2015 Northeast Conference men's basketball tournament

The 2015 Northeast Conference men's basketball tournament was held on March 4, 7, and 10.[1] The tournament featured the league's top eight seeds, with higher seed hosting all games. The tourney opened on Wednesday, March 4 with the quarterfinals, followed by the semifinals on Saturday, March 7 and the finals on Tuesday, March 10. Robert Morris earned the conference's automatic bid to the 2015 NCAA tournament.

2015 Northeast Conference men's basketball tournament
ClassificationDivision I
Season2014–15
Teams8
Sitecampus sites
Finals siteGeneroso Pope Athletic Complex
Brooklyn, New York
ChampionsRobert Morris (8th title)
Winning coachAndrew Toole (1st title)
MVPRodney Pryor (RMU)
Attendance6,891 (total)
1,013 (championship)
← 2014
2016 →
2014–15 Northeast Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
St. Francis Brooklyn 15 3   .833 23 12   .657
Robert Morris 12 6   .667 20 15   .571
Bryant 12 6   .667 16 15   .516
Mount St. Mary's 11 7   .611 15 15   .500
Saint Francis 9 9   .500 16 16   .500
Sacred Heart 9 9   .500 15 17   .469
LIU Brooklyn 8 10   .444 12 18   .400
Wagner 8 10   .444 10 20   .333
Fairleigh Dickinson 3 15   .167 8 21   .276
Central Connecticut 3 15   .167 5 26   .161
2015 NEC tournament winner

Format

edit

For the eleventh straight year, the NEC Men's Basketball Tournament consisted of an eight-team playoff format with all games played at the home of the higher seed. After the quarterfinals, the teams were shuffled so the highest remaining seed plays the lowest remaining seed in the semifinals.[2]

Seeds

edit

Teams were seeded based on the final regular season standings, with ties broken under NEC policy.[3]

Seed School Conference Overall Tiebreaker
1 St. Francis Brooklyn 15–3 21–10
2 Robert Morris 12–6 16–14 1–1 vs. SFBK, 1–1 vs. Bryant, 2–0 vs. MSM
3 Bryant 12–6 15–14 1–1 vs. SFBK, 1–1 vs. RM, 1–1 vs. MSM
4 Mount St. Mary's 11–7 15–14
5 Saint Francis (PA) 9–9 15–14 2–0 vs. SH
6 Sacred Heart 9–9 15–16 0–2 vs. SFPA
7 Wagner 8–10 10–19 2–0 vs. LIU
8 LIU Brooklyn 8–10 12–17 0–2 vs. Wagner
‡ – NEC regular season champions.
Overall records are as of the end of the regular season.

Bracket

edit
Quarterfinals
Wednesday, March 4
NEC Front Row, MSG+2, FCS and Cox Sports
Semifinals
Saturday, March 7
(reseeded)
NEC Front Row, MSG+, FCS
Championship
Tuesday, March 10
ESPN2
 
         
1 St. Francis Brooklyn 79
8 LIU Brooklyn 70
1 St. Francis Brooklyn 62
5 Saint Francis (PA) 48
4 Mount St. Mary's 58
5 Saint Francis (PA) 73
1 St. Francis Brooklyn 63
(Pairings are reseeded after the first round)
2 Robert Morris 66
2 Robert Morris 91
7 Wagner 68
2 Robert Morris 66
3 Bryant 53
3 Bryant 91**
6 Sacred Heart 85

All games will be played at the venue of the higher seed
* Overtime

Game summaries

edit

Quarterfinals: St. Francis Brooklyn vs. LIU Brooklyn

edit

Series History: LIU leads 63-40

Mar 4
7:00 pm EST
St. Francis Brooklyn Terriers 79, LIU Brooklyn Blackbirds 70
Scoring by half: 35-22, 44-48
Pts: Brent Jones 31
Rebs: Jalen Cannon 15
Asts: Brent Jones 5
Pts: Landon Atterberry 18
Rebs: Nura Zanna 7
Asts: Elvar Fridriksson 7
Generoso Pope Athletic Complex
Brooklyn, NY
Attendance: 972
Referees: Wally Rutecki, Dennis Allocco and Brandon Cruz

Quarterfinals: Mount St. Mary's vs. Saint Francis (PA)

edit

Series History: MSM leads 42-30

Mar 4
7:00 pm EST
Mount St. Mary's Mountaineers 58, Saint Francis Red Flash 73
Scoring by half: 24-29, 34-44
Pts: Will Miller 14
Rebs: Taylor Danaher 5
Asts: Khalid Nwandu 3
Pts: Earl Brown 20
Rebs: Earl Brown 14
Asts: Malik Harmon & Ollie Jackson 3
Knott Arena
Emmitsburg, MD
Attendance: 1,068
Referees: Doug Aprahamian, Robert Testa and Brandon Williams

Quarterfinals: Robert Morris vs. Wagner

edit

Series History: RMU leads 41-25

Mar 4
7:00 pm EST
Robert Morris Colonials 91, Wagner Seahawks 68
Scoring by half: 39-28, 52-40
Pts: Lucky Jones 27
Rebs: Elijah Minnie 7
Asts: Rodney Pryor 7
Pts: Mike Aaman & Marcus Burton 19
Rebs: Mike Aaman 8
Asts: JoJo Cooper 5
Charles L. Sewall Center
Moon Township, PA
Attendance: 857
Referees: Steve Ruppenthal, Josh White and Dave Fernandez

Quarterfinals: Bryant vs. Sacred Heart

edit

Series History: SHU leads 18-13
Announcers: Paul Dottino, Joe DeSantis and John Schmeelk

MSG+, FCS and Cox Sports
Mar 4
7:00 pm EST
Bryant Bulldogs 91, Sacred Heart Pioneers 85 (OT)
Scoring by half: 30-38, 33-25 Overtime: 14-14, 14-8
Pts: Joe O'Shea 21
Rebs: Dan Garvin & Bosko Kostur 9
Asts: Shane McLaughlin 5
Pts: Cane Broome 21
Rebs: Jordan Allen 6
Asts: Phil Gaetano 9
Chace Athletic Center
Smithfield, RI
Attendance: 1,188
Referees: Gary Pucino, Rod Mrakovich and Mike Pearson

Semifinal: Robert Morris vs. Bryant

edit

Series History: RMU leads 10–2
Announcers: John Schmeelk and Tim Capstraw

MSG & FCS
Mar 7
12:00 pm EST
Robert Morris Colonials 66, Bryant Bulldogs 53
Scoring by half: 30-25, 36-28
Pts: Kavon Stewart 19
Rebs: Elijah Minnie 9
Asts: Kavon Stewart 8
Pts: Dyami Starks 19
Rebs: Dan Garvin and Shane McLaughlin 8
Asts: Shane McLaughlin 7
Charles L. Sewall Center
Moon Township, PA
Attendance: 839
Referees: Jim Bruno, Lionel Butler and James Ostwalt

Semifinal: St. Francis Brooklyn vs. Saint Francis (PA)

edit

Series History: SFU leads 36–38
Announcers: Paul Dottino, Joe DeSantis and Matt Harmon

MSG & FCS
Mar 7
2:00 pm EST
St. Francis Brooklyn Terriers 62, Saint Francis Red Flash 48
Scoring by half: 30-27, 32-21
Pts: Jalen Cannon 20
Rebs: Jalen Cannon 11
Asts: Brent Jones 8
Pts: Malik Harmon 18
Rebs: Earl Brown 12
Asts: Greg Brown 3
Generoso Pope Athletic Complex
Brooklyn, NY
Attendance: 954
Referees: Guy Pagano, Douglas Grant and Tom Regan

Championship: St. Francis Brooklyn vs. Robert Morris

edit

Series History: 43–27
Announcers: John Brickley and Craig Robinson

ESPN2
Mar 10
7:00 pm EST
St. Francis Brooklyn Terriers 63, Robert Morris Colonials 66
Scoring by half: 35-29, 28-37
Pts: Tyreek Jewell 19
Rebs: Jalen Cannon 12
Asts: Brent Jones 5
Pts: Rodney Pryor 17
Rebs: Elijah Minnie 9
Asts: Kavon Stewart 6
Generoso Pope Athletic Complex
Brooklyn, NY
Attendance: 1,013
Referees: Paul Faia, Robert Riley and Donnie Eppley


All-tournament team

edit

Tournament MVP in bold.[4]

Name School Pos. Year Ht. Hometown
Rodney Prior Robert Morris Guard Junior 6-5 Evanston, Illinois
Brent Jones St. Francis Brooklyn Guard Senior 6-2 Bronx, New York
Earl Brown Saint Francis (PA) Forward Senior 6-6 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Lucky Jones Robert Morris Forward Senior 6-5 Newark, New Jersey
Jalen Cannon St. Francis Brooklyn Forward Senior 6-6 Allentown, Pennsylvania

References

edit
  1. ^ "2015 Northeast Conference Men's Basketball Championship". NortheastConference.org. Retrieved February 11, 2015.
  2. ^ "2015 NEC men's bracket" (PDF). NortheastConference.org. Retrieved February 11, 2015.
  3. ^ "NEC Basketball Tiebreaker Procedure". NortheastConference.org. Retrieved February 4, 2015.
  4. ^ "NCAA-Bound Robert Morris Colonials Capture Eighth NEC Tournament Title". NortheastConference.org. Retrieved March 16, 2015.