Dominican Pulls Away from Jefferson to Claim Second-Straight CACC Men's Basketball Championship
PHILADELPHIA, Pa. (March 8, 2020) -- Jonathan Garcia and Jalen Burgess each poured in a team-best 19 points to lead the Dominican College Chargers to its second-consecutive Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) Men's Basketball Championship on Sunday with a 75-63 win over Thomas Jefferson University at Bobby Morgan Arena in Philadelphia, Pa.
The North No. 1 seed Chargers earned the league's automatic bid to next weekend's NCAA Division II East Region Tournament at a site to be determined. It marked the program's second-straight conference crown and the fourth-consecutive playing in the CACC final.
Garcia was named the most valuable player of the tournament with his stellar play through Dominican's three-game run. He was joined on the CACC All-Tournament Team by teammates Daraja Rodwell and Jason Copman. Tedrick Wilcox added 16 points to help guide Dominican's cause for the CACC Championship.
The Chargers shot 58 percent from the floor and a respectable 42 percent from the arc. They also held a commanding 33-20 edge on the glass.
Kylan Guerra pumped in 21 points for Jefferson in the setback, as he too, was named to the CACC All-Tournament Team.
A Guerra layup with 4:09 remaining trimmed Dominican's lead to just 57-53, but after a timeout, Burgess laid in a bucket, which kick-started a 9-0 run (capped by a Wilcox triple) to make it 66-53. A little under two minutes remained, as that run was the catalyst to lift Dominican back atop the CACC mountain.
Despite the loss, Jefferson will receive an at-large bid to the NCAA Division II East Regional.
2019-20 CACC MEN'S BASKETBALL ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
Darin Bellinger (Bloomfield College)
Danny Walsh (Wilmington University)
Kylan Guerra (Thomas Jefferson University)
DeVaughn Mallory (Thomas Jefferson University)
Josh Bradanese (Thomas Jefferson University)
Daraja Rodwell (Dominican College)
Jason Copman (Dominican College)
Jonathan Garcia (Dominican College)
MVP: Jonathan Garcia (Dominican College)
ABOUT THE CACC
The Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference is an NCAA Division II Conference composed of 14 institutions in Connecticut, Delaware, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania. The member institutions are Bloomfield College, Caldwell University, Chestnut Hill College, Concordia (N.Y.) College, Dominican (N.Y.) College, Felician University, Georgian Court University, Goldey-Beacom College, Holy Family University, Nyack College, Post University of Waterbury, Thomas Jefferson University, University of the Sciences, and Wilmington University.