Greg Twomey leads Greyhounds past Le Moyne, 77-63, to win fourth Northeast-10 Conference championship; N.C.A.A. tournament starts Saturday!

March 7, 2009

Assumption 77, Le Moyne 63

WORCESTER, Mass. --- Fifth-seeded Assumption College with five double figure scorers pulled away in the second half to defeat six-seeded Le Moyne College, 77-63, to win their fourth Northeast-10 Conference men's basketball playoff championship SATURDAY at the Laska Gym.

It is the fourth championship won by the Greyhounds including 1983 at American International College (96-84), 1991: vs. Bentley (89-72), 1998, vs. Saint Anselm (93-73). The Hounds lost in the final twice in 1999 at Saint Michael's (75 76) and last year at Bentley (77-93).

The Greyhounds also earned an automatic berth in the upcoming N.C.A.A. Division II regional tournament. The eight-team tournament will most likely be hosted by L.I.U.-C.W. Post (Brookville, NY) beginning this Saturday. All other participants, seedings, and game times will be announced tomorrow night on the men and women's tournament pairing show on www.ncaa.com beginning at 9 p.m.

This will be the 27th time (and second straight) for the Greyhounds to play in the N.C.A.A. postseason tournament since 1960. They also received four N.A.I.A. regional berth bids prior to that. They are now 22-9 overall with five straight victories (including a 13-1 record in the Laska Gym!)---the 14th time in their storied history they have won 20-or-more games.

Postgraduate forward GREG TWOMEY (Groton, MA/Groton Dunstable), once again, was the main catalyst scoring all 15 of his points in the second half along with a team-high eight rebounds (five on the offensive glass), three assists, two steals and a blocked shot to carry the Greyhounds on his back to the title. Junior guard COURTLAND BLUFORD (Fort Washington, MD/St. Vincent Pallotti) added 14 points, five rebounds, three assists and a blocked shot; senior guard/captain PATRICK SHEA (Salem, MA/Salem) had 13 points, a game-high six assists, five rebounds and two steals. Sophomore forward MIKE BALDARELLI (Sutton, MA/Holy Name) (10 points, 5 rebounds) and senior guard MITCH BAJEMA (Whitinsville, MA/Whitinsville Christian) (10 points, 3 steals) played well in support roles.

Le Moyne is now 20-11 overall and had its 11-game win streak (the Greyhounds were the last team to beat them on January 24 at the Laska Gym, 90 79) snapped. Their fate is now in the hands of the N.C.A.A. regional committee.

Baldarelli, the tournament's leading scorer at 19.8 points-per-game, was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player. He is the fourth Greyhound to earn the award following Kevin Nolan (1983), Demetri Beekman (1991), Bryan Moore (1998, 99). Also named to the all-tournament team were Bluford, Le Moyne junior forward LAURENCE EKPERIGIN (Courtlandt Manor, NY/Walter Panas), Le Moyne junior guard DAMANI CORBIN (Brooklyn, NY/Frederick Douglas) and Saint Anselm sophomore guard THOMAS BAUDINET (Watertown, CT/Taft).

Senior forward PHIL BARNES (Georgetown, Cayman Islands/Clinton) (16 points), Corbin (14 points, 3 assists), and Ekperigin (12 points, 8 rebounds, 4 blocked shots) all reached double-figures for the Dolphins.

The defensive work of junior forward SAVOY FRAINE (Grenada Hills, CA/Grenada Hills) and Haase proved crucial as they limited Ekperigin, the third-leading scorer (18.5 ppg) and leading rebounder (11.5) and leading floor percentage player (.686) in the conference this season to an 0-for-1 foor accuracy in the second half.

Barnes hit a three-pointer with four seconds left in the first half to send the teams to their respective lockerrooms deadlocked at 36-36.

In the second half, the Gryehounds led early by as much as six points (44-38) however a three-pointer by junior forward KEVIN HASSETT (Phoenix, AZ/Desert Mountain) brought the Dolphins back to within two (44-42) with 12:58 remaining. The Greyhounds then went on a 8-0 mini-run as sophomore center TOBIN HAASE (Ridgefield, NJ/Ridgefield) scored on an inside move from Bluford, Bluford scored off a Bajema steal and feed, Twomey worked inside from Shea and then Haase finished the run with a driving move to make it 52-42 with 8:19 left.

Sophomore forward KEVIN ROTH (Lake View, NY/Saint Francis) cut the gap to three points (54-51) with 6:08 left before Twomey muscled for a inside hoop (from Shea) and Shea drilled a long wing three-pointer (from Twomey) to make it 59-51. Shea and Twomey made six-for-six at the line and Baldarelli scored inside from Shea to make 68-54 with 1:47 left.

Click here for ASSUMPTION-LE MOYNE box score