No. 15 Neumann Wins Second CSAC Title Over Gwynedd Mercy, 77-53 - Feb 27, 2017
The No. 15 Neumann University men's basketball team (25-2) closed the first half with a 23-3 run and never looked back en route to a 77-53 victory over defending champion Gwynedd Mercy University (21-7) Saturday afternoon at the Mirenda Center. Making its fourth straight trip to the championship game, Neumann won its second CSAC title in three years, having captured its first conference crown in 2014-15. With the win, the Knights earn the CSAC's automatic berth to the 2017 NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Tournament. The top-seeded Knights were led by first-team all-CSAC selection DeShawn Lowman (6'1''-G) who tallied a game-high 25 points on 10-of-16 shooting. Fellow first-team honoree and CSAC Defensive Player of the Year Darian Barnes (6'9''-F) finished with a triple-double of 11 points, 15 rebounds and 10 blocks and was named CSAC Championship Most Valuable Player. Gwynedd Mercy's Cedric Elleby (6'4''-F), also a first-team pick, registered a double-double of 14 points and 11 boards to lead the third-seeded Griffins. After both teams combined to shoot 3-of-12 out of the gate, the action was fast and furious for a stretch of several minutes as both teams found their offensive rhythm. After GMU called timeout trailing 10-4, the Griffins used an 8-0 run to go up 12-10 thanks to a pair of three-pointers by Manny Lopez (6'2''-G) and CSAC Rookie of the Year Rich Dunham (6'1''-G). Later in the half, clinging to a 24-22 advantage, the Knights forced several Griffin turnovers and cashed in at the other end to stretch their lead to double figures. Neumann held the Griffins without a field goal for the final 6:41 of the first half and used a 23-3 run to assume a 47-25 lead at intermission. The Griffins were unable to cut into the lead in the second half and the Knights finished the game with the largest margin of victory in a CSAC men's basketball final (24 points) since Cabrini defeated Neumann 97-73 in 2009-10.
Courtesy of CSAC Sports
CSAC Tournament Final: Neumann - Gwynedd Mercy 77-53 CSAC Tournament Semifinals: Neumann - Cabrini 73-71 Gwynedd Mercy - Rosemont 87-69
All-CSAC Awards 2017 - Feb 27, 2017
All-CSAC 1st Team 2017
Monroe
Lowman
Hughes
Elleby
Barnes
All-Tournament MVP: Darian Barnes (6'9''-F) of Neumann Player of the Year: Tyheim Monroe (6'6''-F) of Cabrini Defensive Player of the Year: Darian Barnes (6'9''-F) of Neumann Rookie of the Year: Rich Dunham (6'1''-G) of Gwynedd-Mercy Coach of the Year: Jim Rullo of Neumann
Rullo
