Northeast Conference Tournament Quarterfinal Recap
by Zach Smart
Forget what happened during the regular season. Everything. It’s meaningless at this point. It’s been echoed time and time again, and that “anyone can beat anyone” talk is only going to persist as playoff arrives.
The quarterfinals kicked off tonight and were strong indicators of this. It’s why St. Francis (N.Y.), which sits just a few places out of the conference basement, was neck-and-neck with sizzling Central Connecticut State (16-2 in conference action) at halftime. Central eventually dumped Marcus Williams and the Terriers in the second half, as the lead swelled to 18 on a Javier Mojica jumper with 5:05 left to play. Mojica, who was selected as the conference player of the year yesterday, finished with just eight points on 3-of-11 shooting, but he grabbed 12 boards and handed out a game-high six assists as Central prevailed. Senior strongman Obie Nwadike had 23 points and 11 rebounds, while Tristan Blackwood, who’s emerged as a major scoring threat his final season, scored a game-high 25 points to lead the Blue Devils.
The Devils got off to an irregular start, trailing by 10 after Allan Shepperd got free for a layup. They responded with a powerful 16-0 run to take a six-point cushion at the halfway mark. The two teams engaged in a game of momentum tennis which carried over to the second half. Beyond Williams for St. Francis, Jamaal Womack had 13, hitting big shots along the way. One of them tied the game at 36 and another allowed the Terriers to close within four later in the second.
No. 3 Quinnipiac 78, No. 6 FDU 77
The Bobcats avenged last year’s one-point quarterfinal loss to Farleigh Dickinson with a win at the newly-built TD Banknorth Sports Center. The Bobcats came roaring back from a 15-point deficit behind the sharp shooting of senior guard Van Crafton. The Indiana native scored a game-high 23 points, 4-for-7 from beyond the arc, and hit crucial threes in clusters.
Crafton was able to pad the loss of senior guard Adam Gonzalez, one of the Bobcats’ top players, who was hospitalized with an alleged infection. Quinnipiac overcame a sublime 17-3 surge by the Knights in the first half, along with 21 points from All-NEC forward Andre Harris.
The Bobcats were plagued by foul trouble throughout. Junior guard DeMario Anderson (17 points in 24 minutes) picked up three early fouls and three starters played with four fouls in the game’s final minutes.
Crafton hit two clutch free throws to give the Bobcats the lead with 5.9 ticks remaining.
“All that was going through my head (at the line) was ‘I’m a senior, I’m not going out like this,” Crafton explained.
Harris got the shot he was looking for in the lane before the buzzer sounded, but it hit the front end of the rim as the Bobcats advanced past the first round of the playoffs for the first time since 2003.
Chris Wehye added 15 points for the Bobcats. Freshman guard Casey Cosgrove nailed a momentum-changing three with 58 seconds left to give the Bobcats a 76-73 advantage. Cosgrove finished with eight points and six assists.
“Obviously, Adam is one of the best players,” said Crafton. “But we weren’t going to let that affect us. I called him up before the game and told him we’d win tonight.”
The Bobcats move on to play Sacred Heart at a cut-throat atmosphere 15 minutes down the Merritt Parkway in Fairfield on Sunday.
No. 2 Sacred Heart 100, No. 7 Wagner 68
Wagner simply had no chance in this one. Before a raucous crowd of 1,301 at the Pitt Center, Sacred Heart thoroughly walloped a short-handed and dreadful shooting Seahawk team.
Joey Henley registered his first double-double of the season with 20 points and 11 boards in 22 minutes. Henley, who also plays wide receiver for the Pioneers’ football team, bounced back from a football injury that sidelined him last year and has added another weapon to a perilous lineup that features All-NEC first team selection Jarrid Frye, who had 16 points and five rebounds in 23 minutes. His most impressive statistic, however, was his game-high six steals. Frye shackled up opponents, helping force the Seahawks into a 22-for-69 (31.9 percent) shooting night.
Wagner, who concluded the year with an 11-19 record, went 8-11 in conference action. Though they were quickly bounced from the tournament, the Seahawks qualified for the post-season tournament after a one-year hiatus.
Sacred Heart led 44-25 at the half and never relinquished the intensity. A Henley dunk opened up the second half and kick-started a 14-5 run as the lead continued to balloon. The Pioneers (17-13) shot an eye-opening 58.8 percent from the floor and every player scored. Their defensive prowess, however, led to the most lopsided victory since being elevated to the Division I ranks.
“We came out and wanted to pick up our defense,” said veteran coach Dave Bike. “Our defense has to be important. We say defense wins championships and I thought we had a good first half defensively – we didn’t let up and rebounded pretty well.”
The Pioneers reached the 100-point milestone for the first time this season while ending the Seahawks’ season.
“We ran into a buzz saw that we couldn’t stop,” said Wagner coach Mike Dean. “We were outplayed, out-manned, and out-hustled. We got beat, got beat pretty soundly.”
No. 4 Mt. Saint Mary’s 78, No. 5 Robert Morris 61
Mychal Kearse is known throughout the conference for his defense. The 2006 Defensive Player of the Year shared the award with Central Connecticut guard Tristan Blackwood this year.
On this atypical night, however, it was Kearse’s offensive production which lifted the Mount to victory. Kearse scored a team-high 19 points and grabbed eight caroms as the Mount did the unexpected and defeated No. 4 Robert Morris, which was out of sync offensively. The Colonials shot 21-for-59 (35.6 percent) from the field en route to one of their most lopsided conference losses of the season.
Few expected the Colonials to have such a short playoff curfew, as they defeated the Mount handily, 71-58, prior to tonight’s flameout.
They were led by go-to-guy A.J. Jackson’s 20 points. Beyond Jackson, however, the Colonials struggled. Jeremy Chappell shot just 3-for-13 from the floor, 1-of-7 from three. Senior guards Tony Lee and Derek Coleman, a tandem that always leaves opposing coaches trepid, combined to score 21 points on 7-for-18 shooting. They were just 2-of-9 from downtown.
A 7-0 run brought the Colonials within nine with 5:57 remaining, but Kearse thwarted the spurt with a free throw. A bucket by Jeremy Goode jacked the lead up to 14 with 3:01 remaining. At that point, it was insurmountable.
Goode finished with 13 points and five dimes to help lift the Mount. Chris Vann and Gus Durr each chipped in with 12.
The Mount will count on a big performance from Kearse, the Jesus freak senior from Charlotte, in the semi-finals on Sunday. They’ll certainly need it.
Mount St. Mary’s squares up with top-ranked Central Connecticut in a game that will be televised on MSG network.
