The #7 seed St. Thomas Aquinas College Men's basketball team takes on the University of New Haven on Sunday at 5:00 pm in the semi-finals of the NCAA Division II Tournament East Regional at the Dana Center Dana Center at Bentley University in Waltham, Mass.
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How They Got Here - As the field dwindles for the NCAA Division II Men's Basketball Championship, the Spartans make their fifth trip to the East semi-finals in search of their fourth Championship Game appearance in five tournament seasons. #7 St. Thomas Aquinas erased a 13-point halftime deficit to defeat #2 Franklin Pierce University, 76-69 on Saturday in the opening round of the tournament. Demetre Roberts led all scorers with 20 points for STAC, with Grant Singleton (13 points) Sean Moore (12 points) and Antonio Vendola (11 points) also scoring in double figures.
#6 New Haven picked up a 78-70 victory over #3 Saint Anselm College in the first quarter-final contest of the day on Saturday in Waltham, Mass. Four Chargers recorded double figures in scoring, with Quashawn Lang leading the way with 19 points. Tavinpierr Phillippe picked up 18 points, Victor Olawoye posted 13 points and Derrick Rowland scored 12 points in the contest.
The Match-Up - Despite being separated by less than 70 miles, this is not only the first post-season match-up between STAC and New Haven in the Tobin Anderson era, but the first time the teams have met since January 8, 2020, an 87-72 home victory for the Spartans. Demetre Roberts paced STAC that evening with 31 points. Louis Griffth (19 points), Sekou Cisse (13 points) and Osbel Caraballo (12 points) also posted in double figures in scoring. New Haven's Kessly Felizor led all scorers with 33 points, while Elijah Bailey (17 points) and Davontrey Thomas (11 points) also contributed to the Charger scoring.
Spartans in the Post-Season – The Spartans have advanced to the ECC Finals in eight of Coach Tobin Anderson's past nine seasons, with six Tournament Championships in the past seven seasons; the only ones in program history. In the Division II era, STAC is 23-8 in playoff competition (all in the past nine years under Anderson), with a 15-3 mark (including 12 wins in their last 13 postseason games) in ECC Tournament action, 8-4 in NCAA East Regional play, and 0-1 at the Elite Eight.
What's Next? - The winner of this afternoon's game will advance to Tuesday's East Regional Championship Game to square off with the winner of tonight's late game between #1 Bentley University and #5 Pace University, which tips off at 7:30 p.m.
2022 NCAA DIVISION II MEN'S BASKETBALL EAST REGIONAL TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE
Saturday, March 12 - Quarterfinals
Game 1: #6 New Haven 78 vs. #3 Saint Anselm 70 (BOX SCORE)
Game 2: #7 St. Thomas Aquinas 76 vs. #2 Franklin Pierce 69 (BOX SCORE)
Game 3: #8 Felician 63 vs. #1 Bentley 95 (BOX SCORE)
Game 4: #5 Pace 77 vs. #4 Dominican 64 (BOX SCORE)
Sunday, March 13 - Semifinals
Game 5: #6 New Haven vs. #7 St. Thomas Aquinas - 5 p.m. (LIVE VIDEO | LIVE STATS)
Game 6: #1 Bentley vs. #5 Pace - 7:30 p.m. (LIVE VIDEO | LIVE STATS)
Tuesday, March 15 - Championship
Game 7: Winner of Game 5 vs. Winner of Game 6 - 7 p.m. (LIVE VIDEO | LIVE STATS)
2022 NCAA DIVISION II MEN'S BASKETBALL EAST REGION
No. 1 seed – Bentley University (23-4, 14-5 NE10)... NE10 Northeast Division Regular Season & Tournament Champions (automatic bid)
No. 2 seed – Franklin Pierce University (18-11, 12-7 NE10)… NE10 Tournament Runners-up (at large bid)
No. 3 seed – Saint Anselm College (17-11, 11-8 NE10)... (at large bid)
No. 4 seed – Dominican College (21-8, 12-5 CACC)… CACC Tournament Runners-Up (at large bid)
No. 5 seed – Pace University (20-9, 14-5 NE10)… NE10 Southwest Division Regular Season Champions (at large bid)
No. 6 seed – University of New Haven (18-8, 13-6 NE10)… (at large bid)
No. 7 seed – St. Thomas Aquinas College (27-4, 17-1 ECC)… ECC Regular Season & Tournament Champions (automatic bid)
No. 8 seed – Felician University (19-10, 11-6 CACC)… CACC Tournament Champions (automatic bid)
TICKETS
$8 Adults, $5 Students/Children/Seniors.
Tickets can be purchased at: https://www.etix.com/ticket/v/12136/dana-center
Per NCAA policy, no complimentary admissions will be issued.
COVID 19 POLICY
Please note that if you are planning to attend, masks are now optional, but recommended at the Dana Center.