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For the first time since 2019, a top-four seed has not made the cut for the semifinals of the Northeast Conference (NEC) Men's Basketball Tournament. No. 1 Central Connecticut, No. 2 Merrimack and No. 4 Le Moyne all prevailed in #NEC24 quarterfinal action on Wednesday evening, but No. 3 Sacred Heart did not survive, as the Pioneers were upset by No. 6 Wagner on their home court. Fending off second-half charges by No. 8 Saint Francis U and No. 7 LIU, respectively, the Blue Devils and Warriors kept their seasons alive in nail-biting fashion. The Dolphins came out of the gates and never looked back in their postseason debut, as they downed FDU in convincing fashion. In Fairfield, the Seahawks delivered the final blow in a back-and-forth slugfest to pull off the three-point upset and advance to Semifinal Saturday.
With the top two seeds still in tact, CCSU and Merrimack will host semifinal contests on Saturday. The Warriors will kick off the action by hosting Le Moyne in a noon start. The top-seeded Blue Devils entertain Wagner at 2:00 pm. Both games can be seen live via ESPN+, YES Network. NESN+ and NEC Front Row.
#1 CCSU 71, #8 Saint Francis U 62
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New Britain, CT -- Top-seeded Central Connecticut (20-10) held off a second-half charge by No. 8 Saint Francis U (8-22) and scored a 71-62 win on Wednesday night inside Detrick Gymnasium. Graduate student
Allan Jeanne-Rose, an All-NEC first teamer, scored a game- and career-high 28 points and veteran guard
Jordan Jones added 18 for the Blue Devils, who shot 50.0 percent from the field (24-of-48) and 80.0 percent from the charity stripe (16-of-20), including 7-of-8 over the final 2:07. After leading for most of the opening half, Central Connecticut held a 34-32 edge at intermission. The Red Flash came out of the gates firing after halftime, though. With the game tied at 46-all,
Aaron Talbert contributed a three and a layup to an 8-0 spurt that put the Red Flash up with 9:37 to go. That advantage was short-lived, though, as the Blue Devils responded with an 8-0 run to tie it up 57-57 with 6:04 remaining. A Jones jumper at the 3:29 mark put Central Connecticut in front for good. NEC All-Rookie team selection
Eli Wilborn led Saint Francis U with 19 points.
#2 Merrimack 72, #7 LIU 66
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North Andover, MA -- Behind stellar performances from sophomore guard
Jordan Derkack, the NEC Player of the Year and the league’s Defensive Player of the Year, and NEC Rookie of the Year
Adam “Budd” Clark, No. 2 Merrimack (20-11) took down No. 7 LIU (7-22) by a 72-66 final at Hammel Court on Wednesday night. Turning in a 50.0 effort from the field, including a 4-of-7 clip from long range, Derkack delivered a double-double on 23 points and 10 rebounds, while Clark contributed 18 points for the Warriors, who advance to the NEC tournament’s semifinals for the second time in as many years. LIU, which pushed ahead by as many as nine midway through the first on an
Andre Washington triple, saw its lead evaporate after Merrimack ended the half with an 8-0 run to take a 43-39 edge into the break. The Sharks managed to trim an 11-point deficit down to a single possession in the final minutes, but they wouldn’t come any closer down the stretch. The free-throw line proved to be the difference in the win, as Merrimack registered more makes than LIU attempts (13) after going 19-of-22. All-NEC third team member
Tai Strickland and Washington each had 18 points to pace the Sharks.
#6 Wagner 60, #3 Sacred Heart 57
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Fairfield, CT -- No. 6 Wagner (15-16) returns to the NEC Tournament semifinals for the second time in the past three years in thrilling fashion, as the Seahawks scored a thrilling 60-57 win at No. 3 Sacred Heart (16-16), the preseason favorite, on Wednesday night. In a slugfest that was a one-possession game for the last 11:13 of the second half, the Seahawks took a one-point lead on a clutch layup by junior
Tahron Allen with 46 seconds left before classmate Melvin Council Jr extended the advantage to three on a pair of free throws. The Pioneers had one look to tie up the game in the final seconds, but their desperation shot fell short. Three Seahawks landed in double figures, led by Allen, who led all scorers with 22 points. Senior forward
Alex Sobel, who was named to the NEC second team a day ago, ended his season with a double-double (15 points, 11 rebounds).
#4 Le Moyne 82, #5 FDU 61
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Syracuse, NY -- Fourth-seeded Le Moyne (15-17) made a splash in its NEC Tournament debut, as the Dolphins coasted past 2023 NCAA Tournament Cinderella Team and fifth-seeded FDU (15-16), by way of an 82-61 final in quarterfinal action at Ted Grant Court on Saturday. Junior forward
Luke Sutherland, an All-NEC second teamer who ignited a 9-0 start for Le Moyne with the first of three consecutive makes from long range, led all scorers with 20 points in the Dolphins’ wire-to-wire win. Shooting 51.9 percent from the field while draining seven first-half triples to take a 42-34 lead into the break, Le Moyne knocked down six more threes in the second stanza to seal the win. FDU, which was held to just five makes from behind the arc, was led by senior forward
Sean Moore (16 points) and senior guard
Joe Muden Jr. (14).