FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Merrimack and Southern Connecticut knocked off league foes in First Round upsets, while Saint Rose defeated Bloomfield to advance to the Regional Semifinals. Here's how it all played out Saturday in Syracuse
#3 Saint Rose 94, #6 Bloomfield 58
Saint Rose made nine of its first ten shots from the field and never looked back to upend Bloomfield 94-58 in the opening round of the NCAA East Regional Championship at Ted Grant Court on the Le Moyne campus. The Golden Knights (25-7) shot 57.4 percent (35-for-61) from the floor on the afternoon and held the Bears to 30.8 percent (20-for-65) shooting.
Saint Rose will now meet Southern Connecticut State in Sunday's East Regional semifinal. Tip-off is set for 5:00 pm. The Owls advanced with today's 109-98 victory versus Southern New Hampshire.
Senior forward Chris Dorgler tied his season high with 19 points, on 7-for-11 shooting from the floor, to go along with nine rebounds, four assists, and three steals to lead the Golden Knights, who put 13 players in the scoring column.
Junior guard Mical-Ryan Boyd scored ten of his 13 points in the second half, while junior forward Jack Jones scored 13 points himself throughout 24 minutes off the bench. Senior forward Tyler Sayre finished with 10 points and eight boards.
"I am proud of the way we played today. We guarded and we were unselfish on both ends. Chris Dorgler was nothing short of spectacular," said head coach Brian Beaury.
#7 Southern Connecticut 109, #2 Southern New Hampshire 98
Senior guard Michael Mallory tallied a season-high 42 points and became the all-time leading scorer in the history of the Northeast-10 Conference as Southern Connecticut claimed a 109-98 victory over Southern New Hampshire in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
Jerry Luckett, Jr. matched a career-high with 30 points to help the seventh-seeded Owls knock off the No. 2 seeded Penmen. Isiah McLeod added 19 points in the win.
Southern Connecticut will now play Saint Rose for a berth in the regional final on Sunday at 5 p.m. The teams split in the regular season – the Owls won a 68-66 decision in Albany, the Golden Knights won a 72-70 decision in New Haven.
#8 Merrimack 72, #1 Le Moyne 68, OT
After top-seeded Le Moyne forced overtime on Saturday evening in the quarterfinals of the Division II NCAA East Regional, Merrimack rallied in the extra five minutes to record a 72-68 victory and upset the Dolphins.
Freshman point guard Juvaris Hayes recorded 21 points, seven assists, six rebounds and four steals over 44 minutes of action as the Warriors will play Sunday at 7:30 p.m. in the regional semifinals against Saint Thomas Aquinas.
The Dolphins forced overtime on a triple form Stan Buczek with eight seconds remaining in regulation, tying the score at 63-all. In overtime, sophomore Ryan Boulter started the scoring with a 3-pointer to make it a 66-65 game in favor of Merrimack. The Warriors never trailed after that, with a put-back from sophomore Troy McLaughlin with 36 seconds left extending the lead to three, 70-67.
#5 St. Thomas Aquinas 91, #4 Saint Anselm 72
Saint Anselm saw its season come to an end following a 91-72 setback to St. Thomas Aquinas in an NCAA East Regional Quarterfinal matchup held at Ted Grant Court in Syracuse, N.Y. on Saturday night.
The Hawks finish the year at 20-9 overall, posting their fourth 20-win season in the past five years, while capturing the program's eighth Northeast-10 Conference Tournament Championship last weekend.
STAC improves to 26-5 overall and advances to take on Merrimack in the East Regional Semifinals Sunday night at 7:30 p.m.
Cody Ball scored a team-high 17 points to go with two rebounds and three assists, while Chris Braley notched his 10th double-double of the season with 16 points and 11 rebounds in the defeat. Tim Guers added 14 points, four rebounds and three assists, with Harrison Taggart joining them in double-figures with 10 points.
St. Thomas Aquinas was led by a double-double of 32 points and 15 rebounds from Justin Reyes. Four other players reached double-figures, led by 15 points off the bench from Adam Koziol.
Information for this release provided by the athletic communications staffs at Merrimack, Saint Anselm, Saint Rose, and Southern Connecticut
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