extra session when senior Joe O’Shea sank a 3-pointer at the buzzer. The Bulldogs are headed to the semifinal round for the first time where they will face No. 2 Robert Morris. The RMU Colonials handled No. 7 Wagner at home and have now made it through to the NEC Tournament semifinals for the fifth time in Andy Toole’s five-year tenure. Bryant and Robert Morris will tip off Saturday’s #NEC15 DoubleHeader on MSG at 12:00 pm ET. St. Francis Brooklyn and Saint Francis U will follow live from the Pope Center at 2:00 pm ET.



WEDNESDAY3.4.15QUARTERFINALSCAMPUS SITES@ HIGHER SEED
QF
#1 St. Francis Brooklyn 79
#8 LIU Brooklyn 70 FINAL Box Score | Recap
QF
#2 Robert Morris  91
#7 Wagner  68 FINAL Box Score | Recap
QF
#3 Bryant 91
#6 Sacred Heart 85 FINAL (2OT) Box Score | Recap
QF
#4 Mount St. Mary's 58
#5 Saint Francis U 73 FINAL Box Score | Recap
SATURDAY  3.7.15  SEMIFINALS CAMPUS SITES@ HIGHER SEED
SF
#2 Robert Morris  
#3 Bryant   12:00 PM Watch Live | Live Stats
TV: MSG, FCS
SF
#1 St. Francis Brooklyn
#5 Saint Francis U 2:00 PM Watch Live | Live Stats
TV: MSG, FCS
TUESDAY  3.10.15  CHAMPIONSHIP@ HIGHER SEED
CH
 
  7:00 pm (ESPN2) Watch Live | Live Stats

#1 St. Francis Brooklyn 79, #8 LIU Brooklyn 70
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Brooklyn, NY -- The top-seeded St. Francis Brooklyn Terriers defeated the No. 8 LIU Brooklyn, 79-70, to advance to the 2015 Northeast Conference semifinals for the first time since the 2002-2003 season. 

Terriers’ senior guard Brent Jones (Brooklyn, NY) poured in a career-high 31 points and classmate Jalen Cannon (Allentown, PA) added 15 points and grabbed a game-high 15 rebounds for his 19th double-double of the season.

St. Francis Brooklyn (22-10), who will host the No. 5 seeded Saint Francis University Red Flash on Saturday afternoon, fell behind by a 10-2 margin at the 16:51 mark of the opening stanza.

“I was proud of our guys today. I knew it was going to be a war, a tough physical game,” said NEC Coach of the Year Glenn Braica. “They got on us early.”

The Terriers responded with a 16-6 run to take the lead for good, 18-16, midway through the half.

The Terriers then embarked on another giant run, 17-4, to grab their largest lead of the game at 35-20 with 1:34 remaining before the break.  St. Francis Brooklyn settled for a 35-22 halftime advantage as they held the Blackbirds to just 33.3 percent shooting.

“The press really helped us, it turned the game,” said Braica. “We got three steals in a row and made some big plays off of them. Brent got some big baskets in transition.  It really changed the game and it got us some quick baskets when we had trouble scoring.”

LIU Brooklyn (12-18) trailed 38-24 with 18:37 remaining in the contest after a trey by Jones, but answered with an 18-6 spurt to trim the deficit to just 44-42 at the 10:51 mark.   Freshman forward Nura Zanna (Kaduna, Nigeria) and senior forward Landon Atterberry (Detroit, Michigan) recorded consecutive dunks, and freshman guard Martin Hermannsson (Reykjavik, Iceland) swished a jumper to complete the run.

However, the visitors were never able to knot the score as the Terriers responded by scoring nine of the games next 11 points to move ahead 53-44 with 9:30 left in the contest.  Cannon initiated the key stretch by completing a conventional three-point play and then added a jumper after an LIU bucket. The hosts then forced the Blackbirds into consecutive turnovers, which led to easy layups by Jones and sophomore guard Yunus Hopkinson (New York, NY) to cap the run.

LIU Brooklyn made one final push as they whittled the lead to 57-51 at the 7:11 mark.  Sophomore guard Iverson Fleming (North Brunswick, NJ) scored five straight for the Blackbirds as he splashed a trifecta and then converted a layup off an assist from Hermannsson after the Terriers had taken a 57-46 lead.

Once again, however, St. Francis Brooklyn kept the visitors at bay as junior forward Amdy Fall (New York, NY) scored inside and Jones followed with two free throws to push the lead back to double-digits at 61-51 with 6:25 remaining.

The visitors, who shot 60.9 percent in the second-half, were able to get as close as seven points on a couple of occasions but were unable to inch any closer.  The Terriers went 12-of-14 from the charity-stripe over the final 3:21 of the contest to put the game away.

Jones (five assists), a First Team All NEC selection, converted 8-of-16 field goals en route to his career night.  The Terriers all-time assist leader also hit 3-of-8 of his long-distance attempts and went 12-for-14 from the line.  Cannon, the NEC’s Most Valuable Player, played all 40 minutes and went 6-for-11 from the field.

Atterberry paced the Blackbirds with 18 points on 7-for-11 shooting.  Freshman guard Elvar Fridriksson (Reykjanesbaer, Iceland/Njardvik) dished a game-high seven assists and added eight points.

Hopkinson tied his career-high with 11 points in 20 minutes off the bench for the Terriers, who shot 43.4 percent overall in the contest and hit 27-of-35 (77.1 percent) from the chalk  The Blackbirds finished 23-of-50 overall and converted 18-of-23 (78.3 percent) from the line.

The Terriers held a narrow 32-31 edge on the glass and committed seven fewer turnovers, 15-8.

St. Francis Brooklyn Head Coach Glenn Braica
 
Opening Statement
"I was proud of our guys today. I knew it was going to be a war, a tough physical game. They got on us early. They surrounded Jalen early and we couldn’t score. Give our guys a lot of credit. We really got it going at the end of the first half. All of the guys on our bench gave us a boost and they all did a great job. They went on run in the second half and I was proud of the way our guys responded.  Brent and Yunis got to line and made big foul shots. It was a good effort by them."
 
On the atmosphere in the Pope Center
"We’ve played in some great atmospheres this year but nothing like this. This was crazy. I’ve been in the Carrier Dome, but I’m telling you these little gyms are worse. When you get a place like this going, it’s an adjustment for both teams. The school has done a great job getting people excited. This was sold out yesterday. It’s great; it’s fun for the school.
 
SFBK's Jalen Cannon, the #NECMBB Player of the Year

On beating rival LIU in front of the home crowd
"It means a lot to beat LIU. It was finally good to get them three times in a row. Tonight’s crowd was crazy. It felt like we were back at Syracuse in the Carrier Dome. It got loud. The fans were great and it got us pumped up."


#2 Robert Morris 91, #7 Wagner 68
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Moon Township, PA -- Senior forward Lucky Jones tied a career-high with 27 points and No. 2 Robert Morris shot 53.6 percent (30-for-56) from the field in posting a 91-68 victory over No. 7 Wagner in the quarterfinals of the 2015 Northeast Conference Tournament Wednesday at the Charles L. Sewall Center.

RMU improved to 17-14 on the 2014-15 campaign with the victory, while Wagner concluded its season with a record of 10-20.

Stedman Allen converted a three-point play to open the game's scoring to give the Seahawks an early 3-0 lead, but the Colonials responded with a 15-4 spurt to grab a 15-7 advantage at the 14:37 mark of the first half. Freshman guard Marcquise Reed and junior guard Rodney Pryor each scored five points during the run, while Jones connected for a three-pointer.

Freshman forward Elijah Minnie gave Robert Morris its first double-digit advantage, 20-9, with 13:01 to play before the break with a three-pointer, but a dunk from Nolan Long and layups from Hugo Naurais and Marcus Burton helped Wagner close to within 20-15.

RMU followed with a 19-5 run that pushed its lead to 39-20, a spurt that was capped by a pair of free throws from Jones. However, the Colonials were held scoreless over the final four minutes of the half, and the Seahawks scored eight straight points to trim their deficit to 39-28 at halftime. Reed was the main offensive force for Robert Morris in the first half, scoring 12 points while recording a pair of steals.

Wagner was able to get its deficit into single digits just once in the second half, as Mike Aaman converted a pair at the free-throw line with 16:21 to play that helped the Seahawks close to within 45-36.

Robert Morris then went to work from beyond the arc, as Pryor connected from deep, followed by a trio of triples from Jones that allowed the Colonials to grab a 59-38 cushion with 12:39 remaining.

Jones finished with 27 points on 8-of-12 shooting from the field, including a 5-for-6 performance from beyond the arc, while going 6-for-6 at the free-throw line. He led four Colonials in double figures. Reed contributed 22 points, five assists and three steals, while Pryor chipped in 15 points, eight boards and a career-high seven assists. Sophomore guard Kavon Stewart added 10 points and five dimes.

"We shot the ball incredibly well again, and I thought we defended well enough for stretches where we were able to string some stops together," head coach Andrew Toole said. "Give credit to Wagner, they continued to fight in the second half. Lucky made some huge threes for us, and we were able to extend the game and keep control of it."

Wagner was led by Burton and Aaman, who each scored 19 points. Burton scored 17 points in the second half and recorded a pair of steals, while Aaman grabbed eight rebounds.

"I'm extremely proud of my guys," Wagner head coach Bashir Mason said. "I thought we fought for the entire 40 minutes. Every mistake we made, with a veteran-led team, an older group, they made us pay for every mistake."

Robert Morris Head Coach Andrew Toole
 
Opening Statement
"“Obviously a great effort by us tonight. We shot the ball incredibly well again, thought we defended well enough for stretches where we were able to string some stops together. Give credit to Wagner, they continued to fight in the second half, continued to try to drum it up and kept it at nine or 11 for a while and then Lucky made some huge threes for us and we were able to extend the game and keep control of it. Happy to be moving on and excited that we were able to get the win tonight.”

Wagner Head Coach Bashir Mason
 
Opening Statement
"“My takeaway from the game is that I’m extremely proud of my guys. I thought we fought the entire 40 minutes. We battled. I thought we played hard. Every mistake we made, I think a veteran-led team, an older group, they made us pay for every mistake, and that Robert Morris team is really good. They’re going to go deep into this NEC Tournament and they’ll have a great chance to win this thing. I don’t take away from this that my guys should hang their head and, you know, feel bad about their effort. I think this entire season for us has been about learning and teaching these young guys how to compete at this level. And from start to finish, from where we were to where we are today, we’ve become a really good team.”

 
#3 Bryant 91, #6 Sacred Heart 85 (2OT)
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Smithfield, RI --  Senior guard Joe O'Shea (Burlington, VT) buried a desperation 3-pointer from the top of the arc with 0.3 seconds left in regulation to tie the game at 63-63, but it would take two overtimes to finally decide the 2015 Northeast Conference Quarterfinal between No.3 Bryant and No.6  Sacred Heart.

The Bulldogs prevailed, 91-85, to advance to their first-ever NEC Semifinal.

"I’ve done this 31 years and there are some games you never forget," said Bryant head coach Tim O'Shea. "To have that spectacular shot by my nephew makes it really special. It was just a spectacular college basketball game. That is as good a college basketball game you can see from a competition standpoint and a drama standpoint."

The Pioneers (15-17) got on the board first in the first extra frame, but an and-one from sophomore forward Dan Garvin (Bethel, CT) would give the third-seeded Bulldogs (16-14) the 68-67 lead with 3:06 left to play. Garvin would keep the Pioneers from regaining the edge with a monster block on Evan Kelley – his third of the game – and while Sacred Heart tied the game at 70-70, the league's top free throw shooter in senior guard Dyami Starks (Duluth, MN) would complete a three-point play of his own with two minutes to go for the 73-70 edge.

The teams traded made freebies into the final 30 seconds of the frame with the Bulldogs maintaining a slight 75-74 edge, before junior point guard Shane McLaughlin (Old Tappan, NJ) drove the lane for a layup that put Bryant out front by three with 25.5 to go. But Garvin's fifth foul would send Kelley to the line for a game-tying and-one, which the senior would hit to send the game to yet another overtime session.

In the second OT, Kostur would answer SHU's opening basket with his second triple of the day for an 80-79 lead. McLaughlin broke an 82-82 tie with two makes from the line and would grab the rebound on a Steve Glowiak miss to feed O'Shea for a basket and an 86-82 lead that would mark Bryant's largest of the game to that point.

The Pioneers would be forced to foul O'Shea with 35.5 ticks left on the clock, but while the senior captain would hit just one, it would give the Bulldogs enough of a cushion en route to the 91-85 double overtime victory.

O'Shea led the game with 23 points in Wednesday's quarterfinal victory, while Starks added 22 to pace four Bulldogs in double figures. McLaughlin chipped in 18 more on 7-of-16 shooting while dishing out five assists and committing just a single turnover in 50 minutes of play. Redshirt-freshman Bosko Kostur (Melbourne, Australia) added 12 points with a game-high nine rebounds, while Garvin finished with nine points, nine boards and three blocks.
 
Cane Broome tied O'Shea's game high with 23 points, hitting 9-of-18 from the floor. Kelley added 15 points (5 assists) while De'Von Barnett added 14 on perfect 6-for-6 shooting from the field. A trio of Pioneers – Phil Gaetano (9 assists), Jordan Allen and Steve Glowiak – finished with 10 points.

"The hardest thing is that I don’t get to coach those guys anymore because they really helped establish us as a legitimate contender and their leadership was a big part of it," said SHU head coach Anthony Latina. "Phil, Steve and Evan had a lot to do with this. My heart breaks for them. Unfortunately only one team can win and the break went Bryant’s way."

Bryant Head Coach Tim O'Shea
 
Opening Statement
"I’ve done this 31 years and there are some games you never forget. What is special about today is that it’s a tournament game. If you lose you’re done. To have that spectacular shot by my nephew makes it really special. It was just a spectacular college basketball game. That is as good a college basketball game you can see from a competitions standpoint and a drama standpoint. As a coach, it was great to be a part of this.
 
On Curtis Oakley
"Oak isn’t the most athletic guy in the world but he is a real gamer. I had him talk to the team before we went out for the end because I consider him the heart and soul of this team. He is a lot like his uncle, he’s an unbelievable teammate and as a way of inspiring his teammates step up. He did it not only with his voice today but with his play."
 
On Shane McLaughlin
"I call him the NECs Bobby Hurley. He’s a Jersey kid, he’s tough as nails and he’s not a great shooter but he makes big shots. He’s great under pressure. I don’t have to say much in terms of what to run I just let him make the calls. He’s at the point, I have a lot of trust in him."
 
Sacred Heart Head Coach Anthony Latina
 
Opening Statement
"The hardest thing is that I don’t get to coach those guys anymore because they really helped establish us as a legitimate contender and their leadership was a big part of it. Phil, Steve and Evan had a lot to do with this. My heart breaks for them. Unfortunately only one team can win and the break went Bryant’s way. They got a little lucky and we got a little unlucky. They are a good team, they are a veteran team and well coached. Wish the clock ticked .4 seconds a little faster. We just needed .4 more seconds of a break and we didn’t get. I am so proud of my guys and I believe they helped reestablish our program in eight months. Something that if you asked me eight months ago I would have told you would have taken a few more years. If we have success going forward they are going to be a big reason why."


#5 Saint Francis U 73, #4 Mount St. Mary's 58
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Emmitsburg, MD -- No. 5 Saint Francis University topped No. 4 Mount St. Mary’s, 73-58, at Knott Arena on Thursday night in the quarterfinal round of the Northeast Conference Tournament.  Greg Brown scored 24 points and Earl Brown added 23 points and 14 rebounds to pace Saint Francis in the win.  Will Miller led the Mount with 14 points off the bench.

The Red Flash (16-14) jumped to a 9-0 lead 4:18 into the game as Mount St. Mary’s turned the ball over on its first five possession.  Saint Francis held a 15-to-6 advantage after a Dominique Major three-pointer before the Mount answered with a 7-0 run to cut the deficit to 15-13.

Mount St. Mary’s (15-15) took its only lead of the game on back-to-back three-pointers from Byron Ashe and Will Miller with 3:46 left in the opening half.  Saint Francis responded to the Mount run with a Greg Brown traditional three-point play and a Ronnie Drinnon lay-up for a 26-22 lead.  The Red Flash extended the margin to 29-24 at the half.

The Mount cut the Saint Francis advantage to 33-31 early in the second half on a Charles Glover three-pointer, but the Red Flash countered with a 13-to-2 run to grab a 46-33 lead with 12:00 left in the second half.  Five different players scored in the run that was capped by an Earl Brown dunk.

“I think we did a pretty good job of executing what we needed to execute,” said SFU head coach Rob Krimmel. “We knew we were going to see some pressure and I thought we did a good job of handing their pressure and not letting them get into sustained runs.”

After falling behind by 15 points with 5:30 left, the Mount cut the gap to 58-50 after a Miller three-pointer and a Junior Robinson drive with 3:56 on the clock.  The Mountaineers got the ball back after a Saint Francis turnover, but Byron Ashe was off the mark on a three-pointer and Malik Harmon countered with a fast-break lay-up to push the lead back to double figures.

Another Robinson bucket cut the deficit to eight, but the Red Flash sealed the win by draining 13-of-14 at the foul line over the final two minutes.

“They executed their game plan and played a little bit better than we did, and that’s the reality of it,” said Mount head coach Jamion Christian. “When you get into these games, with the emotions of it, if you don’t score early and take care of it early, it can be tough. We ran into a little bit of that tonight.”

Greg Brown finished 6-of-11 from the field and 11-of-13 from the foul line for his game-high 24 points.  Earl Brown hit 6-of-8 at the line while hitting all 10 free throw attempts for his 23 points while adding a game-high 14 rebounds.  Drinnon chipped in six points and 11 rebounds for the Red Flash in the win.

“When you look at the rebounding numbers with Earl (Brown) with 14 and Ronnie (Drinnon) with 11, we controlled the glass and that’s a huge key,” said Krimmel.

Miller was 4-for-7 from three-point range while adding a pair of free throws for his team-high 14 points for the Mount.  Ashe added 11 points and Kristijan Krajina 10 in the loss.

Saint Francis shot 61.9 percent (13-of-21) from the floor in the second half, and finished the game shooting 52.4 percent from the field.  The Red Flash out-rebounded the Mount, 37-19, in the game.
 
Mount St. Mary's Head Coach Jamion Christian
 
Opening Statement
"“The first thing is to congratulate Saint Francis for just a great season. They’ve really put together a good year, and they’ve put together a really good two seasons. The job that Coach Krimmel is doing over there needs to be respected. He’s done an unbelievable job there. As for tonight, they executed their game plan and played a little bit better than we did, and that’s the reality of it. When you get into these games, with the emotions of it, if you don’t score early and take care of it early, it can be tough. We ran into a little bit of that tonight.”

On facing an early deficit
"“Getting down nine points is not the way you dream it up. Obviously we’re a team that’s capable of coming back from that and we did a good job with that, but it just felt like every time we got it within one or two, we tried to make a home run play, and I just didn’t do a good job of corralling the troops tonight and get them to settle down.”

Saint Francis U Head Coach Rob Krimmel
 
Opening Statement
"“I’d like to give credit to Jamion and his staff. They’re the defending champs and they do such a great job. I’m proud of these guys and the way they responded in a playoff atmosphere. I thought they came out focused, followed the scouting report and the game plan, and we were able to weather a few runs. I thought we did a great job, despite our 19 turnovers, of handling their pressure. I really challenged our guys after our loss to them last time to do a better job rebounding. When you look at the rebounding numbers with Earl (Brown) with 14 and Ronnie (Drinnon) with 11, we controlled the glass and that’s a huge key.”
 
On his team's execution
"“I think we did a pretty good job of executing what we needed to execute. We knew we were going to see some pressure and I thought we did a good job of handing their pressure and not letting them get into sustained runs. We jumped out on them early and they made a run and we were able to go back and forth throughout the first half. I thought a couple guys did a great job late in the half defensively to let us go into half with the lead. We knew they were able to make a run and we were able to withstand that run.”
 
SFU's Greg Brown

On advancing

"“It doesn’t matter who we play next. We are going to go in with the same fight as we went into today. We just showed that last time we played them, we were ready to go tonight. No matter who we play at this point, we want it just as bad as anybody else.”

On playing with the lead

“When we were up 11, the talk in the huddles was just focused. We were going through the four-minute stretches with the media timeouts and we were just saying to stay focused and keep going. It’s a new four. Everyone is talking about extend the lead. Extend the lead, don’t give this up. Stay focused.”