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| Bloochy Magloire and his
fellow Dolphins will get bonus exposure if they can keep their run
going into the CUNYAC finals. Staten Island athletics photo |
Here’s something that’s pretty cool and a nice boost for Division III.
For the first time ever, CUNYAC will get new exposure for its student-athletes, with the production of this year's 49th Annual CUNYAC Basketball Finals. The championship games on Feb. 28 will be made available to a national audience of 85 million households and millions more online via ESPN3. In addition to its viewership on televisions across the country, ESPN3 is accessible online at WatchESPN.com, through smartphones, tablets, and other smart devices with the WatchESPN app.
The women’s semifinals feature the top four seeds Staten Island, Baruch, Brooklyn and Hunter. Those games will be played Wednesday night. Meanwhile, Tuesday’s men’s semifinals feature nationally ranked Staten Island, winners of 22 in a row, York, Hunter and Lehman. Hunter and Lehman knocked off higher seeds to advance. All contests will take place at City College of New York.
If Staten Island and York advance to the championship, it would showcase two of the best stories in Division III this season. York features high-scoring guard Michael Woods, who is the nation’s second leading scorer. Staten Island, well, has one of the nation’s longest winning streaks (Read Rob Knox’s story on CSI). First things first, both Hunter and Lehman believe they can pull the upset.
While Friday will be a banner night for whatever squad is last team standing with a coveted berth to the NCAA Tournament, the CUNYAC, New York City hoops and more importantly Division III will also reap the benefits of the ESPN3 exposure. Student-athletes and coaches are excited for the opportunity to play on a national stage.
“Broadcasting the CUNYAC championship on ESPN3 is an amazing opportunity for the CUNY teams to showcase all the talent and hard work that the players in this conference put into each season,” said Brooklyn junior point guard Nicole Francomano. “Thanks to ESPN3 more people will be able to see the high quality of athletics that Division III has to offer.”
CUNY fans and alumni throughout the country will be able to watch their favorite institutions go toe-to-toe for the championship trophies in what will certainly be one of the most exciting events in CUNYAC history, slated for 6 p.m. (women's final) and 8:30 p.m. (men's final) from CCNY's Nat Holman Gymnasium.
“The CUNYAC tournament is a great showcase for the talent that this city holds. This partnership is a great opportunity to have this talent on display through the television media. It's an exciting venture and we are looking to the postseason and hope to be a part of it,” said Tony Petosa, head men's basketball coach at CSI, the No. 21 ranked team in NCAA Division III.
“Providing our student-athletes, our member schools, and our university with the most visibility possible is our goal year-in and year-out,” said Taylor Polchinski, CUNYAC External Communications and Multimedia Manager. “This year we have truly taken major steps to reaching our ultimate goal and I think everyone in and around CUNY will be excited to see their teams on the most recognizable sports network in the country.”
The ESPN broadcast will be made possible thru CUNYAC's production partner EMSECO Media, LLC and our corporate champions Con Edison, Modell's, Hospital for Special Surgery, Pepsi, Applebee's, Municipal Credit Union, US Army ROTC, and Time Warner Cable.
“ESPN3 continues to adopt innovative production and distribution practices in an effort to achieve our commitment to provide unmatched quality and availability of thousands of live college events from across the country,” said John Lasker, Vice President, Digital Media Programming & Acquisitions, ESPN.
20-20 vision
The Mary Washington men’s basketball team enjoyed a season to remember finishing the regular season with 20 wins for the third time in program history and first time since the 2003-04 team posted a 20-5 record. The Eagles earned the second seed in the upcoming Capital Athletic Conference tournament. Mary Washington will gain bye in the first round of the CAC Tournament on Tuesday, and play the winner of third seeded St. Mary's vs. sixth-seeded Marymount on Thursday at the Anderson Center at 7:00 p.m.
The Eagles were fueled this season by a balanced attack that saw four players average double figures: Bradley Riester (18.4 points per game), Taylor Johnson (13.5), Dylan Farinet (13.4) and Dajon Daniel (11.4). Riester, a 6-1 senior guard, was the engine that made the Eagles purr this season. He scored in double figures 21 times this season. Riester was one of the most exciting scorers in the region this season, topping 25 points seven times this season. He scored a season-best 31 points in an 87-59 win over Frostburg State on Jan. 29.
Farinet scored a school-record 42 points in the Eagles’ victory over Penn State-Harrisburg earlier this season, shooting 14-for-21 from the field and 8-for-12 from three-point range while also contributing team highs of 12 rebounds and five assists. He has been named CAC Player of the Week twice.
As a team, the Eagles made 256 3-pointers this season with Riester leading the way with 91 triples. In all at least three players made 40 or more 3-pointers. Johnson made 53 3-pointers and Farinet finished with 46 3-pointers. After a brief three-game losing streak, Mary Washington closed the regular season with a flourish by beating Southern Virginia, 103-97 and Penn State-Harrisburg, 82-56. Mary Washington was ranked seventh in last week’s Mid-Atlantic Region rankings.
Susquehanna shining
The Crusaders finished the regular season in style by beating Merchant Marine Academy, 87-77. The win along with Catholic’s loss at Moravian, clinched the No. 2 seed for Susquehanna in the Landmark Conference semifinals. The Crusaders will host Catholic. In the win over USMMA, Harley Sellinger became the newest member of the 1,000 point club and Steven Weidlich led the way with a career-high 29 points behind 5-of-8 shooting from downtown. Brandon Hedley scored 19 points. He also made five 3-pointers. Sellinger scored eight points and pulled down a team-high 12 boards. Susquehanna had a memorable game to begin the week as Hedley nailed a three-pointer at the top of the key as time expired, lifting Susquehanna men's basketball over rival Juniata 59-58 on Wednesday evening.
Susquehanna won its final four regular season games to finish with a 16-9 overall record. The Crusaders have been led all season by the dynamic duo of Hedley (16.4 points per game) and Wiedlich (15.0). The pair combined to drain 152 3-pointers this season. Weidlich was named the Landmark Conference Men’s Basketball Player of the Week. Sellinger has been a beast this season for the Crusaders averaging a double-double (14.3 points and 10.0 rebounds). Jake Eskin has contributed 10.6 points per outing. In the two games prior to their current foru game winning streak, Susquehanna lost in overtime to Goucher and by four points to Scranton on the road. The Crusaders split both games with Catholic this season.
Perfection
Congratulations to FDU-Florham for being one of four women’s programs nationally to complete a perfect regular season. The fifth-ranked Devils concluded an unbeaten regular season by beating Delaware Valley, 87-73. The win was significant for Devils head coach Marc Mitchell, who won his 82nd game to become the winningest coach in FDU-Florham history. In the win over the Aggies, guard Leigh Ann-Lively scored a career-high 25 points. Devils junior forward Kyra Dayon filled the stat sheet with 18 points, seven rebounds, four assists and three steals and FDU-Florham shot 42.2 percent overall from the floor in the win. Shalette Brown notched her seventh double-double of the season with 17 points and 10 rebounds in a 77-51 win over Eastern. (Read Rob Knox’s column on FDU-Florham)
The Devils begin their quest for consecutive Freedom League postseason championships against Delaware Valley Wednesday night. Delaware Valley finished 15-10 overall and 8-6 in the Freedom Conference. In the other semifinal No. 2 seed Eastern University will hosts No. 3 DeSales University. DeSales and Eastern finished the season with identical 9-5 records in the conference but Eastern gets the highest seed after beating the Bulldogs twice this season. Both the FDU – Delaware Valley and Eastern – DeSales matchups are rematches of Saturday's regular season finales. Eastern edged DeSales 79-69.
The Skyline scoop
Defending champion Farmingdale State is the top seed for this
week's four-team Skyline women's basketball tournament. The
Rams (16-8) earned the regular season crown by virtue of their 13-1
ledger in conference play. Junior guard Camille Romero is
averaging a team-high 19.7 points, while senior Nicky Young leads
the Rams in both assists (115) and steals (64). FSC will host
No. 4 Mount Saint Vincent on Thursday, Feb. 27, in semifinal
action.
Following a 1-13 mark in league play a year ago, CMSV posted a 9-5
record to garner its first appearance in the Skyline Championship
since the 2009-10 campaign. The Dolphins (17-8) are led by
junior center Kelly Fraser, a four-time Player of the Week
selection and the conference leader in both rebounds (13.08 rpg.)
and blocked shots (3.56 bpg.). After advancing to the
finals a year ago, Purchase is the No. 2 seed in this year's
Championship and will host third-seeded Sage on Thursday evening in
semifinal play. The two teams both finished 10-4 in
conference play but the Panthers secured the second seed by virtue
of the league's tie-breaking procedures.
PC (16-9) is anchored by junior center Jazmin Garcia (21.8 ppg.),
who set a program record with 39 points in the Panthers' 77-44 win
over St. Joseph's-L.I. on Feb. 23. Earning its second-ever
berth in the Skyline Championship, Sage leads the conference in
scoring defense, surrendering just 60.9 points per contest.
Junior guard Megan Bowman paces the Gators (15-9) in both scoring
(11.9 ppg.) and assists (5.41 apg.). The finals of the 2014
Skyline women's basketball championship will be held on Saturday,
March 1, on the campus of the highest remaining seed following the
semifinals.
On the men’s side, Purchase is the top seed for the 2014
Skyline Men's Basketball Championship, which gets underway on
Tuesday, Feb. 25. The Panthers (23-2) compiled a 17-1 mark in
league action and are vying for their second consecutive conference
championship and fourth in five seasons. Senior guard Andre Nixon
is a four-time Skyline Player of the Week selection this season.
Seeking its first league crown since 2005, Mount Saint Mary also
earned a first round bye after compiling a 16-2 conference record.
The Knights have won 12 of their last 13 contests and forward Chris
Pisciotta (13.6 ppg.) is one of four MSMC seniors averaging ten or
more points.
First round action commences on Tuesday, Feb. 25, as No. 6 St.
Joseph's-L.I. visits third-seeded Farmingdale State, while
fourth-seeded Sage hosts No. 5 Old Westbury. The semifinals
will take place on Thursday, Feb. 27, while the finals will take
place on Saturday, March 1. The winner of the 2014 Skyline
Championship will receive an automatic berth to the NCAA Men's
Basketball Championship.
Finishing with a bang
Widener seniors Jen Egee and Joanna Persiano finished their college careers in style. They helped Widener beat Arcadia, 90-65. In her last game wearing a Pride uniform, Egee went 9-of-17 from the field, 3-of-6 from beyond the arc and 12-for-13 from the line to finish with 33 points, her third highest scoring game of the season. Egee finished her magnificent career fifth in school history with 1,320 points, first with 71 single-season 3-pointers and fourth in Middle Atlantic Conference history with 231 career 3-pointers.
Persiano went 8-of-18 from the field and 3-of-6 from three-point range to add 19 points and three rebounds. She also led Widener with five assists and two steals on the day. Persiano finishes second in school history with 171 career 3-pointers made. Over the last four years, the duo helped Widener to three conference tournaments, a 75-33 record and an "Elite Eight" appearance in 2013. Widener ended the season with a 14-11 record, missing a playoff spot by one game.
Block party
Moravian forward Laura Jordan blocked five shots in a 76-64 loss to Catholic on Saturday. The senior boosted her blocks per game average to 3.67, which ranks in the top five in NCAA Division III. Jordan blocked a season-high nine shots against Susquehanna and had eight rejections against Scranton in a 66-65 victory. The Greyhounds conclude the regular season leading the nation in blocked shots at 8.96 per game. The Moravian women set a new school record for blocked shots in a single season at 224, passing the previous mark of 216 set during the 2011-12 season. The loss to Catholic earns Moravian a road trip to the nation’s capital to meet Catholic again on Wednesday in the semifinals of the Landmark Conference tournament. The Greyhounds will hope that the third time is the charm as Catholic won both regular season matchups.
McDonald comes through for Juniata
Kate McDonald led Juniata to its seventh consecutive playoff berth this week with wins over Susquehanna and Drew. She averaged a double-double with 19.5 points per game and 12.0 rebounds per game. In Wednesday’s win over Susquehanna she tallied 22 points and nine rebounds. McDonald followed up with 17 points and 15 rebounds at Drew on Saturday. The game against Drew was a winner take all game for the right to earn an all-expense paid trip to No. 1 seed Scranton in the Landmark semifinals.
Richard Stockton ready
The three-team battle royale for supremacy in the New Jersey Athletic Conference between Richard Stockton, William Paterson and Rutgers-Newark was won by Richard Stockton, who ended the regular season with a flourish. Richard Stockton (21-4, 15-3 NJAC) extended their winning streak to six and clinched the No. 1 seed for the NJAC tournament with a 75-72 victory over Rowan University Saturday. Five Ospreys reached double figures with four scoring 13 points apiece as Stockton raced out to a double-digit lead and held off a late rally by the Profs. Rameel Johnson and Josh Blamon totaled 13 points and six rebounds apiece while James Williams and Rich Suhr each tallied 13 points and four boards. Nnamdi Usuwa rounded out the group of five in double figures with 10 markers. As the No. 1 seed for the NJAC tournament, Stockton had a first-round bye and will host an NJAC semifinal on Wednesday at 7:30 pm against fourth-seeded Kean.
Borova balling
William Paterson senior guard Floriana Borova picked up her fourth NJAC Women's Basketball Player of the Week award of the season. The winner of the same accolade on Feb. 3, Jan. 27 and Nov. 25, Borova averaged 26.5 points, 6.0 rebounds, 6.5 assists and 5.0 steals during two WP contests last week to close the season.
She led all players with 29 points and five steals during an 82-66 victory Feb. 19 at Ramapo. Borova also added five rebounds and five assists against Ramapo. Three days later in a NJAC playoff game against the Roadrunners, Borova collected 25 points, eight assists, seven rebounds and five steals during a 74-62 victory Feb. 22. Borova also eclipsed the William Paterson career steals record of 308 (BriAnna Lucas, 2008-12), finishing the contest with 310. Third-seeded William Paterson (17-9, 13-5 NJAC) will travel to second-seeded TCNJ on Tuesday for the NJAC tournament semifinals at 7:00 p.m.
Borova is William Paterson’s leading scorer at 20.4 points per game, which also is tops in the conference. In three games against Ramapo this season, she averaged 24 points per outing. The high-scoring Borova scored in double figures 25 times this season. She unleashed a 32-point scoring barrage on The College of New Jersey on Nov. 23 and a 35-point assault against Montclair State on Jan. 29. Heading into Tuesday’s semifinal against TCNJ, Borova has scored 20 or more points in four of the Pioneers last five games.
William Paterson is a confident team heading down the Garden State Parkway to TCNJ. The Pioneers have won seven straight games. In addition, they split a pair of meetings with TCNJ this season, falling 79-78 on Nov. 23 and winning 74-52 on Jan. 22. The College of New Jersey had its seven game winning streak ended by Montclair State last week.
Cabrini check-in
The Cavs are doing just fine, thank you. After being blitzed by Abe Valentine last weekend, Cabrini methodically mowed down its last three regular opponents last week to cap a 23-1 regular season. Cabrini will host Rosemont Tuesday in a Colonial States Athletic Conference semifinal contest. Of course, the Cavs reaped the rewards of a special season by sweeping the conference’s major awards.
For the second consecutive season, Cabrini junior Aaron
Walton-Moss and head coach Marcus
Kahn topped the list of Colonial States Athletic
Conference End of Year Awards, the league announced today.
Walton-Moss was named Player of the Year, while Kahn took Coach of
the Year honors, as determined by the league's coaches.
Senior Fran
Rafferty joined Walton-Moss with all-CSAC First Team
accolades. Fellow senior Vernon
Robinson was named to the CSAC All-Sportsmanship Team.
Walton-Moss led the CSAC with 24.7 points per game and ranked
second in the league with 10.7 rebounds. The senior also
ranks second in the league in field goal percentage (.576), assists
per game (5.6) and assist/turnover ratio (1.7) and fifth in steals
per game (1.6). Entering this week's action, Walton-Moss ranks in
the top 25 in six NCAA Division III statistical categories.
The senior ranks fifth in scoring (25.1) and defensive rebounds per
game (8.94), 16th in assists per game (5.9), 17th in rebounds per
game (10.9) and 23rd in total field goals made (170). He is
also one of three players in Division I, II and III to record two
triple doubles this season.
Kahn has received the CSAC's top coaching honor in each of his six
seasons as Cabrini’s coach. Cabrini posted victories in
17 of its 18 conference outings to earn the top seed in the
upcoming CSAC Tournament.
Rafferty averaged 14.5 points and 4.7 rebounds per game and became
one of the nation's deadliest three point shooters this
season. The senior's 0.477 three point shooting percentage
ranks among the 10 best in the country. Rafferty is fifth on
the program's all-time scoring list with 1,351 points.
Mid-Atlantic crossovers
Swarthmore’s Katie Lytle posted her 50th career double-double by scoring 18 points and grabbing 11 boards to lead the way in a tough 67-59 overtime loss to Haverford Saturday. Kayla Moritzky contributed a game-high seven helpers and ended the afternoon with a school-record 350 assists in her career. The previous mark of 345 was established by Maggie Dougherty in 1987…. Johns Hopkins got a double-double from junior George Bugarinovic and head coach Bill Nelson earned his 550th career victory as JHU beat host Washington College, 64-57, on Saturday in the regular season finale. Hopkins earned the No. 3 seed in the CC Tournament and will face No. 2 Franklin and Marshall in the semifinals at top-seeded Dickinson. Tipoff is tentatively scheduled for 6:00 pm on Friday, February 28…Also in its defeat to Catholic, Moravian made 13 3-pointers in the loss, the most ever in a single game… La Roche rolled past Hilbert 83-38 on senior day to secure the No. 1 seed in the AMCC Tournament next week and its fourth straight regular season championship. ... Cabrini celebrated the careers of its seniors, Maggie McElroy, Annie Rivituso, Brittany Sandone and Colleen Stewart. The four were an integral part of turning Cabrini around. After winning just 10 games as freshmen, the ladies helped turn the program into a conference champion with back to back 20-win campaigns…The Cavs will host the lowest remaining CSAC survivor in the semifinals on Wednesday.
Atlantic Rim-Rockers
William Paterson freshman forward Nick Smith was chosen as this week’s NJAC Men's Basketball Rookie of the Week. Smith recorded a personal-best 14 points, adding three rebounds, one steal and one block while shooting .571 (4-7) from the field during an 81-61 victory Feb. 19 at Ramapo to help the Pioneers secure a first-round bye in the NJAC Tournament. William Paterson will host Rutgers-Newark in the semifinals on Wednesday…The Brooklyn women notched its third-straight 20-win season and fourth consecutive semifinal appearance by knocking off John Jay College, 54-36, in the CUNYAC quarterfinals…The average margin of victory in the four CUNYAC women’s semifinal games was 33 points by the top four seeds….The York women received an early Christmas gift when Christopher Newport lost at home to Mary Washington. That gave York the No. 1 seed in the Capital Athletic Conference tournament. Christopher Newport and York will play Thursday at home…The Captains have wobbled lately without senior forward Tia Perry, who missed CNU’s last three games and left early in the loss to Marymount…Here’s hoping Perry is available to play on Thursday..A third CNU-York matchup would be a treat…York opened the second half with a 24-1 run over the first 10 minutes to put away Southern Virginia.
Wish list
Here are some matchups I would love to see in the upcoming NCAA tournament: Cabrini-Wesley men, FDU-Florham-Montclair State women, Staten Island-Scranton men, Lebanon Valley-Staten Island women, Dickinson-Purchase men and York or Christopher Newport-Haverford women. These would be six terrific games. Here’s hoping at least one of the games come true. Let the fun begin as the conference tournament madness continues and let’s see who is left standing at the end. The NCAA Division III selections will be Monday. I always love to see how the brackets are laid out.