#3 Southern Vermont College and #4 Newbury College Advance to 2011 NECC Men’s Basketball Semifinals
BECKER FINAL FOUR SITE WITH LIVE STATS
2010-2011 NECC MEN’S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP
SCHEDULE
Quarterfinals • Tuesday, February 22
#6 Daniel Webster (11-13, 5-9) at #3 Southern Vermont (15-10, 9-5),
SVC 63-60
#5 Wheelock (10-15, 6-8) at #4 Newbury (10-14, 8-6), NC
68-61
* Game to be played at Hellenic College in Brookline,
Mass.
Semifinals • Friday, February 25 (Hosted by Becker
College, Leicester, Mass.)
#4 Newbury (11-14) at #1 Becker (22-3, 14-0), 6:00 p.m.
#3 Southern Vermont (15-10) vs. #2 Elms (18-7, 11-3), 8:00 p.m.
Championship Game • Saturday, February 26 (Hosted
by Becker College, Leicester, Mass.)
Semifinal Winners, 2:00 p.m.
ATTLEBORO, Mass.- The #3 seed Southern Vermont College advanced to the NECC semifinals with a 63-60 over #6 seed Daniel Webster College tonight in Bennington, Vermont while the #4 seed Newbury College defeated #5 seed Wheelock College 68-61 in quarterfinal action to make the trip to host Becker College this weekend.
#3 Southern Vermont 63, #6 Daniel Webster 60
Box Score: http://www.svcathletics.com/sports/mbkb/2010-11/boxscores/20110222_4fzt.xml
BENNINGTON, VT- The third seed Southern Vermont College
Men's Basketball team advanced to the NECC semifinals with a 63-60
quarterfinal victory over sixth seeded Daniel Webster Tuesday night
at the Mountaineer Athletic Center. It is the first playoff victory
for SVC since 2003-2004 when the Mountaineers advanced to the GNAC
championship game.
For the second straight season the Mountaineers hosted a home playoff game, but this season it was a different story. Leading by nine, 62-53, with five minutes remaining in the game the Mountaineers allowed the Eagles to make a late game run. Two layups from Daniel Webster's sophomore guard Keith Speed (Columbus, Ohio) and a three pointer from freshman forward Daris Cosby (Columbia, S.C), sandwiched with a free throw from SVC's senior guard Lance Spratling (Pittsfield, Mass.) made it a 3 point game. With 18 seconds left the Mountaineers turned the ball over giving the Eagles one last chance to push the game to overtime. Off the inbounds Spratling blocked Cosby's shot before Daniel Webster's senior guard Chris Hanson (Salem, Mass.) missed a three point shot of his own advancing SVC to the semifinals.
"This wasn't about making amends from last year" Coach McDonough said "It was about taking the next step, we did that this year finishing third in the regular season standings and now tonight we made another step."
The Mountaineers' Lance Spratling led SVC with 19 points, but it was a balanced effort that was the key to the victory. Four Mountaineers scored double figures as sophomore guard Derrick Cenicola (Hamilton, N.Y.) had 15 points and junior guard Taeshon Johnson (Pittsfield, Mass.) scored 12. Although, it was the play of freshman guard Greg Holt (Providence, R.I.) that proved to be the winning ingredient. Holt who started in place of injured junior guard Avery Mitchell (Schenectady, N.Y.) scored 11 points and had five assists in the victory.
"No doubt about it Greg was a difference maker tonight." McDonough said "He is no longer a freshman"
Cosby led Daniel Webster with 17 points to go along with 12 from Hanson and 11 from Speed. Hanson contributed a double-double for the Eagles as he pulled down 10 boards in the loss. Daniel Webster ends the season at 11-14.
#4 Newbury 68, #5 Wheelock 61
Box Score: http://www.wheelockwildcats.com/sports/mbkb/2010-11/files/wcm26.htm
BROOKLINE, Mass.-The fourth seeded Newbury College men’s
basketball team defeated the visiting fifth seeded Wildcats of
Wheelock College Tuesday night, 68-61, in the quarterfinals of the
New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) championship.
Nighthawks’ senior guard John Rowley
(Hartford, Conn.) lead all scorers with 18 points and
Wildcats’ junior guard Kyle Pierce
(Burlington, Mass.) adding 17 points in defeat.
Newbury’s freshman guard Eric Watson (New Rochelle, N.Y.) began the game with a quick 3-pointer to begin the game. A jumper by Pierce and layup by Victor Kashouh (Providence, R.I.) on the next possession gave Wheelock the lead which Newbury would not regain until the second half. Max Kaim’s (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) jumper, assisted by Daniel Main (Hopedale, Mass.), gave the Wildcats a seven point advantage, 31-24, their largest of the half.
Nighthawks were able to quickly cut that margin to one point in the last minutes of the half. Rowley’s lay-up on a pass by sophomore forward Rondell Best (Brockton, Mass.) on the next possession cut the lead to five, 31-26. Another assist by Best, this time to sophomore forward Peterson Bernard (Boston, Mass.) who completed the field goal. With 1:44 remaining, Best recorded his fourth assist of the half dishing it off to Bernard again under the basket cutting the Wildcat lead to one, 31-30.
Wheelock increased their lead early in the second half, 34-30, with Kashouh stripping Tim Young (Brockton, Mass.) and passing to Eric Rice (Woburn, Mass.) who completed a fifteen foot jump shot. Ten unanswered Newbury points, highlighted by Watson theft of Main and going coast-to-coast for a lay-up, gave Newbury the lead for the first time since early in the first half. Two Rowley free throws gave the Nighthawks a nine point advantage, 42-33, with 16:12 remaining. Young’s jumper with 12:28 gave Newbury an eleven point margin, 50-39, but the Wildcats did not go away quietly. Pierce’s jumper sparked a 6-0 run pulling the Wildcats within seven, 63-57, with 5:09 remaining. The comeback was short-lived as Newbury was able to maintain the seven point lead by game’s end. Pierce’s 13 second half points weren’t enough to help the Wildcats who were outscored by Newbury 38-30 in the half.
With the win, Newbury improves their overall record to 11-14 and advance to the conference tournament semifinals where they travel to Leicester, Mass. to face the top-seeded Becker Hawks who are 22-3 on the season. Wheelock College ends their season with a 10-16 record.
LINKS:
BECKER TOURNAMENT SITE
BECKER LIVE STATS
Southern Vermont vs. Daniel Webster Game Program
Newbury vs. Whelock Game Program
Championship Packet and Directions
