RADNOR, PA – The Cabrini men's basketball escaped the first round of the NCAA Tournament with a thrilling 88-86 win over the College of Staten Island tonight at Nerney Field House.
In a game that saw the Cavaliers trail by 12 in the first half and lead by 11 in the second, it took a 20-foot jumper by senior
Deryl Bagwell with 0.2 seconds on the clock to send the Blue and White to the second round of the tournament.
The Cavaliers (25-3) will face Springfield College (19-8) in Saturday's second round, as the Pride also earned an 88-86 win over Albright College in Friday's opening game. Tip for tomorrow's game is slated for 7pm.
Six Cavaliers recorded at least nine points in the win, with senior
Tyheim Monroe leading the way with 22 points and 12 rebounds. The senior also etched his name in the history book, becoming the first player in program history and fifth in CSAC history to record 2,000 career points.
Bagwell paired 15 points, 15 rebounds and five assists. Junior
Anthony Wright-Downing continued his scoring run, posting 18 points on 8-12 shooting.
The Blue and White struggled in the early going and the Dolphins took advantage. One of the nation's highest scoring teams, the Cavaliers scored just 14 points through more than 11 minutes of action, as Staten Island built a 29-17 lead with 7:24 left in the first half.
Cabrini turned to its defense and found its rhythm over the next few minutes. The Cavaliers used a 16-4 run over the next 3:21 to erase their deficit and pull even with the Dolphins at 33-33. During the spurt, Cabrini held Staten Island to 2-7 shooting and forced three turnovers.
Despite its best efforts, the Cavaliers could not climb in front as it trailed 40-39 at the break.
Cabrini continued its hot shooting into the second half, as it opened the stanza on a 17-6 run. A triple by freshman
DJ Smith put the Cavaliers up 56-46 with 16:28 left to play.
While the Cavaliers seemed to be in control of the action, they had no answer for Staten Island sophomore Christian Taylor who hit every big bucket for the Dolphins. The sophomore scored six points in a key 13-4 run for the Dolphins, that culminated with a three pointer from classmate Adeola Latunji that pulled Staten Island within 72-71 with 7:49 to play.
Freshman
Trey Smith responded for the Cavaliers with five consecutive points to push the lead back to six.
The game went back and forth over the final four minutes, as both teams exchanged the lead. A three in the corner by senior Raymond Savage broke an 80-80 deadlock with just under two minutes to play.
Wright-Downing's lay-up with 99 seconds cut the deficit to one before a defensive stop and Monroe jumper put Cabrini ahead 84-83 with 1:05 to play.
D
espite two good looks, the Dolphins came up empty on their next trip before Bagwell got to the tin to put the Blue and White ahead 86-83 with just 15 seconds to play.
The lead lasted just a few more seconds, as Taylor found senior Edin Bracic for a deep three from the top of the key to even the score at 86.
The Dolphins called a timeout, which game Cabrini head coach
Tim McDonald a chance to draw up a final play with just under six seconds on the clock. Monroe inbounded the ball to Bagwell who raced up the floor before pulling up from just inside the three point line in front of the Cabrini bench and drained the game-winning jumper.
The Cavaliers shot .557 from the field on the night, including a blistering 19-28 in the second half, but its recent free throw struggles nearly cost them. The Blue and White shot just 12-30 from the charity stripe, including 6-17 in the second half.
Taylor was pretty much unstoppable for the Cavaliers, as the sophomore finished with 38 points on 14-20 from the floor and 10-10 from the free throw line. Latunji paired 22 points, eight boards and three steals for the Dolphins (17-12).
Like the nightcap, the night's opening game also went down to the wire. Despite leading the entire game and nursing a 72-60 lead with 6:36 to play, Springfield saw its lead evaporate over the game's final minutes.
Albright pulled within two points at the 3:53 and 2:47 marks, but senior Andy McNulty drained threes on both ensuing possessions to keep Springfield ahead by five.
Springfield led 85-78 with 74 seconds to play before the Lions reeled off five straight points. The Pride pushed its lead back to 87-83 from the line, but sophomore Fred Rowles connected on a pair of free throws to pull Albright to within 87-85 with 41 seconds to play.
Springfield's lead proved to be enough, as Albright missed a good look a potential game-winning three pointer with five seconds to play.
Sophomore Jake Ross led Springfield with 24 points, nine rebounds and seven assists. McNulty finished with 20 points, including 3-5 from three point range, while junior Cam Earle hit 5-7 threes en route to 18 points.
