Fall Sports

Winter Sports

Spring Sports

Information

PHILADELPHIA AND HOLY FAMILY SET TO SQUARE OFF IN MEN'S CACC CHAMPIONSHIP GAME

March 6, 2008

NEW HAVEN, CT – Two teams from the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) South Division will square off in the 2007-08 Men's Basketball Tournament Championship after earning semifinal wins Wednesday evening. Philadelphia, the South's top seed, upended the North #4 seed Bloomfield College, 88-74. Holy Family, the No. 2 seed in the South Division, won at North #2 Caldwell College by a score of 55-53. The Rams and Tigers will tip-off at 7:00 pm on Saturday, March 8, at Philadelphia's Gallagher Center.

Senior forward Jason Hickenbottom registered 23 points, nine assists, five rebounds and four steals in leading Philadelphia to the victory over Bloomfield. The Rams are now 21-11 overall this season. Sophomore center Mike Yokum added a career-high 20 points and seven rebounds and set a CACC Tournament record with a 9-for-9 performance from the field. Sophomore point guard Russell Frederick added 18 points and six assists.

The Deacons, who fall to 16-16 overall with the loss, were led by junior forward Omari Knox with 30 points including a 6-for-9 effort from the 3-point line. Two freshmen had solid showings for the Deacons in guard Gage Daye with 18 points and five rebounds and Roahn Sheppard with 14 points on 6-for-10 shooting and five rebounds.

The Rams quickly established control of the contest, opening up a 10-point lead just under six minutes into the game when sophomore forward Malcolm Ingram tipped in a lay-up. The scrambling basket made the score 16-6 in favor of Philadelphia University. The Rams' advantage extended to 14 midway through the opening period when junior guard Mike Dunn knocked down his only field-goal of the night, a triple that put the home team ahead 28-14. Philadelphia commenced the second half on an 11-3 run, stretching out to their largest lead of the night after a Yocum jumper with 14:35 left in the game made the score 59-38. Bloomfield got no closer than 13 the rest of the night.

Senior guard Ryan Lancaster led Holy Family (21-8) against Caldwell with 24 points and seven rebounds, including some late-game heroics. With Holy Family leading 52-48, a dunk by junior forward Manny Perez at the two-minute mark brought the Cougars to within 52-50. After a missed attempt by Holy Family, junior guard Carl Augustin made 1-of-2 at the line to make it a 52-51 Tigers' lead with 1:13 on the clock. A steal by senior guard Adam Sabree resulted in a pair of free throws for senior forward B.J. Suchy, which gave Caldwell (12-17) its first lead of the second half, 53-52, with 40 seconds left.

On Holy Family's next possession, Lancaster took the ball from the right side and drove to the basket, sinking a lay-up to put Holy Family up 54-53 with 23 seconds remaining. Caldwell came up empty on the other end and Lancaster went to the line with 3.9 second left and hit 1-of-2, leaving the Cougars with one last chance. After a timeout, Suchy's inbounds pass was tipped by Perez to sophomore forward Sam Cricelli on the left side. But Cricelli's shot from 18 feet hit the back of the rim, and Lancaster corralled the rebound at the buzzer.

Lancaster led all scorers with 24 points while making 4-of-7 from long range. Senior guard Michael Sturns, the nation's leading scorer at 26.9 points per game, scored 14 points, and senior center London Houston grabbed nine rebounds to go with eight points. Suchy paced the Cougars with 14 points and six rebounds, while Perez finished with 13 points and seven boards.

Philadelphia and Holy Family met twice in the regular-season, with the Rams taking both contests. Philadelphia won the first encounter, 52-47, back on Dec. 3 at Holy Family. Philadelphia senior forward Jason Hickenbottom led the way with 19 points and 12 rebounds, while sophomore forward Malcolm Ingram narrowly missed a double-double with nine points and 10 boards. Sturns led Holy Family with 12 points, while London Houston, Ryan Lancaster, Ceazer Johnson and Tom McKeown all added 10 points each.

Both squads struggled from the field, as Philadelphia connected on 39.2-percent (20-of-51) of its shots, while Holy Family shot 34.0-percent (17-of-50) and 11.1-percent (1-for-9) from long range.

In the second meeting on Feb. 9 at Philadelphia, junior guard Mike Dunn led the Rams to a 64-59 victory with 20 points. Dunn went 6-for-12 from the field and 4-for-9 from the arc, while Ingram added 15 points and nine rebounds. Frederick Russell notched a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds and he also added four assists. Sturns led Holy Family with 25 points on 8-for-19 shooting, while Houston registered 10 points, 10 rebounds and seven blocks. Johnson chipped in with 11 points and six rebounds.

Philadelphia shot 43.3-percent (26-of-60) from the field and Holy Family struggled once again, shooting just 36.2-percent (21-of-58).

CACC Tournament Quarterfinals, Saturday, March 1

South #1 Philadelphia 65, South #4 USP 44

South #2 Holy Family 73, South #3 Goldey-Beacom 71

North #4 Bloomfield 90, North #1 Post 85 (2 OT)

North #2 Caldwell 79, North #3 Dominican 65

CACC Tournament Semifinals, Wednesday, March 5

South #1 Philadelphia 88, North #4 Bloomfield 74

South #2 Holy Family 55, North #2 Caldwell 53

CACC Championship, Saturday, March 8

Holy Family at Philadelphia – 7:00 pm