NEW HAVEN, Conn. (February 27, 2011) – Bloomfield College and Goldey-Beacom College have captured the top seeds in the upcoming Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) Men's Basketball Tournament, which is set to begin Tuesday, March 1. The Deacons are the top seed in the North Division, while the Lightning top the South. Holy Family University will host the semi-final and championship rounds of the tournament on Friday and Saturday, March 4-5.

Bloomfield is the top seed in the North for the third consecutive season after finishing the regular-season with a 15-3 CACC record to go with an 18-8 overall mark. The Deacons are currently ranked ninth in the East Region and are led by senior guard Gage Daye, who leads the CACC and ranks second nationally with 23.5 points per-game. He also ranks ninth in the conference in rebounds (6.8), second in assists (5.35), sixth in seals (1.77) and seventh in 3-pointers made per-game (2.15). As a team, BC leads the conference in scoring, tossing in 87.5 per-contest. Bloomfield advanced to the semi-finals of last season's conference tournament before falling, 84-82, to Goldey-Beacom. BC is looking for their first conference title since the 2005-06 season.

The Deacons will face Felician College (14-12, 10-8 CACC) in the opening round and both clubs enter the tournament on hot streaks, as each has won eight of its last nine games. The Golden Falcons are the defending CACC Tournament Champions, having upended GBC, 84-79 in last season's title game. Devon Young, a senior forward and last season's tournament MVP, leads Felician with averages of 19.4 points and 6.8 rebounds per-game while shooting 51.5-percent from the field. He ranks among the top 10 in the league in all three categories. Bloomfield and Felician split the season series with each other, with the Golden Falcons taking the last meeting at home, 85-75, on Jan. 19. 

Goldey-Beacom clinched its first Division Championship by virtue of compiling a 12-5 CACC record this season (17-10 overall). The Lightning advanced to the championship game last season, but fell to Felician. The Lightning are led by a trio of seniors in forward Terrence Parkes and guards Azeez Ellegood and Sam McDuffie. Parkes ranks third the conference in rebounding (10.1), just one-tenth of a point behind the leader, and is tied for third in scoring, while McDuffie stands ninth in the league with 16.1 ppg. Ellegood ranks sixth in assists (4.41), 10^th in steals (1.63) and second in three-point field-goal percentage (.424).

The Lightning will face the University of the Sciences Tuesday. The two squads split the season series, with the Devils winning the last meeting, 58-54, on Feb. 3 in Philadelphia. USci (12-12, 7-10) is led by senior forward Adewale Adefemi, who tosses in 16.6 points per-game (7th in CACC) and 10.2 rebounds per-game (tops in the CACC). Myer Messenger contributes 12.3 ppg and 7.3 rpg, while freshman guard Tyrone Mann-Barnes adds 13.2 ppg and hits 2.13 triples per-game to rank eighth in the CACC.

Post University secured the no. 2 seed in the North by winning its last seven conference games and eight of nine. The Eagles will welcome No. 3 Dominican College on Tuesday. Post took both meetings with the Chargers in the regular-season, including a 56-51 win in Waterbury on Feb. 17. The Eagles are led by first-year head Coach, Al Sokaitis, and feature a balanced attack, as 10 players score at least 4.0 points per-game and 13 average double-digit minutes of playing time. Mid-year transfer Geraldo Fernandez leads the way with 13.9 ppg, while senior guard Garvin McAlister adds 12.2 ppg.

Dominican (16-12, 12-6) is led by senior center Almin Hodzic and sophomore point guard Leon Porter. Hodzic ranks among league-leaders in numerous categories including points (15.1, 11th), rebounds (9.0, 4^th), field-goal percentage (.564, 3^rd), and blocks (3.21, 2^nd). Porter ranks 12th in scoring (14.4), third in assists (4.96) and 12th in steals (1.46). Freshman guard Khaleev Ginyard stands second in the conference with 2.82 three-pointers made per-game. Both Post and Dominican fell in the first round of the CACC Tournament last season.

Philadelphia University clinched the No 2 seed in the South and will host No. 3 Chestnut Hill College in the first round. The game will be a re-match of last season's first round game, which Philadelphia won, 74-64. In their most recent meeting this season, the Griffins earned their first-ever win over the Rams with a 74-61 triumph on Jan. 19.

Sophomore guard Jimmy Connolly paces Philadelphia with an average of 17.3 ppg (5^th in CACC) for head coach Herb Magee, who was recently listed as a finalist for the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame Class of 2011. Junior center Temi Adebayo leads the conference in blocks (4.21) and field goal-percentage (.599), while Connolly paces the CACC in free-throw percentage (.901) and three-pointers made-per game (3.04).

Junior center Dan Comas leads CHC in scoring (16.5) and rebounding (10.2) in guiding the Griffins to an 11-15 overall mark this season, including a 8-9 finish in conference play. CHC owns recent wins over tournament teams Goldey-Beacom, Dominican and USciences. Comas leads the conference in rebounding, stands eighth in scoring, fifth in field-goal percentage (.547) and sixth in blocks (1.36).

The 2010-11 CACC Tournament schedule is listed below.

Quarter-finals, Tuesday, March 1
N#4 Felician at N#1 Bloomfield – 7:00 pm
N#3 Dominican at N#2 Post – 7:00 pm
S#4 USciences at S#1 Goldey-Beacom – 7:00 pm
S#3 Chestnut Hill at S#2 Philadelphia – 7:00 pm

Semi-finals (at Holy Family University), Friday, March 4
Game 1 – 5:00 pm (highest remaining seed plays first)
Game 2 – 7:00 pm

Championship (at Holy Family University), Saturday, March 5
7:00 pm