Day 2 Recaps - 2017 Basketball National Championships
Recaps for March 2nd, 2017 USCAA Basketball National Championship Winner's Bracket Games
#3 Williamson College of the Trades vs. #6 Penn State York
FINAL SCORE: #3 Williamson College of the Trades 65, #6 Penn State University York 66
RECORDS: Williamson College of the Trades 24-5; Penn State University York 19-7
LOCATION: Penn State Fayette Maltho Gymnasium, Uniontown, Pa.
IN BRIEF: Penn State York was able to hold of Williamson College of the Trades 66-65, advancing to the Men’s Division II semi-final.
ON THE COURT
- Penn State York’s Trent Thomas scored nine of the Lions opening 13 points as they took an early 13-3 lead.
- York had a lead of 15 points going into the half-time break.
- In the second half Williamson fought their way back to bring the score to 42-41 at the ten minute mark of the second half.
- With under five minutes remaining Williamson’s Kyree Freeman nailed a three pointer to cut York’s lead back down to one and got the bench alive.
- With nine seconds left in the game, Matt Achille found himself at the line and sank both free-throws York. Those shots proved to be the game-winning points.
BEHIND THE BOXSCORE
- Thomas scored a game-high 27 points on 10-17 shooting from the floor and 6-8 from the line.
- Lucas Jewell of York was one assist away from a double-double and added 13 points to his team’s effort.
- Williamson had three players in double digit scoring; Jo’wan Livers, James Hill, and Andre Merrell.
- Merrell added five assist and five rebounds to go along with his 10 points.
NEXT UP
Penn State York advances to the semi-finals and will face Central Penn tomorrow, March 3rd at 3:00 P.M. in Main Arena. Williamson will play NHTI in Maltho at 10:00 A.M EST in a consolation game.
#4 Penn State Greater Allegheny vs. #5 Southern Maine Community College
FINAL SCORE: #4 Penn State Greater Allegheny 81, #5 Southern Maine Community College 51
RECORDS: Penn State Greater Allegheny 22-5, Southern Maine Community College 23-6
LOCATION: Penn State Fayette Maltho Gymnasium, Uniontown, Pa.
IN BRIEF: Penn State Greater Allegheny shot out of the gate with 18-7 lead. The Lions were twice as good from the field than Southern Maine Community College in the first half with nearly 40% shooting. A SMCC adjustment midway through the first half halted Penn State briefly, but the Lions finished strong with a 7-2 run to end the half.
Jordan Payne and Jeremy McMunn led the way with a combined 34 points. Forwards Curtis Newby and George Prota grabbed 21 rebounds and made it difficult for Southern Maine to score in the paint. Bright spots for Southern Maine included Michael Harmon with 10 points and John Morgan with 8 points.
ON THE COURT
- Penn State outscored Southern Maine 42-18 in the paint.
- Southern Maine was held to just four buckets from beyond the arc (13.8%).
- Southern Maine had just 7 assists compared to Penn State’s 17
BEHIND THE BOXSCORE
- There were a combined 106 rebounds between both teams (Penn State 57, Southern Maine 49).
- Four Greater Allegheny players scored double digits (Jordan Payne, Jeremy McMunn, Curtis Newby, Jumanne Butler-Mcdan).
- Southern Maine had 12 points off turnovers.
- Penn State had eight fast break points.
NEXT UP
Penn State Greater Allegheny advances to play Berkeley College at 5:00 p.m. on Friday in the Main Arena. Southern Maine will play their final game on the 2016-17 season in consolation action Friday at 12:00 p.m. in Maltho against Villa Maria.
#1 Berkeley College vs. #8 Villa Maria College
FINAL SCORE: #1 Berkeley College 91, #8 Villa Maria College 64
RECORDS: #1 Berkeley College 27-0, #8 Villa Maria College 17-14
LOCATION: Penn State Fayette Maltho Gymnasium, Uniontown, Pa.
IN BRIEF: The score does not tell the full story of the game. The undefeated Berkeley College Knights were on the brink of a quarterfinal loss to #8 Villa Maria College Vikings. Two early fouls on All-American Massiah Merritt and a sense of urgency from the Vikings had Berkeley frazzled on offense and forced 12 turnovers in the first half. The half ended with the Knights leading 36-34.
The Vikings and Knights came out of the locker room with high intensity levels. With an upset on the line, Villa Maria led 52-51 at the 12:21 mark. But then Berkeley’s All-American guard Merritt led his team into the semi-finals tomorrow against #3 Penn State Greater Allegheny. The Knights’ stifling half court traps and points off turnovers were too much for Villa Maria. Merritt finished with 14 points, 4 steals, and 2 assists in just 25 minutes.
ON THE COURT
- Berkeley scored 60 points in the paint.
- Berkeley outrebounded Villa Maria 47-30.
- Berkeley shot 42.9% from beyond the arc.
- Villa Maria was 16 of 31 from the free throw line (51.6%).
- Villa Maria had four scorers in double digits (Gerald Bibbs, Eric Waters, Dejaun Owens, Dominic Douglas).
- Berkeley had 19 assists.
- Berkeley had 26 bench points.
- The up-tempo game saw 18 lead changes.
Berkeley College advances to play Penn State Greater Allegheny at 5:00 p.m. on Friday in the Main Arena. Villa Maria College will play Southern Maine will play their final game on the 2016-17 season in consolation action
#2 Penn State Lehigh Valley vs. #7 Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences
FINAL SCORE: #2 Penn State Lehigh Valley 60, #7 ACPHS 51
RECORDS: #2 Penn State Lehigh Valley 19-3, #7 Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences 12-8
LOCATION: Penn State Fayette Maltho Gymnasium, Uniontown, Pa.
IN BRIEF: This game saw several lead changes but the #2 seed flexed its muscles and took control of the game mid-way through the third quarter. Lehigh Valley’s defense held Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences to just 18 points in the second half.
ON THE COURT
- Four Lehigh Valley scored in double digits (Ashley Gordon, Hannah Bankes, Andrea Watkins, Ebony Sanders).
- Rebecca Foote was leading scorer for ACPHS with 16 points.
- Penn State Lehigh Valley had 54 rebounds
- ACPHS made just 3 out of 12 free throws.
Penn State Lehigh Valley and Villa Maria play for a spot in the national championship on Friday. Tip-off is at 9:00 p.m. at Main Arena. ACPHS plays Penn State Fayette in a consolation game at 4PM at the Maltho Gymnasium.
#3 Penn State Brandywine vs. #6 Villa Maria College
FINAL SCORE: #6 Villa Maria College 67, #3 Penn State Brandywine 64
RECORDS: #6 Villa Maria College 17-8, #3 Penn State Brandywine 21-7
LOCATION: Penn State Fayette Maltho Gymnasium, Uniontown, Pa.
IN BRIEF: In a back and forth game, Villa Maria used a strong second half to take control of the game and advance to the semi-finals. Villa Maria’s Shaquana Owens led all scorers with 22 points.
ON THE COURT
- Penn State Brandywine’s Nikki Velez scored 13 points and Chelsea Dent added 13 rebounds.
- Villa Maria’s Armoni Jordan and Dominique Davis scored a combined 23 points.
BEHIND THE BOXSCORE
- This game saw six lead changes.
- Villa Maria had 18 assists.
- Villa Maria shot 38.2% from the field.
Villa Maria College advances to play Penn State Lehigh Valley at 9:00 p.m. on Friday in the Main Arena. Penn State Brandywine will play Penn State Hazleton in consolation play in the Maltho Gymnasium.
#1 University of Maine Fort Kent vs. #4 Illinois Tech
FINAL SCORE: #1 University of Maine Fort Kent 84, #4 Illinois Tech 85
RECORDS: University of Maine Fort Kent 23-9; Illinois Tech 22-5
LOCATION: Penn State Fayette Main Arena, Uniontown, Pa.
IN BRIEF: In a double overtime thriller that saw 11 lead changes, #4 Illinois Institute of Technology overcame an 18 point deficit to upset the top seeded University of Maine Fort Kent Bengals 85-84 to advance to the Men’s Division I National Championship game.
ON THE COURT
- Illinois Tech faced an 18 point deficit with 14:29 remaining in the game. Samuel Rarick led the comeback, scoring eight of the Scarlet Hawks next 20 points to cut the lead to ten with six and half minutes to play.
- Over the last ten minutes of the game, Illinois Tech drained seven three-pointers to wipe away the Bengals lead and send the game into overtime.
- Rarick got an offensive rebound with under 30 seconds remaining and sank a game-tying three-pointer to force the first overtime period.
- The Bengals converted four free throws in the closing minutes of the first overtime to send the game to double overtime.
- The second overtime period only saw a combined seven points from both sides. Malik Howze of Illinois Tech gave his team the one point lead with seven seconds remaining to set up a final possession for University of Maine-Fort Kent.
- The Bengals were fouled attempting a three on the final possession with 0.8 seconds remaining, but couldn’t convert on their foul shots allowing Illinois Tech to secure the improbable victory.
BEHIND THE BOXSCORE
- University of Maine Fort Kent’s Joe McCloskey had a team highs of 26 points and 10 rebounds. His state line included two clutch free-throws with 38 seconds left in the first overtime period to force a second.
- Travis Harlin Jr. and Rosevelt Smith Jr. each had double digit scoring nights for the Bengals. Harlin Jr. had 14 points and five rebounds while Smith Jr. went for 20 points, eight rebounds, and six assists.
- Malik Howze of the Scarlet Hawks had a game-high 27 points on 10-20 shooting from the floor and 7-13 from behind the arc. The sophomore also dished out nine assists in the game.
- Jake Digiorgio of Illinois Tech came off the bench to score 10 points and secure 15 rebounds.
- Rarick scored 22 points in the game and went 4-4 from three point range during the Scarlet Hawks’ second half comeback.
- As a team, the Scarlet Hawks shot 38% from behind the arc and 41% from the field. They tallied 17 second chance points compared to just six for University of Maine-Fort Kent.
NEXT UP
Illinois Tech advances to the Men’s Division I National Championship game where they will face #2 Concordia College of Alabama. The championship game is set to tip off at 12:30 P.M. EST in Main Arena. University of Maine Fort Kent finishes the year with a 23-9 record, marking one of their best seasons in program history.