Corey Diethorn, Mitch Bajema key Greyhound men's basketball past St. Rose, 72-44, in NE-10 semifinal; face Bentley Saturday in title game!

March 6, 2008

ASSUMPTION 72, SAINT ROSE 44

WORCESTER, Mass. --- Senior forward COREY DIETHORN (Pittsburgh, PA/Sewickley) scored a game-high 21 points and added 10 rebounds for his 21st career (10th season) double-double to lead third-seeded Assumption College past second-seeded Saint Rose, 72-44, in the semifinal round of the Northeast-10 Conference playoffs.

Junior guard MITCH BAJEMA (Whitinsville, MA/Whitinsville Christian) played well in a support-role making his first five three-pointers in the first half en route to a career-high 17 points. Freshman forward MIKE BALDARELLI (Sutton, MA/Holy Name) chipped in with 10 points, including three three-pointers.

The Greyhounds will face undefeated (29-0) and nationally No. 1 ranked (and No. 1 seeded) Bentley College, a 78-69 winner over fourth-seeded Stonehill College, in the conference championship game Saturday at 1 p.m. in Waltham. The winner of that game also earns an automatic berth in the upcoming N.C.A.A. Division II Northeast regional tournament.

The Greyhounds are now 22-9 overall, while the Golden Knights fall to 22-7.

The national N.C.A.A. Division II 23rd-ranked Golden Knights shot a dismal .143 from the floor (3-for-21) in the first half --- a Greyhound defensive record for a half --- as Assumption sprinted to an improbable 42-12 cushion at the break. The Greyhounds also scored 21 second-chance points and 18 off turnovers.

After Saint Rose senior guard WILL MONICA (Great Falls, VA/Langley) (opened the game with a long three-pointer the Hounds ran the next 23 points.

Diethorn started the uprising with an offensive rebound putback and senior forward MIKE FOTI (Franklin, MA/Franklin) connected on a corner three-pointer nine seconds later.

Diethorn converted an inside move on a feed from senior forward GREG TWOMEY (Groton, MA/Groton-Dunstable) and then Twomey followed with a spin move on a feed from junior guard PATRICK SHEA (Salem, MA/Salem). Baldarelli hit his first three-pointer and Diethorn again forced his way inside to make it 14-3 with 14:38 left.

A steal and two-handed dunk by Shea, a free throw by Baldarelli and then back-to-back three-pointers by Bajema made it a 20-point game, 23-3, with 7:50 left in the half.

Sophomore guard JERMAINE CLARK (Perth Amboy, NJ/Perth Amboy) hit a lane jumper with 6:56 left --- the Golden Knights' first points since the 19:28 mark.

Bajema hit a three-pointer, his fifth of the half, with three seconds left to give the Greyhounds a 30-point cushion (42-12). A three-pointer by Baldarelli with 4:38 left gave the Hounds their largest lead at 68-33.

Clark and senior guard STEVE DAGOSTINO (Schenectady, NY/Guilderland) led the Golden Knights with just eight points. Senior forward SHANTY ROBINSON (Mount Vernon, NY/Mount Vernon) had 11 rebounds.

GREYHOUND NOTES: the Northeast-10 Conference announced its men's basketball all-stars before the game and senior forward COREY DIETHORN (Pittsburgh, PA/Sewickley) earned second-team honors, while senior forward GREG TWOMEY (Groton, MA/Groton-Dunstable) is on the third-team. Diethorn led the team in scoring (14.2), rebounding (8.3), and field goal accuracy (.503) and leads the conference with 65 blocked shots . . . Twomey, the Greyhounds' captain and inspirational leader, averaged 12.2 points and 6.2 rebounds. Both players went over the 1,000-point mark earlier this season with Diethorn getting his on a dunk at Saint Rose . . . the Greyhounds are now 22-9 on the season and lost both meetings with the undefeated Falcons this season, 75-64, in Worcester and 79-66 in Waltham . . . the Hounds however have won six-of-seven postseason meetings with the Falcons . . . Saint Rose won the only seasonal meeting with the Greyhounds, 82-75, in Albany (2/9/08) . . . the Greyhounds have allowed just 98 points (49.0 per game) in beating UMass Lowell (69-54) and Saint Rose (72-44) in the conference playoffs . . .

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