#3 Wheelock and #5 Lesley Advance to Quarterfinal Action in the 2010 NECC Men's Basketball Championships

2009-‘10 NECC MEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE

To Follow Up to Date Tournament Information at the Becker Final Four Site:  http://www.beckerhawks.com/sports/mbkb/2009-10/news/finalfourpage2010

LIVE STATS:   http://livestats.prestosports.com/becker/mbkb/?e=ook5hef04d7g1yg7

Quarterfinals -Tuesday, February 23

#6 Daniel Webster (9-15, 5-9) at #3 Wheelock (15-10, 8-6), WC 95-67
#5 Lesley (8-17, 5-9) at #4 Southern Vermont (9-15, 6-8), LU 59-58

Semifinals - Friday, February 26 (Hosted by Becker College, Leicester, Mass
#5 Lesley (9-17) at #1 Becker (17-8, 13-1), 6:00 p.m.
#3 Wheelock (16-10) vs. #2 Elms (19-6, 12-2), 8:00 p.m.

Championship Game -Saturday, February 27 (Hosted by Becker, Leicester, Mass.)
Semifinal Winners, 2:00 p.m.

2010 NECC Men's Basketball Tournament Packet

2010 NECC Men's Basketball Championship Program

CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. & BENNINGTON, Vt.- #3 Wheelock College defeated #6 Daniel Webster College 95-67, while #5 Lesley University upset the #4 Southern Vermont College 59-58 in a barn-burner tonight in the semifinal rounds of the 2010 New England Collegiate Conference Men's Basketball Championships.

#3 Wheelock 95, #6 Daniel Webster 67

Box Score:http://www.wheelockwildcats.com/sports/men/mbkb/2009-10/files/wcw26.htm

Click here for the game program

CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. - After splitting the season series in games that were decided by a total of six points, Tuesday night's New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) quarterfinal matchup between number three Wheelock College and number six Daniel Webster promised to be a nail-biter. But Wheelock shot over fifty percent from the field and had two players with over 20 points en route to a 95-67 win over the Eagles in front of a packed house at Pine Manor College.

Wheelock jumped out to a quick 13-2 lead thanks to a pair of three-pointers from junior Dan Main (Hopedale, Mass.), who, together with senior Sherard Robbins (Malden, Mass.) combined for over half of Wheelock's total, with 27 points each.

Daniel Webster head coach Dave Faucher called a time-out at 16:46 mark in the first half, and the Eagles responded with an 8-2 run, highlighted by triples from junior Chris Hanson (Salem, Mass.) and freshman Keith Speed (Colombus, Ohio), but that was as close as the Eagles would get for the rest of the game, as Wheelock outscored Daniel Webster 14-3 over the next five minutes of play and went into the locker room with a 29 point lead.

Daniel Webster was haunted by an unfriendly rim for most of the night, shooting only 11-29 from the field in the first half, while Wheelock hit 21-34 in the first half, including 7-9 from behind the arc. The Eagles outscored head coach John Preziosa's team 39-38 in the second half.

Hanson and Speed were the high scorers for Daniel Webster, with 11 points each, while junior Eric Suarez had three blocks on defense. Wheelock was led defensively by Victor Kashouh (Providence, RI), who had six steals on the night.

The Wildcats (16-10, 9-6 NECC) advance to take on number two seed Elms College on Friday night at Becker College in Leicester, Mass for an 8:00 pm tip-off, while Daniel Webster finishes the season at 9-16 and 5-10 in NECC play.

Story Courtesy of Wheelock Sports Information

#5 Lesley 59, #4 Southern Vermont 58

BOX SCORE:http://www.svcathletics.com/sports/mbkb/2009-10/stats/svm25.htm

Click her for game program

BENNINGTON, Vt. - The Lesley University Lynx defeated the Southern Vermont College men's basketball team 59-58 in the New England Collegiate Conference quarterfinals Tuesday night in the Field House. Lesley was led by guard John Sanchez with 22 points, while the Mountaineers were led by guard Lance Spratling with 20 points and seven rebounds.

With the win the Lynx (9-17, 5-9 NECC)  advance to the NECC Semifinals versus the number one seeded Becker College Hawks (17-8, 13-1 NECC), which is slated for Friday, February 26, at 6:00 p.m at Becker.

Southern Vermont led the Lynx after the first half 34-32 behind Spratling's 10 points and freshman guard Derrick Cenicola's nine points. Sanchez led the offensive surge for Lesley with nine points.

The second half saw each squad tie the game three times each, with the final tie coming with 2:33 left in the game. Sanchez had 13 points in the second half on 5-of-5 shooting for Lesley. Senior guard Matt Grassa put the Lynx up by one with a free throw with 1:36 remaining in regulation. Spratling brought SVC within one on a free throw with less than a minute to go. The Mountaineers had two opportunities in the closing minutes to score but the shots did not fall bringing an end to SVC's season.

Junior center Jesus Trejo scored nine points and pulled down a game-high 16 rebounds for the Lynx. Junior guard Thorton Paul added nine points and Grassa chipped in seven to round out the box for Lesley.

Cenicola had 11 points, including three triples, and he also had four assists. Sophomore guard Avery Mitchell had a stellar game off the bench with nine points and seven assists. Sophomore forward Cameron Herrington chipped in eight points, pulled down six rebounds, and tallied two blocks for the Mountaineers.

Story courtesy of Southern Vermont Sports Information