BANGOR, Maine. — A pair of close games in the semifinal round of the 2015 Eastern College Athletic Conference Division III New England Men's Basketball Championship saw top-seeded Southern Vermont College and third-seeded Fitchburg State University grab wins to move on to Sunday's title contest.
No. 2 Husson University, the host of the weekend tournament, fell 107-99 in overtime to Fitchburg St. in Saturday's first game. SVC then took down No. 4 Anna Maria College 76-69 in the nightcap to round out the Championship bill.
The Mountaineers tie their program wins record with an overall mark of 24-4 while FSU improves to 16-12 on the season with the victory. Husson and Anna Maria finish the year at 20-8 and 14-13, respectively.
SVC will play Fitchburg St. for the ECAC DIII New England Championship Sunday at 1 p.m. at Newman Gymnasium.
Southern Vermont 76, Anna Maria 69
SVC used a late 17-7 run to increase its five-point lead to 72-57 with under four minutes to go, and the Mountaineers then withstood a furious Anna Maria comeback to clinch a spot in the finals.
Southern Vermont junior William Bromirski (Cambridge, New York) led his team with 22 points while classmate DeShawn Hamlet (Hartford, Connecticut) had 19 points and six boards. Senior captain Dolapo Olugbile (Laurel, Maryland) added 12 points and a team-best eight rebounds in the win. Junior captain Antoine White (Bethesda, Maryland) dished out a team-high five assists while scoring seven points and pulling down another eight boards.
Anna Maria was led by Pat Bradanese with 22 points while Quantez Franklin followed with 18 and a team-best eight rebounds. Michael Gorman tallied a game-high eight assists to go with his nine points for AMC.
The Mountaineers shot 50.9 percent from the floor (27-53) for the contest while the AMCATS shot 46.9 percent (30-64). Southern Vermont went a crucial 14-22 from the charity stripe, and Anna Maria was only 3-9 at the line. SVC held a 39-30 rebounding edge over the evening.
The first eight points of the game belonged to Southern Vermont, but AMC responded with an 11-2 run to grab the upper hand. 10 lead changes highlighted the remainder of the opening period with Bradanese hitting a three-pointer in the final minute to put the AMCATS on top 35-34 heading to the locker room.
SVC came out of the break and used treys to keep pace with Anna Maria, knocking down four shots from behind the arc in the first seven minutes to go up 46-45. After Gorman hit a jumper on the other end, the Mountaineers scored nine unanswered, the last five coming from Bromirski, to take a 55-47 advantage.
The Mountaineer junior added another nine points in just over two minutes to put SVC ahead 73-59, but AMC closed the gap with eight straight points to make it a two-possession game (73-67). Southern Vermont converted on its trips to the line in the final minute of play to keep its distance, closing out the 76-69 victory that ties the most seen in team history.
Fitchburg State 107, Husson 99 (OT)
FSU was down 90-86 with 16 seconds left in regulation, but Raheen Anderson (Miramar, Florida) made a three-pointer and, following a Falcons free throw, Aaron Willis (New York, New York) went from end-to-end to knot the game at 91-91 as time expired.
Fitchburg St. held a 44-39 halftime edge after shooting 54.5 percent from the field in the first half as Husson shot 42.4 percent.
The Eagles held a 66-62 lead midway through the second half, but an 11-to-6 Husson run, capped by an Eli Itkin (Pawtucket, Rhode Island) trifecta, made it 77-68 with 6:50 left.
However, the Falcons went on a run to take an 81-80 lead, and the contest went back-and-forth before Willis sent it into overtime. In the extra period, Fitchburg St. scored the first seven points before Husson cut it to 99-96 with 1:03 left. The Falcons would then convert a pair of free throws and a layup to push the game just out of reach of the Eagles.
Anderson finished with a game-high 33 points and went 9-12 from long range while Willis had 21 for Fitchburg St. Trevon Butler (Waterbury, Connecticut) added 19 points, six rebounds and six assists. Anthony Muccioli had 20 points and five rebounds to lead FSU.