FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
NE-10 MEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP BRACKET
March 2, 2016
Bentley used an impressive 17-5 run midway through the second half to knock off Stonehill, while Southern New Hampshire led throughout over Saint Anselm to advance to Saturday's Northeast-10 Championship Final.
#1 NE Bentley 89, #3 NE Stonehill 84 | BOXSCORE
WALTHAM, Mass. – Senior forward Tyler McFarland filled the stat sheet with 28 points, 13 rebounds and a career-best seven assists, and graduate student Keegan Hyland, pictured, netted 16 of his 20 in the second half, as Bentley advanced to the finals of the 2016 Northeast-10 Conference Men's Basketball Championships with an 89-84 semifinal win over Stonehill Wednesday night at the Dana Center.
Bentley, 21-7 and the number one seed out of the Northeast Division, will host Southern New Hampshire, the division's fourth seed, Saturday at 1 pm for the title. It will be the Falcons' first appearance in the finals since 2011 and they'll be looking for their first conference title since 2008.
Threes were flying all night with the two regionally-ranked teams (Falcons fifth this week, Skyhawks fourth) combining for 33 triples and both shooting over 50 percent from downtown. Bentley finished 16 of 31, tying the season-high for makes, and the visiting Skyhawks knocked down 17 of 32.
Down by four midway through the second half, Bentley seized control with 12 unanswered points during a stretch of two minutes and ten seconds. All five starters scored during the run that put coach Jay Lawson's club up 8, 68-60, with about seven minutes left.
McFarland, who also had two blocks in 39 turnover-free minutes, moved into second on Bentley's all-time scoring list and broke Jason Westrol's school record for career field goal attempts, finishing the game with 1,563. He passed Westrol (2,056) on the scoring list, moving to within 23 of Bill Holden's all-time record (2,103).
All five Stonehill starters finished in doubles, with junior forward Ryan Logan leading the way with 22.
Bentley swept the Penmen during the regular season, winning 93-77 at home Dec. 5 and 85-78 on the road Feb. 10.
#4 NE Southern New Hampshire 75, #2 NE Saint Anselm 59 | BOXSCORE
MANCHESTER, N.H. - In the first ever Northeast-10 Conference Men's Basketball Championship meeting between Saint Anselm and Southern New Hampshire, the 4th-seeded Penmen came out on top with a 75-59 upset victory over the 2nd-seeded Hawks on Wednesday night at Stoutenburgh Gymnasium.
Rodney Sanders led the Penmen with 22 points and six rebounds, while Chris Walters added 16 points and eight rebounds on the night. Adrian Oliveira poured in 14 points of his own, with BJ Cardarelli scoring seven points to go with seven rebounds.
Saint Anselm (21-7) will now await word on an at-large bid into the NCAA Tournament, as the Hawks were the #1 team in the East Region in the NCAA Regional Polls released on Wednesday afternoon.
The Hawks shot a season-low 38.7% (24-of-62) from the floor on the night while connecting on only 3-of-22 (13.6%) three-pointers in the game. Meanwhile, SNHU connected on 46.6% (27-of-58) of their shots and hit 6-of-19 (31.6%) on threes and knocked down 15-of-16 (93.8%) of their free throws.
Victor Joshua led the Hawks with 14 points, seven rebounds, and six assists. Mike McCahey added 14 points of his own, while Chris Braley scored 12 points and grabbed five rebounds.
The game marked the 64th meeting all-time between the two programs, and first postseason meeting since an NCAA Regional matchup in 1993 hosted by the then, New Hampshire College.
Reporting for this release provided by the athletics commmunication staffs at Bentley and Saint Anselm.
ABOUT THE NORTHEAST-10
The Northeast-10 Conference is an association of 15 NCAA Division II colleges and universities located in New England and New York that is committed to supporting balanced academic and athletic opportunities for more than 6,500 student-athletes.
Each year, 4,500 of those student-athletes compete in conference championships in 24 sports, making the NE-10 the largest DII conference in the country in terms of sport sponsorship. Leading the way in the classroom, on the field and within the community, the Northeast-10 is proud of its comprehensive program and the experience it provides student-athletes.
