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RADNOR, Pa. – The Cabrini men's basketball team is returning to the NCAA Tournament for the second straight season and for the 11th time in program history following a resounding 92-70 victory against rival Gwynedd-Mercy College in the Colonial States Athletic Conference (CSAC) championship game at Nerney Field House on Friday night. Sophomore point guard Cory Lemons was named the game's most valuable player for the second consecutive year.
The victory clinches the Cavaliers' 10th CSAC title in program history. The Blue & White is now 10-1 all-time in league championship games.
Lemons led all scorers with 33 points, shooting 10-for-13 from the floor and a perfect 3-for-3 from beyond the 3-point line. He also mixed in seven rebounds, seven assists and two steals. Lemons shot 10-for-11 from the free throw line, all in the second half.
Junior guard John Boyd and freshman forward Fran Rafferty each scored 18 points. Boyd shot 6-for-11 overall and 4-for-8 from long range. Rafferty knocked down 7-of-9 shots overall and 4-of-5 from 3-point distance.
Senior forward Dom Farrello paired a team-best 11 rebounds with seven points. Sophomore guard A.J. Williams contributed six points and three rebounds.
The Cavaliers led by 18 points at the intermission behind a 26-6 run and 47.1 percent shooting clip. Lemons scored 14 points on 6-for-7 shooting in the first half. Rafferty scored 13 of his career-high 18 points in the opening 20 minutes.
Cabrini kept its foot on the gas pedal and quickly pushed its lead to 28 points, 61-33, at the 14:31 mark of the second half. The Blue & White pushed its advantage to 31 points, 72-41, with 10:29 remaining.
The Cavaliers owned a game-high 34-point cushion, 88-54, at the 5:41 mark. Cabrini shot 53.8 percent from the field in the second half and an even 50.0 percent for the game overall.
Senior forward Jon Hogga recorded a double-double with 18 points and 19 rebounds in the loss. Senior guard Jon Crabtree scored a team-best 21 points for the Griffins.
Gwynedd-Mercy shot only 36.3 percent from the field for the game and struggled mightly from beyond the 3-point stripe, connecting on just 3-of-29 attempts.
The win extends Cabrini's win streak to five games versus the Griffins. GMC last topped the Cavaliers, 108-96, in the 2009 CSAC title game.
The victory is the Blue & White's 34th in a row at home against a CSAC opponent, the longest active home conference win streak in Division III. The win also stands as the Cavaliers' 26th straight at home since the start of the 2009-10 regular season.
Cabrini is now a perfect 5-0 at home in the CSAC Tournament under third-year head coach and three-time conference coach of the year Marcus Kahn. Kahn owns a 69-16 overall record at Cabrini and a 50-8 mark against conference opponents, including the postseason.
The Cavaliers have won 10 CSAC titles in program history, including the eight won when the league operated under the name the Pennsylvania Athletic Conference (PAC). The Blue & White won six straight conference crowns from 1993-98.
Cabrini (22-5) will learn of its NCAA Tournament fate on Monday, Feb. 28. The NCAA Men's Basketball Championship Committee will announce the national tournament field via a webcast on NCAA.com at 1 p.m.
