GWYNEDD VALLEY, PA. -- MVP Darnell Artis scored 22 of his 27 points in the second half to help Gwynedd Mercy capture its fifth conference title as the Griffins defeated Neumann, 84-70, Saturday afternoon in the CSAC Tournament Championship.

Gwynedd Mercy (21-6) captures the CSAC's bid to the Division III Tournament with pairing announced on Monday. Check back to the Griffin Athletics website and social media outlets for updated information.

Artis would break a 61-61 tie with just under six minutes to play with his twisting layup down low and the ensuing and-one to give Griffin faithful on their feet and a lead they would not relinquish the rest of the way.

Julian Hyden also added 27 points as the senior grabbed 10 rebounds for his eighth double-double. Artis and Brian Hennessey each drained three three-pointers while Cedric Elleby would snare 10 boards.

James Butler had 23 points for the defending champion Knights (19-8), who were making their sixth conference championship game appearance.

Gwynedd would build an early 11-point lead only to see the Knights climb back and tie it at 21-21. Butler's bucket off a mid-court steal gave Neumann its first lead, but Artis would answer on the next possession by knocking down a three. GMercyU led by 10 at halftime (40-30) thanks to a 14-3 run to close out the stanza which included back-to-back trifectas from Hennessey. The team would hit six in the first 20 minutes of play.

Neumann would counter again by opening the second on a 17-3 spurt to take a four-point lead. Denzel Yard's three-pointer gave the Knights their largest lead of the contest (51-45) with 14 minutes to play.

The second half featured five ties and four lead changes. Four of the ties would come in a three-minute span. The last tie came at 61-61 with 6:39 remaining, which help setup the eventual go ahead bucket from Artis.

After a layup from Elleby would not go and the ensuing rebound was picked up from Neumann's Darian Barnes, Barnes would look to outlet pass up the court. Artis would make a heads up play and intercept the pass, still in their offensive zone. His drive to the lane resulted in a foul and his shot trickling through the net to send the home crown into a frenzy.

Artis would then hit from downtown and later a bucket underneath from Hyden, and the Griffins had an eight-point lead with 4:26 to go. The team would help ice the contest by going 20-of-24 from the line in the second half, and 12-for-14 in the last 2:28 of the game.

As a team, they would shoot 41.8% from the floor and 30-for-35 from the free throw line. Neumann was on a 45.3% shooting clip, but hit just 3-of-20 from downtown and 9-of-18 at the charity stripe.

Barnes would finish with 13 points, 12 boards, five steals, and three blocks.

Game Notes: The 30-for-35 percentage (85.7%) ties a team season-high…Elleby now has 10 games this season with 10 or more rebounds…Hyden now sits at 997 career points.