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PHILADELPHIA AND HOLY FAMILY MEN EARN BIDS TO NCAA DIVISION II NORTHEAST REGION TOURNAMENT

March 10, 2008

NEW HAVEN, CT-Philadelphia University and Holy Family University have both been selected to play in the NCAA Division II Northeast Region Men's Basketball Tournament, which will begin on Saturday, March 15. Philadelphia is the No. 6 seed and will face the third seed, The College of Saint Rose, in the quarterfinal round. Holy Family will meet No. 2 Assumption College. No. 1 nationally-ranked Bentley College will host the event as the top seed in Waltham, MA. All of the action at the regional will be available to view for free at www.NE-10.tv.

Philadelphia won the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) Tournament Championship on Saturday, March 8, with a 73-67 double-overtime triumph over Holy Family. With the victory, the Rams earned an automatic berth into the tournament. Sophomore forward Malcolm Ingram led the way for Philadelphia in the title game, finishing with 19 points, 10 rebounds and a career-high six blocked shots while senior forward Jason Hickenbottom added 14 points and nine rebounds.

The NCAA Tournament bid is the 23rd in head coach Herb Magee's illustrious coaching career that has spanned 41 years. The Rams posted a perfect 16-0 conference record during the regular-season, becoming the first team to finish the slate undefeated in the conference's NCAA era. The championship game victory over Holy Family was the tenth straight win for the Rams and the 16th in their past 17 games.

Philadelphia (22-11) is led by Ingram, a first team All-CACC selection in his first year as a starter. The Philadelphia native leads the Rams in scoring and rebounding with 16.7 ppg and 8.4 rpg. Fellow sophomore Russell Frederick, the MVP of the CACC Tournament and a third-team All-Conference pick, ranks third on the team in scoring with 11.6 ppg while dishing out a league-best 5.03 assists per-game. Hickenbottom was a third team All-Conference choice.

Saint Rose enters the tournament with a 22-7 record after falling in the Northeast-10 Conference Tournament semifinals. The Golden Knights are led by the two-time NE-10 Player of the Year, senior point guard Steve Dagostino.

Holy Family checks in with a 21-9 overall record after advancing to the CACC Tournament championship game. Holy Family is making its first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance. The Tigers, under the direction of fifth-year head coach Alfred Johnson, feature the leading scorer in Division II, senior guard Michael Sturns. He is averaging 26.5 points per game and was voted the CACC Player of the Year.

Sturns is also the only Tiger with NCAA Tournament experience. Last season at Division I University of North Texas, Sturns had two points and five rebounds in 15 minutes against second seeded Memphis University. Senior guard Ryan Lancaster was a first team All-CACC pick and senior center London Houston was a second team selection.

Assumption, which sports a 22-10 overall record, reached the Northeast-10 Tournament Championship game before falling to Bentley, 93-77. Forward Corey Diethorn paces the Greyhounds with 14.5 points and 8.5 rebounds per-game and was a second team All-Conference selection. Senior forward Greg Twomey was a third team All-Conference pick.

The winner of the Northeast Region Tournament will advance to the Elite Eight, which will be held in Springfield, MA, on March 26-29.

NCAA Division II Northeast Region Tournament

Quarterfinals, Saturday March 15

#3 Saint Rose (22-7) vs. #6 Philadelphia (22-11)-12 noon

#2 Assumption (22-10) vs. #7 Holy Family (21-9)-2:30 pm

#1 Bentley (30-0) vs. #8 Merrimack (17-11)-6 pm

#4 C.W. Post (26-4) vs. #5 Bryant (17-12)-8:30 pm

Semifinals, Sunday March 16

Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner-5:00 pm

Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 winner-7:30 pm

Championship, Tuesday, March 18