RIT wins Empire 8 Championship (Photo: ritathletics) |
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| RIT 2008-09 |
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ITHACA, NY -The RIT men's
basketball team (19-8) earned an automatic berth into the 2009 NCAA Tournament
by defeating Nazareth College (13-14) in overtime, 76-71 in the Empire 8
Championship at Ithaca College on Sunday. It is RIT's first trip to the NCAA
Tournament since the 1999-00 season.
It is RIT's first Empire 8 Championship since the conference moved to a playoff
format in 2002-03 and sixth conference title under Head Coach
Bob
McVean .
Dominique Kendrick (6'0''-G) missed a pair of free-throws for Nazareth with
1.1 seconds left in regulation with the game tied at 62. The Golden Flyers tied
the game on a steal and lay-up by Kendrick with 25 seconds left. RIT was called
for traveling with eight seconds left. On the ensuing possession,
Corey
McAdam (6'2''-G) found Kendrick who was fouled underneath the hoop. Nazareth
took its first lead since early in the first half, 64-62, early in overtime on a
hook shot by
Jeff
Dehimer (6'7''-F/C).
Nate
Korinchak (6'1''-G) (Strongsville, OH/Strongsville) made a pair of free
throws to tie the game at 66. After that,
Shawn
Roe (6'0''-G) (Corning, NY/Corning East) for RIT and
Jason
Corletta (6'3''-G/F) for Nazareth nailed back-to-back three-pointers to keep
the game tied at 69.
Korinchak made one free throw and
Mark
Carson (6'6''-F-87) (Voorheesville, NY/Voorheesville) drained a pair of free
throws with 29 seconds left to give RIT a 72-69 lead. Nazareth cut the lead to
72-71 on a lay-up by
Phil
Scaffidi (6'1''-G). Roe was fouled and hit two clutch free-throws to put RIT
up 74-71 with 11 seconds left. RIT played great defense in the final possession
and forced an off balance 3-point attempt by
Ryan
McAdam (6'4''-F) that was rebounded by
Marcus Lowe (5'8''-G) (Anchorage, AK/Service). Lowe hit the final two free
throws to seal the win.
The Tigers, seeded second in the tournament, led by 10 after the first half, and
by as many as 14 in the second half, 52-38 with 12:01 left. Turnovers plagued
the Tigers as Nazareth made its second half comeback. RIT turned the ball over
13 times over the final 20 minutes of regulation.
McVean, who won his 400th game at RIT on Saturday, was very proud of the way his
team fought to win the conference tournament.
'The game was a typical Nazareth, RIT battle, a game of runs,' said McVean.
'Today's game was another example of the character and grit we have shown all
season. We've been in a lot of close games and found ways to get the job done. I
am proud of how they got through their final exams this week and still had
enough to get two big wins this weekend. Our goal is to win the Empire 8 and get
to the NCAA's and we were able to do that.'
Carson was named the Tournament MVP after leading all players with 27 points, 13
rebounds and four steals. He shot 11-for-13 from the field and grabbed his 24th
double-double of the season. He moved into seventh place all-time in one season
at RIT with 533 points.
Korinchak finished with 15 points, seven boards and four assists.
Scott
Young (6'6''-F) (Almond, NY/Hornell) added 12 points and six boards, while
Lowe added 10 points.
DeHimer led Nazareth with 21 points on 9-of-9 shooting from the field. Corey and
Ryan
McAdam each had 15 points apiece for the Golden Flyers, who finish 13-14.
RIT out-rebounded Nazareth 39-20. The Tigers shot 52 percent (27-for-52) from
the field. Nazareth shot 54 percent in the second half and 47 percent from the
game.
RIT led 34-24 at the end of the first half, despite Nazareth scoring the final
five points. The Tigers went on a 17-4 run over a 6:01 span late in the first
half to take a 34-19 lead. Young's 3-pointer with 2:53 left in the half gave RIT
its biggest lead. Nazareth cut the lead to 10 on a long 3-pointer by
Corey
McAdam at the buzzer.
The Tigers came out and scored the game's first six points, while Nazareth
countered the score the next seven. RIT then went on an 11-2 run to go up 17-9.
RIT shot 50 percent (13-for-26) in the first half and received balanced scoring.
Nazareth shot just 37.5 percent from the floor and turned the ball over eight
times.
RIT leads the all-time series against Nazareth, 33-25. Today's meeting was
fourth between the two schools this season, with both teams winning twice. RIT
defeated Nazareth, 94-81 on overtime on Dec. 6, while the Golden Flyers upended
RIT 87-73 on Jan. 14. Just 12 days ago,
Corey
McAdam's buzzer-beating 3-pointer from 30-feet out lifted visiting Nazareth
to a dramatic, 86-84 win over RIT at Clark Gym. That shot spoiled a career game
for Carson, who scored 31 points, added 20 boards and blocked eight shots. He
also went over 1,000 career points in that game.
RIT last appeared in the Empire 8 Championship game in 2005, falling to St. John
Fisher. The last time RIT was in the NCAA Tournament was in 1999-00, losing a
second round game to Penn State-Behrend. It is RIT's seventh trip to the NCAA
Tournament.
Yesterday, RIT defeated #3 Utica 65-62 in one semifinal, while Nazareth shocked
#1 Ithaca, 82-76 in the other semifinal. The Tigers will find out who and where
they will play in the NCAA Tournament on Monday morning.
CCourtesy of ritathletics
Tournament Final: RIT - Nazareth College 76-71
Tournament Semifinals:
Nazareth College - Ithaca 82-76
RIT - Utica 65-62
Empire 8 All-Tournament MVP:
Mark
Carson of RIT
| All-Empire 8 1st Team
2008-09 |
Carson |
|
Burton |
|
Herring |
|
McAdam |
|
Cocozziello |
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All-Empire 8 1st Team
Sean
Burton (5'9''-G) of Ithaca College
Doug
Herring (6'1''-G) of Utica College
Corey
McAdam of Nazareth College
Mark
Carson of RIT
Jan
Cocozziello (6'1''-G) of Hartwick College
All-Empire 8 2nd Team
Jeff
Bostic (6'5''-C/F) of Ithaca
Virgil Gray (6'3''-G) of Stevens
Ryan
McAdam of Nazareth
Matt
Newman (6'1''-G) of St. John Fisher
Anthony Passalacqua (6'0''-G) of Stevens
All-Empire 8 Honorable Mention
Jon
Adamson of Elmira
Chris
Cruz (6'2''-G) of Ithaca
Ozell
Franklin of St. John Fisher
Patrick Goodman (6'5''-F) of Utica
Brendan Rogers (6'3''-G) of Ithaca
Scott
Young of RIT
Empire 8 Player of the Year:
Sean
Burton of Ithaca College
Empire 8 Rookie of the Year:
Mark
Blazek (6'0''-G) of Hartwick College
Empire 8 Coach of the Year: Jim
Mullins of Ithaca College
McVean
