MIDDLEBURY, Vt. – The Cabrini College men's basketball team will continue its dream season in next weekend's NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Final Four in Salem, Va. The Cavaliers advance by virtue of tonight's 78-58 win over the University of Scranton to win the Middlebury sectional.
Cabrini improves to 30-1 on the year, the best record in the school's history. The Cavaliers will make the Colonial States Athletic Conference's second appearance in the Final Four, and its first since Alvernia in 1997.
Senior Cory Lemons (Wilmington, Del./Glasgow) led the Blue and White with a game-high 20 points. Freshman Aaron Walton-Moss (Camden, N.J./Camden) recorded his fifth consecutive double-double with 17 points and 10 rebounds. Junior Jeremy Knowles (Antioch, Cal./Pittsburg) added 16 points of the bench, while sophomore Fran Rafferty (King of Prussia, pa./ Upper Merion) tallied 11.
The Cavaliers' nerves showed early as they missed their first six field goal attempts, allowing Scranton to build an early lead. Junior Goran Dulac (Levittown, Pa./Pennsbury) opened Cabrini's scoring at the 17:09 mark. One minute later, Lemons hit his first jumper and the Cavaliers took over.
Over the next 8:10, the Blue and White went on an 18-2 run, establishing a 22-10 lead. Six Cavaliers tallied points during the spurt. The Royals cut the lead to 25-18 with five minutes to play until halftime, but a Walton-Moss jumper and three-pointer by senior John Boyd extended the lead to 14 points.
A Scranton three-pointer at the buzzer sent the Blue and White to the locker room with a 34-23 lead. The Cavaliers dominated the painted area in the first half, outrebounding Scranton 21-15, leading to six second chance points. Defensively, Cabrini held the Royals to just 35.7% shooting, including 1-14 from beyond the three-point arc.
Scranton came out of the break firing from deep, as it cut the lead to seven on back-to back threes in the first minute of the half. Three Cabrini lay-ups from Lemons, Knowles, and Walton-Moss pushed the lead back to 44-32with 15:34 on the clock.
The Royals continued to chip away at Cabrini's advantage, as the teams exchanged Scranton three-pointers and Cabrini two's. By the 11:14 mark, The Cavaliers' lead was down to two but the Blue and White didn't panic.
On its next three possessions, Cabrini forced Scranton fouls, as Knowles and Walton-Moss knocked down all seven free throw attempts, giving the Blue and White a 54-49 lead with just under 10 minutes to play.
Knowles' lay-up after Walton-Moss' second consecutive steal extended the lead back to seven points. After another Scranton three, Rafferty went into the painted area and converted a big bucket, pushing the lead to 58-52 with 8:04 on the clock.
A Lemons' lay-up at the 7:32 mark gave Cabrini a 62-53 lead. On Scranton's ensuing possession, Walton-Moss recorded another steal. His offensive rebound and put back put the Blue and White up 62-53 and seemed to take the wind out of the Scranton sails.
An 8-2 run over the next four minutes game the Cavaliers an insurmountable 70-55 lead with just 3:15 to play.
Cabrini held Scranton to just eight rebounds in the second half, while grabbing 17 of its own. Though the Cavaliers didn't see the free throw line in the first half, they converted 16 of their 17 trips after halftime.
Sophomore Jon Miller (Westville, N.J./Gateway Regional) scored six points and grabbed seven rebounds off the bench. Lemons and Rafferty added five rebounds. Walton-Moss and Knowles also combined for seven steals.
Sophomore Tommy Morgan led Scranton (23-8) with 19 points on 8-15 shooting and seven rebounds. Freshman Ross Danzig added 11 points in the loss.
The Cavaliers will face Illinois Wesleyan University (23-7) in the national semifinal. The Titans downed Wittenburg 70-49. Guard Jordan Zimmer led the Titans with 14 points, while Eliud Gonzalez and John Koschnitzky added 10 points each.
The second national semifinal will feature MIT (29-1) and UW-Whitewater (27-4). The Engineers defeated Franklin & Marshall 69-54. The Engineers were led by Mitchell Kates' 21 poitns and eight assists. The Warhawks stopped Virginia Wesleyan 76-62 behind Chris Tealsey and Rakeem Davis' combined 29 points.