EASTON, Mass. (March 16, 2010) - The No. 4 seeded Philadelphia University Rams ended a spectacular season at the NCAA East Region Championship, falling 81-69 to the No. 2 seed Bentley University on Tuesday night at Stonehill College’s Merkert Gymnasium.  PhilaU senior guard Russell Frederick notched a team-high 22 points in the final game of his collegiate career. 

Philadelphia concludes the season with a 27-8 overall record and won the CACC South Division regular-season championship with a 16-1 record. The last time the Rams won 27 or more games was the 1993-94 season, when the team went 29-2 and 1-1 in the NCAA Tournament. The Rams became the first CACC men’s basketball team to advance to the NCAA Division II Sweet 16.

The game was Bentley’s fourth consecutive Sweet 16 appearance, and PhilaU’s first in 15 years.  Bentley senior Brian Westrol led all scorers with a career-high 33 points, and was named Tournament MVP.

“We tip our hats to Westrol, he took the game over,” said PhilaU Head Coach Herb Magee.

PhilaU shot just 26-percent from the field in the first half and 44-percent for the game, while Bentley shot 58-percent from the field. BU also (26-6) out-rebounded the Rams 31-27.  Philadelphia put themselves at a disadvantage in the first stanza, trailing 42-22 at the half. Bentley junior forward Brian Tracey led the charge with 19 points and nine rebounds in the first 20 minutes of action.

The Rams started the second half on a 19-10 run, cutting the Falcon lead to 52-41 at the 12:00 mark.  But BU pulled away, shooting 5-10 from three-range in the second half.  Philadelphia senior forward Marcus Lemon contributed 14 points to the Ram cause, while freshman guard Jim Connolly chipped in 10 points and four assists in his NCAA Tournament debut. 

Frederick and Connolly were named to the NCAA East Region All-Tournament Team.