Men's Basketball earns 5th seed, will battle 4th seeded Salem tomorrow at 7pm
2015 MASCAC Men's Basketball Tournament Bracket
North Adams, MA- The MCLA Men's basketball team has earned the fifth seed in this week's MASCAC championships and will open play tomorrow night at fourth seeded Salem State. The Westfield State Owls have claimed the top seed and has earned a bye into the semifinal round. Bridgewater State is the second seed, also earning a bye.
The Trailblazers and Vikings are no stranger to each other in the postseason. They have met in the MASCAC playoffs in four of the past five seasons, with the Vikings holding a 3-1 edge in those contests. The Vikings are 3-0 on their home floor in those meetings, including last years 82-76 triumph in the semifinals. MCLA last defeated Salem in the postseason back in 2013.
The two teams split the regular season series in 2015, with each team winning on their home court. Back on January 29th in North Adams, MCLA senior Ruben DelRosario's jumper with 7 seconds left led the Trailblazers to a tight 56-55 victory over the Vikings. Salem would get revenge in the season finale though, earning an 88-78 win just two days ago.
The MCLA and Salem State game is available via http://mascac.tv/
In the other quarterfinal, third seed Fitchburg State will host sixth seed Worcester State on Tuesday as well. Westfield State will entertain the winner of Salem State/MCLA at 7:30 pm on Thursday and Bridgewater State hosts the victor of Fitchburg State/ Worcester State at 7:30.
The two victorious teams from Thursday's semifinals will compete on Saturday for the MASCAC Men's Basketball Championship at the highest remaining seed court.
Helping the Owls to their first regular season title since 2012-13 with 11 conference wins is Grant Cooper. He ranks second in the MASCAC in points per game (16.6) and third in rebounds per game (8.7), while teammate Andre King is next with 15.6 points per game with 3.2 assists per contest.
Bridgewater State lands the second seed after finishing the regular season with 10 wins in conference play. Senior Michael Lofton ended the season first in the conference in both points per game (18.9) and rebounds per game (10.5) and third in field goal percentage (55.1). Kyle Gibson finished the regular season fourth in the league in points per game (15.3) and eighth in total rebounds (144).
Fitchburg State is the third slot with six wins in league action. Kwame Lee was the top point scorer for the Falcons, averaging 13.3 points per game while also collecting seven rebounds per game. Teammate Keyon Armstrong finished the season fourth in the conference in three point percentage at 40 percent while averaging 12 points per contest.
Closing out the tournament field is Worcester State with three conference victories. Paul Brooks was a key player for the Lancers this season with the most league total rebounds (244) and second in field goal percentage (58) while averaging 12.2 points and 9.8 rebounds per game.