FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 15, 2016
NCAA MEN'S BRACKET | BOXSCORE | PHOTO GALLERY
Skyhawks Win Second Straight Overtime Thriller to Claim East Region Crown
PHILADELPHIA, Pa. – Fourth-seeded Stonehill battled past second-seeded Saint Anselm for its third regional title in the last ten years with an 82-76 overtime triumph in the 2016 NCAA Division II East Regional Championship, hosted by Holy Family University, at Campus Center Gymnasium.
Stonehill (24-8, 15-6 NE-10) advances to the NCAA Division II Elite Eight for the third time in program history with the third regional crown, which will be played in Frisco, Texas, March 23-26.
The Skyhawks will take on West Liberty University on Wednesday, March 23. The National Quarterfinal game is scheduled to tipoff at 3:30pm EST.
Saint Anselm, competing in the regional final for the second time in three seasons, sees its bid for its first regional crown since 2000 come to an end at 23-8 overall, including 15-6 in Northeast-10 play.
Senior guard Carter Smith led Stonehill to victory again and was named the East Regional’s Most Outstanding Player, finishing tonight with a game-high 25 points on 8-of-12 shooting, including 4-for-6 from three-point range, while converting 5-of-6 free-throws to go with three assists and two rebounds.
After recording the game-winning layup to dispatch defending regional champions Southern New Hampshire University in overtime on Sunday night, Smith delivered a tying layup with 14-seconds remaining in regulation to force overtime and then his layup with 34-seconds to play in in the extra period put the Skyhawks in front for good.
Junior Ryan Logan joined Smith on the East Regional All-Tournament team as he posted his 11th double-double of the season (20th career) with 18 points and ten rebounds to go with five assists and two steals as he made 6-of-13 shots from the floor, including 2-of-6 threes, and converted 4-of-6 free-throws.
Sophomore Isaiah Bess added 14 points on 5-of-10 shooting with five boards, while senior Adam Bramanti rounded out the Skyhawks in double figures with 11 points, six rebounds and two assists. Senior Pierce Cumpstone chipped in nine points, eight rebounds and two steals.
Junior Harrison Taggert, who was joined on the Regional All-Tournament team from Saint Anselm by senior Mike McCahey, led the Hawks with 21 points on 9-of-14 shooting, including 3-for-4 from three-point range, with nine rebounds and two assists. Junior Chris Braley notched a double-double for the Hawks with 14 points and ten rebounds (five offensive), while senior Victor Joshua added 14 points, three assists, two rebounds and two steals. Freshman Tim Guers rounded out the Hawks double-figure scorers with 12 points and five assists.
Stonehill emerged from a back and forth 45-minute battle that included 13 ties and an incredible 21 lead changes as neither team led by more than six points all night. In addition to its winning six point margin, the Skyhawks also held a pair of six point margins in the first half after a Cumpstone dunk with 5:27 left and a Bramanti layup with 4:19 on the clock.
Saint Anselm held a pair of five point leads in the second half, including after a Joshua layup (63-58) with 5:22 remaining in regulation. Stonehill answered that with nine straight points to take a four point lead (67-63) when Bramanti split two free-throws with 1:39 remaining after back to back three-pointers from Cumpstone to forge the 11th tie of the game and then Logan to push the Skyhawks back in front (66-63).
Guers drained a three to halt the run with 1:21 remaining and then Braley added a triple to put Saint Anselm back in front with 26-seconds left. Following a timeout, Smith forced overtime with a layup with 14-seconds to play and the Skyhawks weathered two Hawks attempts at the other end in the final seconds before heading to overtime for the second straight game.
Bess opened overtime with a layup, but Taggert put Saint Anselm back in front with a three-pointer (72-71) just 40-seconds in. Logan pushed Stonehill back into the lead (73-72) with a jumper with 4:02 to play and then Bramanti made one of two at the line to give the Skyhawks a two point lead (74-72) with 2:29 on the clock.
Taggert knotted the score (74-74) with a jumper with 1:32 remaining and then Smith’s go-ahead layup came with 34-seconds remaining. Saint Anselm turned the ball over on its next possession and then Stonehill drained all six of its free-throws from there, including a pair from Smith, to seal the victory and trip to the Elite Eight.
The Elite Eight trip is the third for Stonehill head coach Chris Kraus ’06, who helped lead the Skyhawks as a senior point guard in 2006 and was an assistant coach in 2012.
Reporting for this release provided by the Stonehill Athletics Communications staff.
NCAA East Regional All-Tournament Team
Mike McCahey - Saint Anselm
Harrison Taggert - Saint Anselm
Rodney Sanders - Southern New Hampshire
Ryan Logan - Stonehill
Most Outstanding Player: Carter Smith - Stonehill
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 th
