ALBANY – Two of the most pleasant surprises in the Northeast-10 Conference will be home this weekend as The College of Saint Rose will host first round conference tournament games on Saturday and Sunday. The men’s squad will meet Southern New Hampshire on Saturday, while the women’s team will welcome Merrimack College to the Daniel P. Nolan Gymnasium on Sunday.
Tip-off for both games is 1:00 pm. Tickets are $7 for adults, $4 for children and seniors, $1 for students from other NE-10 institutions, and are free for anyone who holds a Saint Rose ID.
The Golden Knights (16-11/13-9 NE-10) men’s team arrives as this juncture as a sixth-seed after being picked to finish 11th, among 16 schools, in the league’s preseason coaches’ poll. Saint Rose closed out the year with six consecutive wins, before falling 87-83 in its regular-season finale at Le Moyne Wednesday night. Meanwhile, Southern New Hampshire (14-13/9-13 NE-10) arrives as an 11th seed after dropping six of its last seven encounters although three of those setbacks came at the hands of the conference’s top-four squads. The Penmen furthermore chalked up a 75-70 road victory against the Golden Knights in the lone meeting between the two schools back on January 12.
Saint Rose features a balanced attack with four players averaging double-figures in scoring including sophomore guard
Shea Bromirski and freshman guard
Andre Pope who are the conference’s top-two long range threats in terms of accuracy.
Bromirski has canned 45.4 percent (69-for-152) of his 3-pointers that help him produce a team-leading 15.3 points per-game, while Pope has canned 42.6 percent (59-for-138) of his attempts en route to a 13.4 scoring average. Senior guard
Jermaine Clark, who tied a school record with nine 3-pointers Wednesday evening, is averaging 14.0 points on the strength of 37.2 percent (71-for-191) shooting from beyond the arc. Furthermore, sophomore forward
Brian Hanuschak has recorded seven “double-doubles” throughout 24 games this season. Hanuschak is averaging 12.1 points and is among the league’s top-five players in rebounding, blocks and field goal percentage. He is producing 8.7 boards and 1.50 blocks per-outing; in addition to shooting 63.6 percent (112-for-176) from the floor.
As for the Penmen, they are forcing 17.7 turnovers per-game and in a statistical anomaly have scored exactly the same number of points (1,842) that they have given up. Junior forward Tory Stapleton and senior swing Stephen Wood are two players to keep an eye on. Stapleton is averaging 12.4 points and 6.6 rebounds, while Wood is recording 9.5 points and 6.9 boards on a regular basis.
On Sunday, the Saint Rose women’s contingent meets up with a Merrimack squad that the Golden Knights defeated 67-60 on January 20 in North Andover, MA.
Saint Rose has turned heads throughout the league’s women’s basketball circle this season as well by finishing fifth after being picked 10th in the preseason poll. The Golden Knights (15-12/14-8 NE-10) won four of their last five and 10 of their last 13 to close out the regular-season. Meanwhile, Merrimack (11-16/9-13 NE-10) had a two-game win streak snapped with Wednesday’s 81-75 loss to visiting Southern New Hampshire.
Saint Rose sophomore guard
Ashley Rath is fifth in the NE-10 with a team leading 14.7 points per-game, thanks in part to 39.7 percent (54-for-136) shooting from the arc. Senior guard
Elizabeth Buckley and sophomore forward
Ali Johnson score 10.7 and 10.1 points respectively, while junior guard
Lynsey Timbrouck is second in the NE-10 with 5.3 assists and stands third behind 2.3 steals per-outing. She also tosses in 7.6 points on a regular basis. Junior forward
Amy Voelkel contributes 8.0 rebounds, the conference’s fifth best mark, and 6.5 points nightly.
Merrimack (11-16/9-13 NE-10), a 12th seed, is led by sophomore guard Gennifer Roy and senior guard Casey Miller who average 14.6 and 13.3 points respectively. Junior guard Sarah Benischek contributes 10.9 points and a team-high 3.3 assists per-game, while junior guard Tiffany Colon scores at an 8.6 ppg clip. Finally, freshman forward Kelly Schatzlein adds 8.1 points and a team-high 7.6 rebounds on a regular-basis.
Looking ahead, the winner of Saturday’s men’s encounter will have a 7:00 pm quarterfinal tilt at third-seed Merrimack on Monday. The winner of Sunday’s women’s match-up will head to Bentley for a 7:00 pm quarterfinal date in Waltham, MA on Tuesday.
NORTHEAST-10 CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE
Saturday, February 27 – First Round 1:00 pm – MEN
#12 Pace at #5 Saint Anselm
#11 Southern New Hampshire at #6 Saint Rose
#10 Assumption at #7 UMass Lowell
#9 Adelphi at #8 American International
First Round Byes: #1 Stonehill, #2 Bentley, #3 Merrimack, #4 Le Moyne
Monday, March 1 – Quarterfinals 7:00 pm
#8/9 at #1 Stonehill
#7/10 at #2 Bentley
#6/11 at #3 Merrimack
#5/12 at #4 Le Moyne
Sunday, February 28 – First Round 1:00 pm - WOMEN
#12 Merrimack at #5 Saint Rose
#11 Southern New Hampshire at #6 Assumption
#10 American International at #7 UMass Lowell
#9 Southern Connecticut at #8 New Haven
First Round Byes: #1 Franklin Pierce, 2 Pace, #3 Stonehill, #4 Bentley
Tuesday, March 2 – Quarterfinals 7:00 pm
#8/9 at #1 Franklin Pierce
#7/10 at #2 Pace
#6/11 at #3 Stonehill
#5/12 at #4 Bentley