ASTON, Pa. – The Neumann University men's basketball team will travel to Rosemont College for a first round contest in the Colonial States Athletic Conference (CSAC) playoffs on Saturday, February 18 at 3 p.m. Neumann claimed the fifth seed while Rosemont is the fourth seed.
The Knights and the Ravens split during the regular and both won on home soil. The Ravens won 81-71 on Jan 9th. Gerald Bryant scored 14 points while Mark Blount scored 13 points and grabbed 10 rebounds. In the game, the Raven's took a four point second half lead and turn it into a 16 point lead within a four minute span to secure the win.
The Knights would play the Ravens at home three weeks later in the Mirenda Center winning 68-49.The Knights took a 34-24 halftime lead, the game was busted open with the Knights scoring the first 10 points of the second half. Dom Gibson lead the Knights in scoring with 22 points and Blount did the rest in scoring 12 points, 11 rebounds and added four blocks to his totals.
The Knights haven't found road games very welcoming, going 3-10. The good news for the Knights is that the Ravens have only won two of their last five games. Conversely, the Knights have showed good form as of late. The Knights played very well for 30 minutes at Gwynedd-Mercy, but the last 10 minutes will serve as incentive to re-write the ending of Saturday's playoff game against the Ravens. The Knights won the two previous road games against Immaculata University 67-63 and Philadelphia Biblical University 79-59.
Patrick O'Connor leads the team in scoring for the regular season with 13.3 points per game and steals with 4.5 steals a game. Blount leads the team in blocks with 77, 8.3 rebounds and second on the team with 13.1 points per game. Blount was named Second Team All-CSAC and All Sportsmanship team. Mike Walukiewicz averages 10.1 per game and shoots 42% from three point range on the season.
Senior guard, Terrance Clark, gives the Knights leadership on the court and this is something that has become more evident, as of late. Even in a losing cause, Coach Stanziano has echoed Clark's brilliance in the Gwynedd-Mercy game. His timing could not be any better, as the Knights are poised to pull an upset in the first round of the CSAC playoffs at the expense of Ravens.
The Ravens are led by Second Team All-CSAC Harrison Carsillo. Carsillo averages 11.8 points and 7.5 rebounds per game. Justin Chaney leads the team in points with 12.1 per game.
The winner will travel and play in the semifinals Tuesday, February 21 against either top seeded Cabrini College or No. 2 seed Keystone College. In the other quarterfinal matchup, No. 3 seed Gwynedd-Mercy will host No. 6 seed Immaculata.
Tip-off on Saturday is slated for 3:00 PM. Tickets are $3.
