MCLA rally falls short against Brandeis in ECAC semifinals 76-66
Willamantic, CT- Down nine points at the half, MCLA rallied to take a six point second half lead but was unable to hold on down the stretch as #6 seed Brandeis defeated the Trailblazers 76-66 in the ECAC Semifinals. The Trailblazers conclude their season at 17-10. Brandeis moves on to play top seeded Eastern Connecticut in the finals tomorrow at 1pm.
The 17 wins is the best mark for MCLA since the 1998-1999 season when they went 17-9. The 2011 ECAC bid was the first in the program's history.
Chris Harris led a balanced attack with 13 points and 6 rebounds. Jamal Brown camed off the bench to score 12 and Tyriq Rochester chipped in with 11 points.
MCLA trailed 40-31 at the break, however opened the second half by scoring the first 12 points to take a 43-40 lead. After a Brandeis three pointer knotted the game, MCLA extended out to a six point lead at 51-45. Brandeis eventually tied the game at the midway point of the half setting the stage for the final minutes.
MCLA only trailed by three with 2:46 remaining (69-66), however they would not score again. Brandeis' Youri Dascy, who had a team high 20 points, was left alone under the hoop for an easy bucket with just 55 seconds left to extend the lead to five. Forced to foul, the Judges converted at the line to stretch out to the final margin.
Dascy finished with nine boards as well. Ben Bartoldus also finished with 20 points, including 4-5 shooting from beyond the arc. Derek Retos came off the bench to chip in with 11.
MCLA graduates eight seniors: Jon Greenberg, James Rivers, Chris Cassels, Kris McLaughlin, Benny Cuprill, Marvin Thompson, Brendan Kordana, and Adam Tarsa.