ST. DAVIDS, Pa. - The Hood College men's basketball team is going to the NCAA Tournament. The Blazers locked up an automatic bid by defeating Eastern University on the road in the Middle Atlantic Conference Commonwealth Championship 75-71. 

Hood will find out its first round opponent with the NCAA Selection Show on Monday, Feb. 28 at 12:30 p.m.

The win give the Blazers a pair of firsts. It is the first conference tournament title for the men's basketball program and it marks the College's first MAC Championship since joining the league in 2012-13. 

Inside the Box Score

• Mason Wang scored a game-high 26 points and was named the MAC Commonwealth Championship MVP. He hit 8-for-16 field goals and was a perfect 8-of-8 at the free throw line. Wang also grabbed a team-best seven rebounds. 
• Christopher Smalls added 12 points on 4-of-6 shooting, including 2-for-3 from beyond the 3-point line. 
• Trumaine Strickland scored 10 points off the bench in only eight minutes of playing time. He went 4-of-8 shooting. 

How it Happened

• Hood trailed by 10 points, 53-43, after two free throws by Sam Gallardo with 14:12 left. Lual Chol scored the Blazers' next five points to kick off a 15-4 run. Small knocked down a 3-point field goal to put Hood in front 58-57 with 8:48 to go. There were six ties or lead changes over the next minutes and Eastern led 69-66 with 2:18 left. 
• Smalls drew a foul and hit a pair of foul shots with 1:58 to play to pull Hood within one. Kaeshawn Ward missed a 3-pointer at the other end and Chol grabbed the rebound. On the  Blazers' ensuing possession, Wang got the ball at the top of the key with the shot clock winding down, drove left, absorbed contact and got the roll for a 70-69 lead with 1:01 on the clock. 
• Gallardo missed a layup for Eastern and the rebound went out of bounds to Hood. Smalls crossed over, waited for an opening and drove down the middle fo the lane to give the Blazers a 72-69 advantage with 35 seconds on the clock. 
• The Eagles had a chance to tie but Jaron Fairweather's 3-pointer was off the mark and Chol grabbed another key defensive rebound. Strickland got the outlet and was fouled. he hit 1-of-2 at the line, pushing the lead to four with 27 seconds left. William Blet hit two foul shots for Eastern 10 seconds later to cut Hood's lead to two. 
• Wang was fouled almost immediately after the inbounds and sank both free throws to make it 75-71. 
• Gallardo's 3-point shot was off the mark with nine seconds left but Eastern retained possession. A last-second shot by Fairweather was off the mark and the Blazers won the crown.
• Hood trailed by as many as eight in the first half and were behind 39-32 with 2:32 left before scoring the final eight points to take a 40-39 halftime lead. Evan Wang hit a 3-pointer to trim the lead to four, then Mason Wang sank a 3 with 1:16 left to pull Hood within one. Mason Wang was fouled and hit two free throws to put Hood in front with 48 seconds to go. 

Analysis

• Hood shot 46 percent in the game and from 3-point range (11-of-24). 
• The Blazers outrebounded Eastern 35-30. 
• Hood handed Eastern its first home loss this season. 

For the Opponent

• Draig Cooley led the Eagles with 24 points and eight rebounds. He went 9-for-12 from the field. 
• Blet scored 14 points and Fairweather finished with 11. 
• Ward had five assists.

Notes

• Hood improved to 20-6 on the season, the second 20-win season in program history. The first was in 2006-07 when the Blazers earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Division III Championships. 

Up Next
The team will find out its opponent and location for the NCAA First Round with the NCAA Selection Show on Monday, Feb. 28 at 12:30 p.m.