First Time Since 2016-17 Season that Top Four Seeds Advanced to NE10 Semifinals.
MANSFIELD, Mass. - For the second time this weekend, all high seeds won and advanced in the Northeast-10 Conference Men's Basketball Championship - but this time, in the quarterfinal round on Sunday. The top four seeds of Southern New Hampshire, Saint Anselm, Bentley and New Haven will compete on Wednesday in the semifinals with a trip to the Championship final on the line.
The four teams remaining in the Championship have combined to win five NE10 titles over the past 10 years, as well as seven runner-up finishes. Each of the past two NE10 champions (Bentley and Saint Anselm) will be competing to add more hardware to their respective trophy cases, while New Haven seeks its first league title in program history.
For the full Championship schedule, please see below. All NE10 Championship contests, including Thursday's semifinals, will be live streamed on NE10 NOW - the Conference's digital streaming platform.
No. 1 SNHU 58, No. 8 Franklin Pierce 51 - Box Score
STANDOUT PERFORMERS
- Becht – 21 points (7-14 FG, 3-8 3-FG, 4-5 FT), 5 rebounds
- Guillory – 14 points (7-17 FG), career-high-tying 12 rebounds, 2 blocks
- Sophomore Ethan Okwuosa – 11 points (5-15 FG, 1-5 3-FG), 4 rebounds, 2 assists
- Graduate student Ryan Layman – 9 points (3-7 FG, 1-2 3-FG, 2-2 FT), career-high 14 rebounds, 2 assists
KEY MOMENTS
- Southern New Hampshire led, 9-8, with a little more than 11-and-a-half minutes to play in the opening stanza when Franklin Pierce used a 9-2 run to grab its largest lead of the game at 17-11 with 9:54 to go. The Penmen responded by closing the half with a 17-5 burst that sent them to the locker room with a 28-22 advantage. Becht paced the Penmen with seven points, while Guillory and Okwuosa each added four.
- Franklin Pierce was within three at 33-30 more than four minutes into the second half when a 10-2 burst – powered by a pair of Becht 3-pointers – gave SNHU its largest lead of the contest at 43-32 with 12:06 left. The lead was nine less than five minutes later when a 9-2 stretch trimmed the Ravens' deficit to a pair at 52-50 with 3:58 on the clock.
- That was as close as they would get, as the Penmen would score six of the final seven points, including the first four from Layman, to seal it.
No. 2 Saint Anselm 78, No. 7 Pace 70 - Box Score
MANCHESTER, N.H. – The Saint Anselm men's basketball team secured a 78-70 victory over visiting Pace on Sunday in the Northeast-10 Conference quarterfinals.
Saint Anselm, the No. 2 seed, improves to 20-7 overall on the year, winning as many games for the first time since the 2019-20 campaign. Entering the day with a four-game win streak, the seventh-seeded Setters drop to 20-10 overall and will look to earn an at-large bid to the NCAA postseason.
Tyler Arbuckle led all scorers with a game-high 23 points to lead the Hawks to the win. Bryan Powell led the way for Pace with 18 points.
The Hawks will take on No. 3-seeded Bentley in the NE10 semifinals to be played on Wednesday, Mar. 1 at 7 p.m. in Stoutenburgh Gymnasium. The winner of Wednesday's showdown will face either No. 1 Southern New Hampshire or No. 4 New Haven in the NE10 Championship on Saturday, Mar. 4.
No. 3 Bentley 78, No. 6 Le Moyne 67 - Box Score
WALTHAM, Mass. – Junior guard Zach Laput, the conference's top scorer, posted a 29-point, 11-rebound double-double and graduate forward Matt Leritz also had a double-double as Bentley defeated Le Moyne, 78-67, in the Northeast-10 Conference quarterfinals Sunday afternoon on Barbara Stevens Court.
The win, Bentley's 21st in 26 games this season, propelled the third-seeded and reigning champion Falcons into the conference semifinals and a Wednesday encounter at second-seeded Saint Anselm College.
Better shooting (47-37 percent) and ownership of the boards were keys to Bentley's success with the Falcons having a rebound margin of plus-20, 48-28. The home team turned 14 offensive boards into 20 second-chance points.
No. 4 New Haven 75, No. 5 SCSU 59 - Box Score
WEST HAVEN, Conn. - Davontrey Thomas netted a game-high 21 points, while Majur Majak had a huge game with 11 points, 13 rebounds and six blocked shots, to lead No. 4 New Haven to a 75-59 win over crosstown rival No. 5 Southern Connecticut in the NE10 Men's Basketball Championship semifinals.
The Chargers shot 59.2-percent (29-of-49) as a team, while holding the Owls to just a 34.3-percent clip (23-of-67) on their way to a decisive victory. It is the third time in the past four seasons that New Haven has advanced to the NE10 Championship semifinals.
New Haven will play top-seeded Southern New Hampshire on Wednesday night at 7 p.m.
NE10 MEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP
First Round Friday, February 24th:
Game 1: #4 New Haven 69, #13 American International 51
Game 2: #5 So. Connecticut 85, #12 Saint Rose 71
Game 3: #6 Le Moyne 77, #11 Saint Michael's 74
Game 4: #7 Pace 72, #10 Adelphi 51
Game 5: #8 Franklin Pierce 81, #9 Assumption 74
Quarterfinals Sunday, February 26th:
Game 6: #1 So. New Hampshire 58, #8 Franklin Pierce 51
Game 7: #2 Saint Anselm 78, #7 Pace 70
Game 8: #3 Bentley 78, #6 Le Moyne 67
Game 9: #4 New Haven 75, #5 So. Connecticut 59
Semifinals Wednesday, March 1st (at highest remaining seeds):
Game 10: #4 New Haven at #1 So. New Hampshire - 7 P.M.
Game 11: #3 Bentley at #2 Saint Anselm - 7 P.M.
Championship Saturday, March 4th (at highest remaining seed):
Game 12: Game 10 winner vs. Game 11 winner (at highest remaining seed)
ABOUT THE NE10
The NE10 is an association of 13 diverse institutions serving student-athletes across 24 NCAA Division II sports. Together we build brilliant futures by embracing the journey of every student-athlete.
Each year, 4,500 of those student-athletes compete in conference championships in 24 sports, making the NE10 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 NE10 is proud of its comprehensive program and the experience it provides student-athletes.
