PHILADELPHIA, PA (March 7, 2009) - Philadelphia University claimed its second straight Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) Men's Basketball Tournament championship with a hard-fought 63-56 victory over Bloomfield College tonight at Philadelphia's Gallagher Center. By virtue of the win, the Rams have earned the CACC's automatic berth into the NCAA Division II Regional Tournament. The field and host for the event will be announced Sunday evening. Tournament Most Valuable Player Russell Frederick tallied 14 points, six assists, two blocks and two steals to lead the Rams.

Philadelphia's defense stifled Bloomfield all night long, holding the high-scoring Deacons to 30.0-percent (21-for-70) shooting for the game, including 16.7-percent (3-for-18) from long range. Meanwhile, Philadelphia, the top seed from the South Division, connected on 48.7-percent (19-for-39) of its shots and 42.9-percent (6-for-14) from beyond the arc.

The contest was tight early on until Philadelphia created a cushion by going on a 9-2 run over a span of 1:34 to push a 13-12 edge into a 22-14 lead with 10:47 left in the half. Bloomfield, the North's top seed, pulled to within four (26-22) with 7:11 left on a triple by freshman guard Ahmad Harris, but Philadelphia's Malcolm Ingram tallied four straight points to make the lead eight again. Philadelphia led by as many as 11, with 2:48 on the clock, and went into the locker rooms up by a score of 39-29.

Philadelphia kept the pressure on in the second half and held BC to 28.2-percent (11-for-39)  shooting during the final 20 minutes. Bloomfield took as many shots in the second half as Philadelphia took in the entire game with 39. In another strange statistic, Philadelphia turned the ball over 20 times, while Bloomfield coughed it up only 10 times.

The Rams maintained a lead of nearly double digits for most of the second stanza until Bloomfield went on a late run, pulling to within four (58-54) with 1:46 remaining. Bloomfield was aided by poor free-throw shooting from Philadelphia down the stretch, as the Rams made only 5-for-9 during the final minute of play. However, the Deacons couldn't take advantage and missed all seven of their field-goal attempts in the final 1:02. BC scored only three points in the final 4:29 of the contest.

Junior center Mike Yocum and classmate Malcolm Ingram led Philadelphia with 16 points each, while Yocum tied for game-high honors with 13 boards. Junior guard Marcus Lemon chipped in nine points and eight rebounds, while senior guard Mike Dunn added seven points.

Philadelphia held the CACC's leading scorer, Bloomfield senior guard Omari Knox, scorless on 0-for-10 shooting. He did grab 13 rebounds. Sophomore guard Gage Daye tallied a game-high 25 points, while Wilson Pilarte added 13 points and two steals.  

Philadelphia enters the NCAA Regional with a record of 25-5, while Bloomfield falls to 23-7.

The complete results of the tournament and the All-Tournament team are listed below.

CACC Tournament Quarterfinals

Mar. 3

S#1 Philadelphia 67, S#4 Chestnut Hill 63 

S#2 Goldey-Beacom 70, S#3 Holy Family 56 

N#1 Bloomfield 95, N#4 Caldwell 71

N#3 Felician 79, N#2 Post 69

CACC Tournament Semifinals at Philadelphia University

Mar. 6

N#1 Bloomfield 79, S#2 Goldey-Beacom 76

S#1 Philadelphia 59, N#3 Felician 52

CACC Tournament Championship at Philadelphia University

Mar. 7

Philadelphia 63, Bloomfield 56

All-Tournament Team

Russell Frederick, Philadelphia - MVP

Mike Yocum, Philadelphia

Malcolm Ingram, Philadelphia

Rob Young, Bloomfield

Gage Daye, Bloomfield

Manny Perez, Caldwell

Kyle White, Goldey-Beacom

Devon Young, Felician