Tourney Central 3/4/2010 (Day 3)

March 4, 2010 9:30 am ET by Kyle Whelliston

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Bullet Points

Day 2 saw the first major upset of this year's conference tourneys, as Atlantic Sun No. 8 Kennesaw State beat No. 1 Lipscomb. Kurtis Woods hit a layup with 10.8 seconds left to seal a 72-69 win for the Owls. It was Kennesaw's first game as a postseason-eligible team, and the first No. 8 over 1 upset in any conference tourney since 2005, when Boise State eliminated Nevada in the WAC.
In the Patriot League, No. 7 Holy Cross ended No. 2 Bucknell's season, converting 9-of-10 from the line in the final minute to win 67-64. It is the fourth straight time a No. 6 or No. 7 seed has advanced to the semifinals in that conference.
Four of the six higher seeds advanced.
Tonight, the Big South semifinals will be underway at the home of regular season champion Coastal Carolina. The Atlantic Sun quarters continue at Macon, Ga.. Two more tourneys get started: the Northeast Conference holds quarterfinals at campus sites, and the Missouri Valley begins with a low-seed first round at St. Louis.
There are eight elimination games on this third day of Championship Fortnight.

Brackets

Atlantic Sun

[8] Kennesaw State 72, [1] Lipscomb 69
Star of the Game: Kelvin McConnell 14 Pts (5-7 FG)

Owls Upset Lipscomb, 72-69, in First Round of A-Sun Championship - The four year wait for a chance to play in the postseason has been well worth it for Kennesaw State so far, as the No. 8-seed Owls upset No. 1-seed Lipscomb, 72-69, in the first round of the 2010 Atlantic Sun Conference General Shale Brick Men's Basketball Championship at the University Center on Wednesday afternoon. The Owls (13-19) playing in their first NCAA Division I postseason tournament, knocked off the A-Sun's regular season champions with a stellar performance as four players scored in double figures including a team-high 19 points from sophomore Kurtis Woods. Kennesaw State became the first No. 8-seed to knock off a No. 1-seed in the conference tournament in the last nine years. The last time a No. 8 won in the first round was in 2000 when Mercer knocked off Troy, 79-75. (via Kennesaw State)

[2] Jacksonville 76, [7] North Florida 69
Star of the Game: Lehmon Colbert 24 Pts (9-16 FG, 4-5 FT), 9 Reb

JU eliminates UNF with 76-69 win - The JU men's basketball team avoided the upset bug that was sweeping the University Center on Wednesday night, taking out UNF in the General Shale Brick Atlantic Sun Tournament quarterfinals, 76-69. Ben Smith and Lehmon Colbert each had 24 points to lead the Dolphins (19-11) into the A-Sun semifinals for the third year in a row. UNF (13-18) stayed in the game by hitting 12 3-pointers, with Eni Cuka scoring 24 points with five 3-pointers. (via Jacksonville)

Patriot League

at [1] Lehigh 64, [8] Army 45
Star of the Game: C.J. McCollum 19 Pts (6-11 FG, 7-9 FT), 7 Reb

Lehigh outlasts Army, moves onto P.L. semifinals - After scoring only 18 points in the first half, Lehigh's offense got in gear and outscored Army 46-25 in the final 20 minutes as the top-seeded Mountain Hawks outlasted No. 8 Army 64-45 in the quarterfinal round of the 2010 Patriot League Tournament on Wednesday evening at Stabler Arena. With the win Lehigh snaps a four-game losing streak in the P.L. Tournament and advances to the semifinals for the first time since 2006. 2010 Patriot League Player and Rookie of the Year C.J. McCollum scored 17 of his game-high 19 points after halftime as Lehigh improves to 20-10 overall. The 20 wins are tied for the second most in school history. Army did not place any players in double digits as the Black Knights see their season come to an end at 14-15. (via Lehigh)

[7] Holy Cross 67, at [2] Bucknell 64
Star of the Game: Mike Cavataio 20 Pts (6-13 FG, 7-7 FT)

Men's Basketball Defeats Bucknell 67-64 - Sophomore guard Mike Cavataio (Forest Hills, N.Y.) scored 20 points and junior guard Andrew Beinert (Floral Park, N.Y.) added 19 points, as the Holy Cross men's basketball team posted a 67-64 victory over Bucknell at Sojka Pavilion in the quarterfinals of the 2010 Patriot League Tournament. The Crusaders improve to 9-21 overall this season, and advance to face Lafayette in the Patriot League semifinals on Sunday, March 7. The Bison conclude the year at 14-17. The score was tied at 51-51 with less than four minutes to play, before Beinert hit one-of-two free throws and knocked down a three-pointer to put Holy Cross up 55-51. Then at the 1:19-mark, Cavataio tipped in a missed a shot while being fouled, and converted the three-point play to make the score 58-51. After Bucknell had trimmed the lead to five points (58-53), senior center Eric Meister (Boalsburg, Pa.) drained both shots of a one-and-one to move Holy Cross' lead back to seven points (60-53). Those two free throws began a stretch where the Crusaders hit nine of 10 free throws in the final minute of action to secure the victory. (via Holy Cross)

at [3] Lafayette 73, [6] Colgate 65
Star of the Game: Jim Mower 19 Pts (6-11 FG, 3-3 FT)

Leopards Dispose of Raiders in PL Quarterfinal - Lafayette took down No. 6 seed Colgate 73-65 in the Patriot League Tournament quarterfinals on Wednesday night at Kirby Sports Center. With the win and a Bucknell loss, Lafayette will host No. 7 seed Holy Cross on Sunday at 1 p.m. Sophomore Jim Mower led the way for the Leopards with 19 points, shooting 6-of-11 from the floor. Mower has scored in double figures in 24 games and was joined by classmate Ryan Willen who had 12. For the third straight game since his ankle injury, Lafayette's leading scorer, Jared Mintz, was held to single digits (7), but contributed seven rebounds (6 offensive) to go along with a career-high five assists. (via Lafayette)

at [4] American 62, [5] Navy 60
Star of the Game: Stephen Lumpkins 29 Pts (10-16 FG, 9-15 FT), 15 Reb

American Outlasts Navy, 62-60 - Stephen Lumpkins scored a career-high 29 points and American University held on to defeat Navy 62-60 on Wednesday in the quarterfinals of the Patriot League tournament. Nick Hendra added 12 points for fourth-seeded American (11-19), which will travel to top-seeded Lehigh for Sunday's semifinal. Lumpkins also tied a career-high with 15 rebounds for his third straight double-double, helping the Eagles improve to 9-0 in the conference's quarterfinal round. (via Navy)

On Tap Tonight

Atlantic Sun

[5] East Tennessee State vs. [4] Campbell - 2:30 pm ET | BBState Preview/Box

ETSU - 17-14 (13-7) [RPI: 147 State: 176] SOS: 162 Last 10: 6-4 Form: L L W W W PF/PA: 69.0/66.7
CAMP - 19-10 (14-6) [RPI: 174 State: 149] SOS: 281 Last 10: 7-3 Form: W W W L W PF/PA: 68.7/63.0
Recent meetings: 02/19/2010 ETSU 57 @CAMP 79 01/27/2010 CAMP 57 @ETSU 72

Players to watch:
ETSU - #13 Tommy Hubbard Jr. G (13.8 ppg, 8.4 rpg, 1.3 apg)
CAMP - #3 Jonathan Rodriguez Sr. F (17.3 ppg, 8.2 rpg, 2.0 apg)

March Madness begins Thursday for Fighting Camels at A-Sun tournament - After celebrating a share of the A-Sun regular season title last Saturday, March Madness begins Thursday for Campbell University. Campbell (19-10, 14-6) finished in a 4-way tie for first place in the league standings. Due to tiebreaking procedures, the Camels are seeded 4th in the A-Sun Championship and will square off against 5th-seeded East Tennessee State (17-14, 13-7) Thursday at 2:30 p.m. in Mercer's University Center. (via Campbell)

[3] Belmont at [6] Mercer - 9:00 pm ET | BBState Preview/Box

BELM - 19-11 (14-6) [RPI: 127 State: 125] SOS: 214 Last 10: 8-2 Form: W W L W W PF/PA: 72.8/67.9
MERC - 14-16 (10-10) [RPI: 227 State: 219] SOS: 240 Last 10: 5-5 Form: W W L L L PF/PA: 76.5/75.3
Recent meetings: 02/25/2010 MERC 73 @BELM 77 12/05/2009 BELM 94 @MERC 90

Players to watch:
BELM - #34 Mick Hedgepeth So. F (11.8 ppg, 6.5 rpg, 0.6 apg)
MERC - #33 Daniel Emerson Sr. F (15.3 ppg, 12.0 rpg, 1.4 apg)

Bears and Bruins Ready to Tangle Again in A-Sun Tournament - The 2010 Atlantic Sun Conference Basketball Championships - being hosted by Mercer University Mar. 3-6 - got underway on Wednesday, but the host men's team will finally get to show its wares on Thursday evening (9 p.m.) in its quarterfinal opening round game. The opponent for the No. 6 seeded Bears will be a fairly familiar foe in Belmont University, the No. 3 seed. Belmont was a part of the four-way parking lot atop the first place spot on the A-Sun final standings (with No. 1 seed Lipscomb, No. 2 seed Jacksonville and No. 4 seed Campbell). Lipscomb exited the A-Sun tournament in Wednesday's opening action, falling to No. 8 seed Kennesaw State, and Jacksonville advanced to the semifinals. Campbell will be in action with MU on Thursday, as well. (via Mercer)

Big South

[3] Winthrop vs. [2] Radford - 6:00 pm ET | BBState Preview/Box

WINT - 17-13 (12-6) [RPI: 185 State: 205] SOS: 260 Last 10: 7-3 Form: L W L L W PF/PA: 62.4/62.2
RAD - 19-11 (13-5) [RPI: 162 State: 189] SOS: 234 Last 10: 8-2 Form: W W W W W PF/PA: 72.4/68.9
Recent meetings: 02/27/2010 WINT 52 @RAD 54 12/03/2009 RAD 61 @WINT 59

Players to watch:
WINT - #33 Mantoris Robinson Sr. F (8.1 ppg, 6.3 rpg, 1.6 apg)
RAD - #45 Artsiom Parakhouski Sr. C (21.7 ppg, 13.2 rpg, 1.1 apg)

Radford Continues Title Defense Thursday against Third-Seeded Winthrop - Following its overtime quarterfinal win over Charleston Southern, Radford travels to Coastal Carolina's Kimbel Arena for semifinal play against Winthrop in the 2010 Advance Auto Parts Big South Men's Basketball Tournament on Thursday night. The matchup between the second-seeded Highlanders (19-11) and third-seeded Winthrop (17-13), the first semifinal game on Thursday, tips off at 6 p.m. and can be seen live nationally on ESPNU. With its 64-61 win over seventh-seeded Charleston Southern in quarterfinal action on Tuesday night, Radford improved to 22-22 in Big South tournament contests. The Highlanders are making their 17th appearance in the semifinal round (6-10 record) and their second in a row. (via Radford)

[4] North Carolina-Asheville at [1] Coastal Carolina - 8:00 pm ET | BBState Preview/Box

UNCA - 14-15 (11-7) [RPI: 217 State: 257] SOS: 204 Last 10: 7-3 Form: W W L W W PF/PA: 73.3/77.1
CCU - 27-5 (15-3) [RPI: 123 State: 107] SOS: 334 Last 10: 8-2 Form: W W W W W PF/PA: 74.7/59.4
Recent meetings: 02/06/2010 UNCA 62 @CCU 98 01/07/2010 CCU 58 @UNCA 57

Players to watch:
UNCA - #23 John Williams Jr. G (11.3 ppg, 6.6 rpg, 0.9 apg)
CCU - #0 Joseph Harris Sr. F (14.8 ppg, 9.8 rpg, 1.5 apg)

Men's Basketball Hosts UNC Asheville in a Big South Tournament Semifinal - The Coastal Carolina University men's basketball team (27-5), the top seed in the 2010 Big South Men's Basketball Championships, will face fourth-seeded UNC Asheville Thursday, March 4 at 8 p.m., in Kimbel Arena. The game will be broadcast on THE TEAM 93.9 FM in Myrtle Beach with Matt Hogue on the call. The game also will be broadcast on ESPNU with Jon Sciambi and LaPhonso Ellis on the call. The Chanticleers are coming off an 82-73 win over VMI in the Big South Tournament quarterfinal. (via Coastal Carolina)

Missouri Valley

[9] Southern Illinois vs. [8] Drake - 7:05 pm ET | BBState Preview/Box

SIU - 15-14 (6-12) [RPI: 156 State: 153] SOS: 122 Last 10: 3-7 Form: W L W L L PF/PA: 70.4/67.7
DRKE - 13-18 (7-11) [RPI: 184 State: 208] SOS: 110 Last 10: 3-7 Form: L W W L L PF/PA: 67.5/69.1
Recent meetings: 02/16/2010 SIU 72 @DRKE 79 01/09/2010 DRKE 70 @SIU 65

Players to watch:
SIU - #1 Kevin Dillard So. G (12.5 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 5.1 apg)
DRKE - #20 Josh Young Sr. G (14.6 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 2.7 apg)

Men's Basketball Team Prepares For MVC Tournament - It's a brand new season for Drake and Southern Illinois which have encountered their share of heartbreaking losses in the Missouri Valley Conference when the 34th annual State MVC Tournament gets underway Thursday. The winner will play No. 1 seed Northern Iowa in a 12:05 p.m. quarterfinal round game Friday. Drake swept the 2009-10 season series against the Salukis with a 70-65 victory in Carbondale, Ill., Jan. 9 and a 79-72 triumph in Des Moines Feb. 16. This marks the fifth time the teams have faced one another in the MVC Tournament with the Salukis winning three times in the quarterfinal round in 1987 (74-70), 1995 (85-65) and 2007 (71-59). Drake's lone MVC Tournament win against the Salukis occurred in the quarterfinal round in the 1978 tournament when the then No. 9 seed Bulldogs upset No. 2 seed Southern Illinois, 75-59. (via Drake)

[10] Evansville at [7] Missouri State - 9:35 pm ET | BBState Preview/Box

EVAN - 9-20 (3-15) [RPI: 242 State: 259] SOS: 125 Last 10: 3-7 Form: L L L W W PF/PA: 65.4/69.5
MOST - 19-11 (8-10) [RPI: 84 State: 90] SOS: 116 Last 10: 5-5 Form: L L W W L PF/PA: 71.9/66.2
Recent meetings: 01/27/2010 EVAN 66 @MOST 76 12/29/2009 MOST 74 @EVAN 60

Players to watch:
EVAN - #11 Colt Ryan Fr. F (14.8 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 3.0 apg)
MOST - #34 Kyle Weems So. F (13.9 ppg, 6.2 rpg, 1.8 apg)

Bears Open MVC Tournament Thursday Against Red-Hot Evansville - The Bears are the No. 7 seed for the 2010 State Farm MVC Tournament, March 4-7 at Scottrade Center in St. Louis. Missouri State will open the event against No. 10 Evansville on Thursday at 8:35 p.m. in a first-round game with the winner to play No. 2 Wichita State on Friday at 6:05 p.m. (via Missouri State)

Northeast

[8] Monmouth at [1] Quinnipiac - 7:00 pm ET | BBState Preview/Box

MON - 12-18 (8-10) [RPI: 290 State: 303] SOS: 319 Last 10: 3-7 Form: W W L L L PF/PA: 63.4/66.0
QUIN - 21-8 (15-3) [RPI: 143 State: 160] SOS: 331 Last 10: 8-2 Form: W L W W W PF/PA: 73.7/65.8
Recent meetings: 02/25/2010 MON 63 @QUIN 82 01/02/2010 QUIN 60 @MON 72

Players to watch:
MON - #25 Travis Taylor So. F (18.1 ppg, 7.7 rpg, 1.5 apg)
QUIN - #12 Justin Rutty Jr. F (15.0 ppg, 10.8 rpg, 0.8 apg)

Men's Basketball Nec Quarterfinal Game Notes; Mar. 4; 7:00 P.m. - The No. 8 seed Monmouth Hawks travel to No. seed Quinnipiac in the Northeast Conference Tournament Quarterfinals on Thursday night. The Hawks, the eight-seed for a second time in three years, splite the season series with Quinnipiac this year, as each side was victorious on its home court. Monmouth is looking to become the first No. 8 seed in the NEC's postseason history to earn a victory. Monmouth is 0-2 all-time as the No. 8 seed in the tournament, and was once the No. 10 seed (loss in 1993). MU is 21-15 all-time in the NEC Tournament, but has never faced Quinnipiac in the postseason. The Hawks went 3-8 against this year's tournament field, with victories over Quinnipiac and two over Saint Francis. Monmouth has not won at Quinnipiac since a double overtime victory in 2005-06. (via Monmouth)

[7] Central Connecticut State at [2] Robert Morris - 7:00 pm ET | BBState Preview/Box

CCSU - 12-17 (9-9) [RPI: 312 State: 296] SOS: 340 Last 10: 7-3 Form: L L W W W PF/PA: 61.1/64.2
RMU - 20-11 (15-3) [RPI: 159 State: 180] SOS: 269 Last 10: 7-3 Form: W W L W L PF/PA: 68.6/66.4
Recent meetings: 02/11/2010 RMU 69 @CCSU 60 02/07/2009 RMU 64 @CCSU 44

Players to watch:
CCSU - #11 Shemik Thompson Jr. G (13.2 ppg, 3.9 rpg, 3.3 apg)
RMU - #4 Karon Abraham Fr. G (12.9 ppg, 2.1 rpg, 1.6 apg)

Northeast Conference Men's Basketball Tournament Preview - Central Connecticut State was the final NEC team to qualify for the tournament with a 68-56 victory over St. Francis (NY) in what amounted to a play-in game on Saturday. A win would have sent the Terriers to the tourney and ended the season for the Blue Devils. On the season, the four teams hosting quarterfinal games - Quinnipiac (12-0), Robert Morris (10-3), Mount St. Mary's (9-3) and Long Island (9-3) - are a combined 40-9 (.816) at home. Robert Morris is the only NEC team with a winning mark on the road at 9-7. Should they advance, the Colonials will play at least the first two rounds at home. Robert Morris could play away from home in the title game at top seeded Quinnipiac. The two teams met just once this season with the Bobcats scoring an 87-79 victory in Moon Township on February 20th. (via Norheast Conference)

[6] Saint Francis (PA) at [3] Mount Saint Mary's - 7:00 pm ET | BBState Preview/Box

SFPA - 11-18 (9-9) [RPI: 285 State: 307] SOS: 289 Last 10: 6-4 Form: W W W L L PF/PA: 62.9/70.3
MSM - 15-14 (12-6) [RPI: 177 State: 198] SOS: 208 Last 10: 10-0 Form: W W W W W PF/PA: 66.1/63.1
Recent meetings: 02/25/2010 SFPA 51 @MSM 67 12/05/2009 MSM 66 @SFPA 73

Players to watch:
SFPA - #1 Devin Sweetney Sr. F (16.7 ppg, 7.4 rpg, 2.2 apg)
MSM - #4 Kelly Beidler Sr. F (10.7 ppg, 7.0 rpg, 1.5 apg)

Men's Basketball Hosts Saint Francis (Pa.) in NEC Quarterfinals on Thursday Night - A new season begins as Mount St. Mary's will host Saint Francis (Pa.) in the Northeast Conference Quarterfinals at Knott Arena on Thursday night. The Mount, coming off a come-from-behind 63-61 win over rival Robet Morris last Saturday, has won 10 consecutive games to finish the regular season 15-14 overall and 12-6 in the NEC. (via Mount Saint Mary's)

[5] Fairleigh Dickinson at [4] Long Island - 7:30 pm ET | BBState Preview/Box

FDU - 11-20 (10-8) [RPI: 266 State: 315] SOS: 243 Last 10: 5-5 Form: L L W W L PF/PA: 63.4/71.5
LIUB - 13-16 (11-7) [RPI: 245 State: 254] SOS: 301 Last 10: 5-5 Form: L W W L W PF/PA: 69.7/71.8
Recent meetings: 02/18/2010 FDU 62 @LIUB 68 02/26/2009 LIUB 85 @FDU 67

Players to watch:
FDU - #12 Mike Scott Jr. G (12.6 ppg, 3.9 rpg, 5.4 apg)
LIUB - #22 Jaytornah Wisseh Sr. G (17.3 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 5.6 apg)

Men's Basketball Opens Northeast Conference Tournament Thursday Night - The Long Island University men's basketball team will host Fairleigh Dickinson in the Northeast Conference Tournament quarterfinals on Thursday, March 4, at 7:30 p.m. in the Wellness, Recreation and Athletic Center. Senior Jaytornah Wisseh led the Blackbirds (13-16, 11-7 NEC) to a fourth-place finish to earn a home game in the opening round. Wisseh, an All-NEC First Team pick, led the league with 5.7 assists and ranked third in scoring at 17.3 points and will look to lead LIU to its first NEC title since 1997. Head coach Jim Ferry and the Blackbirds will host a quarterfinal contest for the second straight season and will be in search of their third league crown after winning titles in 1984 and 1997. Following an 11-7 season in league play, the Blackbirds are now 23-13 against NEC opposition over the last two years, the best two-year stretch for the program since going 24-12 from 1997-99. (via Long Island)