NEW HAVEN, CT (February 27, 2009) - Bloomfield College and Philadelphia University have earned the top seeds for the upcoming Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) Men's Basketball Tournament, which is set to commence on Tuesday, March 3. The Deacons won the North Division regular-season championship while the Rams took the title for the South Division. Philadelphia is the defending tournament champion, having upended Holy Family University in double-overtime in last season's final game.

Bloomfield is the top overall seed for the tournament after posting a 15-1 record in conference play to go with a 21-6 overall mark. The Deacons are currently ranked eighth in the East Region. Bloomfield is the highest-scoring team in the CACC and also boasts the top two scorers in the conference in senior guard Omari Knox and sophomore guard Gage Daye. The Deacons average a league-best 81.7 ppg, while Knox tosses in 20.2 ppg and Daye adds 19.2 ppg. Daye also paces the CACC with 2.52 steals per-game and Knox is the leading 3-point shooter with an average of 3.26 per-contest. Furthermore, freshman guard Ahmad Harris is the conference-leader in assist:turnover ratio (3.21) after dishing out 90 assists and committing only 28 turnovers. The Deacons will host the North No. 4 seed, Caldwell College, in the CACC quarterfinal round on Tuesday at 7:00 pm. Bloomfield swept the Cougars in two meetings this season.

Caldwell finished the season with an 8-8 conference record and a 12-15 overall mark. The Cougars are led by senior forward Manny Perez, who leads the CACC in field-goal percentage (.582), is third in scoring (18.9) and fifth in rebounding (7.7). As a team, Caldwell leads the league in free-throw percentage (.708) and is third in field-goal percentage (.446).  

Philadelphia won the South Division with a 14-2 record along with a 22-5 overall mark. The Rams are led by the junior duo of point guard Russell Frederick and forward Malcolm Ingram. Frederick stands sixth in the CACC in scoring (16.5), second in assists (4.50), 12^th in field-goal percentage (.458), 8^th in free-throw percentage (.741) and ninth in 3-point field-goal percentage (.376). Ingram leads the CACC in rebounding (8.8) and is sixth in scoring (16.5) and ninth in field-goal percentage (.485).  The Rams lead the CACC in points allowed (57.2),  field-goal percentage defense (.379) and assist:turnover ratio (1.12). Philadelphia will welcome the South No. 4 seed, Chestnut Hill College, in the CACC quarterfinal round at 7:00 pm. The Rams swept the Griffins in the regular-season, including a 59-52 home victory on Jan. 14.

Chestnut Hill features three players who average between 10.9 and 11.7 ppg in junior guard Julian McFadden (11.7), sophomore guard Kevin Whaley (11.0) and freshman guard Ryan Cook (10.9). David Goode and Trenton Davidheiser rank 12th and 13th in the CACC with averages of 6.4 and 6.1 rebounds per-game, respectively. Chestnut Hill is making its first-ever appearance in the men's CACC Tournament after finishing with a 5-11 conference record and a 7-20 overall mark.

Post University secured the No. 2 seed in the North Division and will host No. 3 Felician on Tuesday. Freshman guard Brandon Romain leads the Eagles with an average of 18.6 ppg, which ranks fourth in the conference, and he is tied for fourth with 2.00 steals per-contest. Junior guard Cecil Stinson ranks fourth with 3.42 assists per-game and he stands third with 2.54 3-pointers made per-game. The Eagles score the second-most points in the league with 77.2 ppg and they hand out 15.50 assists per-game to rank first. Post and Felician will be meeting for the third time in 14 days after splitting the previous two match-ups. They met in the regular-season final for both teams, which Post won at home, 80-74.

Felician finished the season strong by winning five of its last seven conference games to end up 8-8 in the CACC and 15-12 overall. Sophomore guard Devon Young scores 15.0 ppg to lead the Golden Falcons, which ranks 11^th in the CACC. Senior guard Richard Fegins ranks second in the conference in 3-point field-goal percentage (.422) and he dishes out the fifth-most assists per-game (3.33). Felician pulls down 6.2 more rebounds per-game than its opponents to lead the CACC, and the squad also ranks third in scoring (72.5 ppg) and fourth in scoring defense (70.3 ppg.).

Goldey-Beacom surged into the second spot in the South Division by winning six of its last seven conference games to finish 8-8 in conference play and 13-14 overall. Junior Kyle White leads GBC in scoring and ranks 10^th in the conference with an average of 15.2 ppg. White also stands fifth in free-throw percentage (.768) and is tied for fourth in steals (2.00). As a team, the Lightning lead the CACC in field-goal percentage (.450). The Lightning will host the South Division No. 3 seed, Holy Family University, on Tuesday at 7:00 pm. Holy Family swept the season series from Goldey-Beacom, including a 57-47 triumph at GBC on Jan. 13.

Holy Family is led by senior guard Ceazer Johnson and freshman forward Justin Swidowski. Johnson stands eighth in the CACC in scoring with 15.9 ppg, while Swidowski is ninth at 15.7. Swidowski also ranks third in rebounding (8.1), second in field-goal percentage (.553), fourth in free-throw percentage (.782) and third in blocked shots (2.33). Furthermore, Johnson stands fourth in rebounds per-game (7.7). The Tigers went 7-9 in conference play and 8-19 overall in the regular-season.

The complete schedule for the 2008-09 CACC Tournament is below. The quarterfinal round is being hosted on campus sites, and the semi-final round and championship game will be hosted by Philadelphia University on Friday and Saturday, March 6 and 7.

2008-09 CACC Men's Basketball Tournament

Quarter-Finals - Tuesday, March 3

N#4 Caldwell at N#1 Bloomfield - 8:00 pm

N#3 Felician at N#2 Post - 7:00 pm

S#4 Chestnut Hill at S#1 Philadelphia - 8:00 pm

S#3 Holy Family at S#2 Goldey-Beacom - 7:00 pm

Semi-Finals - Friday, March 6 at Philadelphia University

TBA - 5:00 pm

TBA - 7:00 pm

Championship Game - Saturday, March 7

TBA - 7:00 pm