MEDFORD, Mass. - The Western Connecticut State Universiity Wolves rallied back from a 14-point deficit to close the gap to one point in the final minutes but fell just short in a 71-69 loss to the Catholic University Cardinals in the opening round of the NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Championship Tournament this afternoon at Cousens Gymnasium on the campus of Tufts University. WestConn ends the year with a 21-7 record, while Catholic improves to 20-7 and will play a second round game tomorrow against either Tufts or PSU-Harrisburg. The Wolves, who scored 47 points in the second half, were led in scoring by senior guard
Tayejon Lynch (Cambria Heights, N.Y.) with 16 points.
WestConn trailed, 31-22, at halftime and 40-26 less than four minutes into the second frame before fighting their way back. Sophomore guard Armann Sandhu (Abbottsford, British Columbia) drilled a pair of three-pointers, followed by buckets from freshmen
Jaeden Bull (Wilmington, Del.) and
Avery Taitt-Christina (Far Rockaway, N.Y.) to pull the Wolves to within eight at 43-35 with 14 minutes left. WestConn stayed close for the ensuing minutes before sophomore center
Marcel Henry (Yonkers, N.Y.) scored and Lynch made steal and a layup to make it, 57-54, with 4:31 on the clock. Catholic answered and Googie Seidman made a trey to give Catholic a 63-54 lead with 3:18 lef to play.
WestConn continued to battle and got within a point at 67-66 with eight seconds on the clock after a traditional three-point play by Henry, a triple off the backboard by Lynch, and two free throws by senior forward
Nick Boyce (Jamaica, N.Y.). After a Cardinal free throw, Boyce got the rebound and went coast-to-coast before getting fouled on the shot. Boyce made one of the two and the Wolves were issued a technical foul for illegal touching. Catholic's Matt Gorman made the free throw and Boyce again made one of two before Gorman made two more from the charity stripe to put the game away. Sandhu scored at the buzzer to account for the 71-69 final tally.
"This is a group of young men that have been outstanding to coach," said WestConn Head Coach
Guy Rancourt. "We have been to four straight LEC championship games, but this team is the most cohesive group I have coached in all of 27 years. Tayejon (Lynch) voiced his opinions with our guys in the locker room at halftime in a very positive way and that is what drove Marcel (Henry) and Nick (Boyce) and our other playmakers too come out with more aggressive play in the second half."
WestConn's defense had been stingy early, holding Catholic scoreless for the first 3:50 of the game. The Wolves led, 6-2, after a steal and drive by Taitt-Christina but Catholic connected on three long balls in a row and led, 12-8, at the 13:07 mark. Taitt-Christina converted another steal into a layup and Lynch scored inside to make it 12-12 with 9:44 left in the first half. Catholic went on a 6-0 run and the Cardinal defense held WestConn to just two field goals, one by Henry and one by sophomore center
Juan Morel (Waterford, Conn.), over the final seven minutes before the break.
Taitt-Christina and Henry joined Lynch in double figures in scoring for WestConn with 15 and 13 points, respectively. Boyce totaled seven points, a team-high nine rebounds, and three assists, while Sandhu scored eight points. Brian Herbert paced the Cardinals with a game-high 17 points and Seidman finished with 15 points. Michael Dankert had 10 points and 11 rebounds and C.J. Ruoff added 11 points and five assist for Catholic, which outrebounded the Wolves, 40-34, and made half of their 22 three-point attempts.
"These guys are family and we have built a bond that allows us to keep fighting each game," said Henry. "I am definitely going to continue to carry on that family mentality going into next season."
