Conference

Wagner held a tenuous, 12-11, lead early in the first half, before the Seahawks rattled-off an 8-0 run, capped off by a thunderous dunk by Hall at the 9:49 mark to extend their lead to 20-11. Wagner would not look back, as the Seahawks extended their lead to 32-20 on a layup by junior forward Nigel Wyatte (Staten Island, NY) with 4:58 left in the half. Wagner shot a blistering 60% (18-30) from the field in the first stanza to extend its lead to 40-30 at the break.

Wagner came out of the gate quickly in the second half, as a Teoine Carroll (Baltimore, MD) jumper at the 15:09 mark extended their lead to 51-34. The Seahawks would push their edge to 70-44 on sophomore forward Sean Munson’s (Berryville, VA) layup with 7:09 left in the game. Wagner’s eventual 17-point margin of victory tied the league record for largest victory margin in a title contest, matching Central Connecticut State’s 63-46 win over Robert Morris in the 2000 NEC championship game.

Wagner ended the game shooting 57% (33-58) from the field, while its stifling defense held St. Francis’s leading scorer Bronski Dockery (Brooklyn, NY), to just six points on the evening, almost nine points below his season average. As a team, the Terriers shot just 37% from the field.

"Sometimes passion is what gets in the way of your game," said St. Francis head coach Ron Ganulin. "It drains you because you want it so badly that it saps your energy. We never really got our game going the way we wanted. To Wagner’s credit, they came out poised from the beginning."

Hall recorded his seventh double-double of the season, as he ended the contest with 27 points (12-16 fg) and 12 boards. Junior point guard Courtney Pritchard (Southampton, NY) was Wagner’s second leading scorer, adding 19 points, while senior guard Dedrick Dye (Clinton, TN) tallied 11 points for the victorious Seahawks.

"I just concentrated on playing my game." explained Hall. "With nine minutes left (and Wagner up by 25) I really started to feel it. It was the longest nine minutes of my life, but it’s a great feeling to go to the NCAA Tournament."

Freshman guard John Quintana (Brooklyn, NY) led St. Francis with 16 points, while knocking down 3-5 shots from behind the arc.

Named to the 2003 NEC All-Tournament squad were Hall, Pritchard, Dye, Quintana and Quinnipiac junior forward Rashaun Banjo. Hall averaged 22.3 points and 6.7 rebounds over Wagner’s three tournament victories.

"My hat’s off to (Quinnipiac head coach) Joe DeSantis and his team, because every time we play them, its a great game," said Wagner head coach Dereck Whittenburg. "I thought we had it in the second half, but I knew they’d make a run. Our defense was great in the second half holding them to 20 points."

The Seahawks held the Bobcats without a field goal for roughly 13 minutes and grabbed their largest lead of the night at nine, 43-34, with 13:38 to play in the contest. Quinnipiac scored the next three points, but Dedrick Dye (Clinton, TN) connected for a three-pointer that padded the advantage back to nine. Quinnipiac closed to six points, 46-43 after a floater from Rashaun Banjo (Far Rockaway, NY). However, the Seahawks responded again on a triple from Courtney Pritchard (Southhampton, NY).

With 2:35 remaining, the Bobcats cut their deficit to one point, 53-52, on a layup from Jeremy Bishop (Cohoes, NY). Once again, Dye came through with a big shot, a three-pointer with the shot clock expiring that put the Seahawks up by four.

"It felt good right away," said Dye, who became Wagner’s single-season three-point record holder with 88. "I was a little further out than usual, but he was off me enough and I took my time and just shot it."

Banjo countered with two free throws that made it 56-54 with 1:38 left. Jermaine Hall (Dublin, GA) then knocked down one of two from the line for Wagner. Banjo was then called for an offensive foul on the other end on the ensuing possession. Wagner followed with four free throws in the final minute to seal the win.

Quinnipiac held the lead for all but one possession in the first half, that coming when the contest was 3-2. The Bobcats led by as many as eight at

29-21, but Wagner stayed in the game by converting 11 Quinnipiac turnovers into 13 points. At the half, the Bobcats led by four, 34-30.

The Bobcats shot 61-percent (13-for-21) in the opening half, including 56-percent from behind the arc (5-for-9). Quinnipiac also held a 17-8 advantage in the rebounding department at the break.

"Wagner is a great team with a great coach," said Quinnipiac head coach Joe DeSantis. "It was a tough environment, yet we were up at the half. Maybe we tired, or maybe they were just that good."

Four players scored in double figures for Wagner, including Pritchard, who finished with 15 points. Hall, the NEC Player of the Year, added 14, while Dye contributed a dozen, along with 10 from Teoine Carroll (Baltimore, MD).

Banjo finished with a game-high 17 for Quinnipiac. Bishop chipped in with 15 points and eight rebounds.


Semifinal #2
#6 St. Francis (NY) 88, #7 Fairleigh Dickinson 66
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Staten Island, NY -- New York, NY -- St. Francis (NY), the number six seed, advanced to the Northeast Conference (NEC) Championship game by defeating seventh-seeded Fairleigh Dickinson 88-62, in the semifinals of the 2003 NEC Tournament at Wagner on Sunday. The Terriers improved to 14-15 overall and they will meet top-seed and host Wagner on Wednesday in the title game. Tip-off is set for 7:00 p.m. at Wagner. The Knights finish the year at 15-14 overall.

Mike Wilson (Naugatuck, Conn.) led the way for the Terriers with 15 points, all in the first half, on 5-of-6 from three point range. Tory Cavalieri (Atlantic City, N.J.) registered a double-double with 14 points and 10 assists. Matt Hammond (Burlington, N.J.) paced the Knights with 14 points, including his 1000th career-point with 11:11 left in the first half, and added five rebounds. Gordon Klaiber (Greenbelt, Md.) also chipped in 14 points for Fairleigh Dickinson.

Trailing by 13, St. Francis NY exploded for a 27-2 run to take the lead at 40-28 and the Terriers never looked back. Wilson sparked the run by hitting all five of his three-pointers in the outburst, including three straight and they went into the break up 46-32. The Terriers had started off hitting just two of their first 11 field goal attempts before catching fire and closing it out 15 of their final 21 from the floor.

Fairleigh Dickinson opened up a 17-6 lead eight minutes into the game, getting contributions from six different players, including six points from Lionel Bomayako (Paris, France), who finished with 12. After a basket by Devon Neckles (Brooklyn, N.Y.) cut the deficit to 17-8, Hammond scored his 1,000th career point and put the Knights back up 19-8.

The Knights built their first half advantage to 26-13 with 8:50 to go before St. Francis NY found the shooting touch and took control of the game with what would be the decisive run.

"We try to get the ball inside – period," said Wagner head coach Dereck Whittenburg. "We try to get the ball to Nigel as well as Jermaine. The guards did a good job of screening to get the inside guys open. Sean (Munson) also did a good job inside. We make a conscious effort to get the ball inside. We work inside-out."

After Long Island (9-19) scored the first basket of the game, the Seahawks got 10 points from Hall and four from Nigel Wyatte (Staten Island, N.Y) as they went on a 16-0 run. A basket by Gary ended the spurt at 14:03.

Long Island answered with its own 17-5 run to cut the deficit to 21-19 with 10:03 left in the first half. A Clet Titus (Brooklyn, N.Y.) tip-in off a missed three by Dobie, along with a free throw to follow, knotted the game at 24-24 with 8:28 remaining in the period.

Wagner scored the next four points before Maurice Yearwood (Brooklyn, N.Y.) and JaJa Bey (Corona, N.Y.) hit back-to-back threes as the Blackbirds took the lead at 30-28. The Seahawks would regain the lead for good at 34-33 with 5:36 left on a dunk by Wyatte, who finished with 15 points and seven boards.

Long Island was never able to get back into the game in the second frame as the Wagner defense held strong and went on to finish the contest with 14 steals and forced 26 turnovers. The Seahawks also shot 59 percent (13-22) from the field in the second half and built their lead to as many as 26 before settling for the 22-point victory.

"Wagner’s a really good team. They’ve done a really good job all year. The played a dominant game," Long Island head coach Jim Ferry said. "They played like the number one team in our conference. Home court advantage is huge. Even more so during the tournament. They’ve only lost one game at home this year and they had great support. They fed off of it early."

Hall hit on 11-of-18 from the field and also grabbed five boards. Pritchard went 5-for-9 from the floor including 3-of-4 from three-point distance.

Wagner moves on to face either no. four Quinnipiac or no. five St. Francis (PA) on Sunday, March 9, at 1:30 p.m. in the first of two semifinal games.


Quarterfinal #2
#4 Quinnipiac 75, #5 St. Francis (PA) 57
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Staten Island, NY -- Quinnipiac University junior forward Rashaun Banjo scored a game-high 20 points on Saturday afternoon to lift the Bobcats to a 75-57 victory over St. Francis, Pa. in a Northeast Conference tournament quarterfinal round matchup. With the win, the Bobcats move on to Sunday¹s semifinal game against top-seeded Wagner in a 1:30 p.m. tip-off from the Spiro Sports Center.

Three players scored in double figures for the fourth-seeded Bobcats, who received 17 points from Kason Mims and 13 from Rob Monroe. Darshan Luckey and Dan Swoger each netted 15 for the Red Flash, while Erick Wills added 14 points.

Quinnipiac improves to 17-11 with the victory. St. Francis concludes its season at 14-14 with the setback.

"I thought that we set the tone right away with our defense," Quinnipiac coach Joe DeSantis said. "We came into this tournament winning eight of our last 10 and that¹s because we played good defense. Down the stretch, we focused on defense. We came here to play hard every minute, no matter who we are playing and when. And that¹s what we did. We maintained the lead because we defended. We defended their best players well."

A putback by C.J. Vick allowed Quinnipiac to match its largest lead of the game at the time, 16 points, at 48-32. However, the Red Flash ran off the next nine points before the Bobcats would score again. A quick 7-1 spurt by the Bobcats padded the lead back up to a dozen at 54-42, and St. Francis would not get closer than that the rest of the way.

Said St. Francis coach Bobby Jones: "We are playing with just one senior. Our lack of experience made more of a problem than their experience did from last year. We still need to learn the level of intensity you need to play with in a game like this."

The contest started off with dueling runs that forced a 17-17 tie at the second media timeout of the game. Quinnipiac jumped out to a 15-8 lead behind four points each from Banjo and Mims. However, the Red Flash answered with a 9-2 spurt that evened the game, keyed by four points from Wills.

The Bobcats closed the stanza with a 19-6 run to take a 36-23 advantage at the break. Banjo finished the half with 12 points to pace Quinnipiac.

"I¹m definitely not satisfied with the loss, but I¹ve had a great experience at St. Francis and I¹ll always remember this year," said Red Flash senior guard Swoger.  "I¹m still upset that we lost. I wish I had a couple of more years to play with these guys. Their talent helped me become a better player."

Quinnipiac and Wagner faced each other in the NEC quarterfinals last season, with the Bobcats winning on the Seahawks home court. This time around, the stakes are a berth in the tournament final on Wednesday night.

"I think that they are a little different from last year," said DeSantis of the Seahawks. "We are a little different this year, too. They are a terrific team and well-coached, but we are not going to lay down. We are going to play hard."