Tuesday's college roundup: Assumption men's basketball advances to NCAA Division 2 Elite Eight

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Men's basketball​

NCAA Division 2 Tournament​

Assumption 97, St. Thomas Aquinas 90: For the first time in 50 years, the Greyhounds (22-9) are East Regional champions.

Six Assumption players scored in double figures, led by Daouda Dembele's 17 points with 10 rebounds, in a victory over the Spartans (25-10) at Daemen University in Amherst, New York.

The Greyhounds, who were seeded sixth in the regional's eight-team field, advance to the NCAA Elite Eight, which begins March 25 at the Ford Center in Evansville, Indiana. No other team in the Elite Eight was lower than a No. 3 seed in regional play.

Assumption held on Tuesday after leading by double digits through much of the game. After chipping away from the midway through the second half, St. Thomas Aquinas closed to within one with 4:31 left and remained in a one-possession game until the Hounds hit their free throws over the final three minutes.

Leonard Tangishaka (16 points, 8 rebounds) hit 10 of 14 from the line, including 4 of 4 in the final minute. Njavan Stewart and Tayeshawn Cunningham-Pemberton netted 14 each, Zamareon McCown added 12 and Jamal Barnes 11.

Assumption last won the East Regional final in 1975, an 87-82 victory over Bentley, marking its fifth straight regional title. This year's Hounds defeated Southern New Hampshire (92-66) and Dominican (81-75) in western New York to gain the final.

St. Thomas Aquinas advanced to the East final by knocking off tourney host CACC rival Daemen, 77-72, on Sunday. Daemen was the last remaining undefeated NCAA team, across all divisions.

The Greyhounds reached the Elite Eight in coach Scott Faucher's first trip to the D2 NCAAs. Before Assumption hired him in 2019, Faucher led Nichols to the Division 3 Elite Eight.

The other region winners are West Liberty, Nova Southeastern, Lenoir-Rhyne, Washburn, Lake Superior State and Dallas Baptist.

Baseball​

WPI 13, Roger Williams 1: Andrew Cash was 3 for 4 with a double and three RBIs, Tommy Burns had two hits with a three-run homer in the fifth inning, and Zachary Roethlein hit a solo shot as the host Engineers (7-3) upended the Hawks (3-7) at the New England Baseball Complex in Northborough, WPI's sixth straight win.

Clark 8, Rhode Island College 1: Billy Sullivan went 5 for 5 with three RBIs, coming just a triple shy of the cycle as the host Cougars (10-3) defeated the Anchormen (6-4). Teammate Dom Mariani was 2 for 4 with a triple and drove in a run.

Mitchell 5, Nichols 3: Ben Jerome, Andrew Croteau and Anthony Hackert drove in runs for the visiting Bison (5-3) against the Mariners (4-12).

Softball​

Worcester State 9, Rutgers-Camden 2; Worcester State 14, Juniata 3: Emma Lapoint (4 RBIs), Bella Gasbarro and Cali Brouillard each had three hits in second game for the Lancers (4-1), who collected 20 hits over the six innings while securing their second victory of the day in Leesbury, Florida. Morgan Keefe and Amanda Adamuska tripled in the opener.

Men's lacrosse​

Clark 20, New England College 7: Matthew Minkwitz (9 goals, 2 assists) scored five times in the first quarter, when the visiting Cougars (5-2) vaulted to a 9-3 lead against the Pilgrims (3-3). Teammate Matt Wells added two goals and three assists.

Assumption 9, Southern New Hampshire 7: Ryan Bogar netted a hat trick, and Brady McNulty had two goals and an assist as the visiting Greyhounds (6-1, 1-1 Northeast-10) outlasted the Penmen (2-4, 0-1).

Women's lacrosse​

Smith 17, Worcester State 10: Abbie Wing scored on five of seven shots, and Molly Witkowski had three goals and three assists for the Lancers (5-3) in a loss to the Pioneers (5-3) in Puerto Rico.

Mass. Maritime 17, Anna Maria 5: Riley Michaud netted three goals for the host AmCats (0-6) in a setback to the Buccaneers (2-3).

Men's tennis​

Assumption 7, Endicott 0: Bernardo Balancho, Luigi Bassani, Hugo Petersson, Alec Pijnacker, Henri Shibata and Santiago Alvarez prevailed in singles and doubles to power the Greyhounds (6-7) in their spring home opener.

Men's volleyball​

Wentworth 3, Nichols 1: Jack Normandin had 14 kills and 14 digs, Tanner Soracco added 11 kills and Chandler Olson 31 assists for the visiting Bison (12-12) in a loss to the 11th-ranked Leopards (18-4). Set scores were 25-22, 17-25, 25-19, 25-17.

This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Tuesday's college roundup: Assumption men's basketball advances to NCAA Division 2 Elite Eight

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