TOP SEEDS BLOOMFIELD AND PHILADELPHIA ADVANCE TO CACC MEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP
PHILADELPHIA (March 6, 2009) - Bloomfield College and Philadelphia University will meet for the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) Men's Basketball Tournament Championship on Saturday for the right to earn the CACC's automatic bid to the NCAA Division II Regional Tournament. The Rams will be looking for their second straight CACC Championship. The Rams and Deacons met once in the regular-season, with Bloomfield taking a 70-62 win in Philadelphia.
With the win tonight, Philadelphia head coach Herb Magee ties former North Carolina head coach, Dean Smith, for third all-time in NCAA history with 879 career victories.
Sophomore Gage Daye led Bloomfield (23-6) with 29 points and six rebounds in the 78-76 win over South Division second seed, Goldey-Beacom College (14-15). He shot 6-for-13 from the field and 15-for-16 from the charity stripe and scored all of his points in the second half. As a team, Bloomfield hit 25-of-32 (.781) from the line. Freshman forward Robert Young added 13 points and eight boards and senior guard Omari Knox chipped in 12 points and four boards.
The Deacons, the top seed from the North Division, jumped out quick on the Lightning and led 10-2 just 3:32 into the contest. Goldey-Beacom responded by hitting four of its next five shots and eventually pulled to within three (20-17) with 8:54 on the clock. The lead was down to one (34-33) after a dunk by junior Kyle White with 28 second left, but Young tipped in a rebound at the buzzer to give BC a 36-33 lead at the half.
Much like the first half, Bloomfield was hot at the start of the second stanza and built the lead back to nine (50-41) 4:29 in to the action. After trailiing for the entire contest, GBC tied things up at 61 with two free-throws from Anthony Parham with 8:11 left. BC got the lead back but the Lightning kept it close for the rest of the game, trailing by no more than six. Jon Crawford pulled GBC to within three (76-73) with 1:57 left, but after two empty possessions for both clubs, two free-throws by Daye made the lead five with 19 ticks on the clock. GBC missed three shots on its next possession, but was able to grab the rebound each time. White ended up hitting a triple, but time expired as the ball dropped through the net and BC took the two-point victory.
The Philadelphia (24-5) defense dominated the first half against Felician, as it held the Golden Falcons to 12 points on 25.0-percent (4-16) shooting and 17 turnovers. The Rams led 21-5 with 3:39 left in the half before Felician (16-13) hit three field-goals and a free-throw in the waning minutes to trail 23-12 at halftime.
Felician made things interesting and cut the lead to one (34-33) with 9:52 remaining in the game by going on a 15-2 run lasting over six minutes, after falling behind by 14 early in the half. However, Philadelphia, the top seed from the South Division, responded with a 10-3 run over the next 5:10 to take a 44-36 lead. The lead was kept near double-digits for the rest of the way in the Rams' 59-52 triumph over the No. 3 seed from the North.
Junior center Mike Yocum led Philadelphia with 15 points, seven rebounds and four blocks, while junior point guard Russell Frederick put up 14 points, six rebounds, five assists and three steals. Senior Richard Fegins led Felician with 15 points, while sophomore Devon Young and freshman Andrew August each posted 10 points.
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 78, S#2 Goldey-Beacom 76
S#1 Philadelphia 59, N#3 Felician 52
CACC Tournament Championship at Philadelphia University
Mar. 7
Bloomfield vs. Philadelphia - 7:00 pm