Neumann Edges Cabrini in OT for First-Ever CSAC Title - Feb 28, 2015

The second-seeded Neumann University Knights (17-10) rallied from a 10-point halftime deficit and eked out a 93-92 overtime triumph over top-seeded and five-time defending champion Cabrini College (17-10) in the 2015 CSAC men's basketball championship game Friday evening at Nerney Field House.
In a rematch of last year's title contest, the Knights' aggressiveness on the boards and clutch shooting earned them their first-ever CSAC men's basketball championship. All five Neumann starters reached double figures, led by tournament championship MVP James Butler (6'3''-F)'s 31. Butler hit 12-of-25 from the field and 7-of-10 from the foul line to go along with 13 rebounds, five assists and two steals. Denzel Yard (6'2''-G) finished with 17 points, while DeShawn Lowman (6'1''-G) netted 15, Kevin Green (5'10''-PG) drilled four triples for 14 points and Andrew Moye (6'4''-F) registered 12.
Cabrini, which led by as many as 14 on the night, got a game-high 36 points and 17 rebounds from three-time CSAC player of the year Aaron Walton-Moss (6'1''-G). Tyheim Monroe (6'6''-F) tallied 24 points while Vinny Walls (6'1''-G) had 15 and Jair Green (6'4''-F) chipped in 13 in the losing cause.
While Cabrini maintained the upperhand for the majority of the first half, Neumann clawed its way back into it in the second half and pulled to within one possession of tying it after a layup by Butler at the 14:27 mark. Two minutes later, it was Butler again who hit the big bucket when he got an acrobatic layup to go in transition to knot the score at 57-57. Cabrini was able to thwart each threat by Neumann until a layup by Lowman at the 3:31 put the Knights on top for the first time since the opening minute of the game (75-74). The teams traded baskets down the stretch and a pair of free throws by Monroe gave Cabrini a three-point lead with 24 seconds left. With time winding down, the Knights worked the ball around to Green who swished his fourth three-pointer of the game with three ticks left to send the game into overtime.
The extra session was a nip-and-tuck affair that saw neither team lead by more than three. A layup by Tyheim with 24 seconds to go gave the Cavaliers a narrow one-point edge, 92-91, but the lead was short-lived as Yard laid in the go-ahead bucket on Neumann's next possession. The door was still open for some last-second by heroics by Cabrini, but the Cavaliers turned the ball over twice in the final nine seconds and the Knights escaped with the win.
Neumann hauled in 20 offensive rebounds and turned them into 24 points while scoring 56 of its 93 points in the paint.

CSAC Tournament Final: Neumann - Cabrini 93-92, OT
CSAC Tournament Semifinals:
Cabrini - Gwynedd Mercy 109-101
Neumann - Centenary 57-52

Courtesy of CSACSports