ASTON, Pa. – The Neumann University men's basketball team will face-off against Keystone College on Tuesday evening in a semifinal match-up at 7:00 PM against. Neumann advanced to the semifinals after defeating Rosemont College 73-59 on Saturday in the quarterfinals.
Gerald Bryant's star rose in the game against the Ravens, scoring 27 points. Mark Blount connected with 16 points and nine rebounds. Dom Gibson netted 10 points.
The Knights hit a total of nine three pointers, while denying the Ravens any big scores from outside the perimeter. Mike Walukiewicz, who averages about 10 points per game, shoots 42% from outside, sunk one to put the Knights within one point by the end of the first half, after trailing the entire opening half.
Coming back stronger in the second half of play, Walukiewicz continued to keep the pressure on by sinking two back-to-back three pointers, which helped to extend the Knights lead to 12 points. With two minutes left, Neumann's lead had grown to 15 and they were able to hold onto the win, knocking off their fourth seeded rival.
The Knights have challenged the Keystone Giants twice this season, both times ending in a loss. Back in December, the Knights fell by just one point, 83-82. Blount netted 16 points, while Bryant racked in 13 and Walukiewicz added 11. That game was tied with only about a minute and a half to go, when Neumann committed a foul and Keystone put one of two in at the line. The Giants were then able to hold off Neumann for the remaining time on the clock.
Up at Keystone, the Giants came away with the 97-83 win. Blount led the Knights with 21 points and had 10 rebounds on the day. O'Connor followed up with 19 points of his own and Walukiewicz had 15. The Knights had the lead at half-time 49-42, but the Giants came back to tie the score at 60 in the second half. With 13 minutes left, the Knights were held scoreless for up to six minutes, which was the turning point in the game, while Keystone pulled ahead at the time 75-60. However, Neumann will be looking to avenge themselves in the playoffs, where it really counts.
The Giants record this season was 20-5 and their team averaged 90.3 points per game, while Neumann has averaged 72 points per game. However, the Giants have made three prior visits to the semifinals and have never advanced to the title game and Neumann aims to frustrate their chances for one more season.
On the season, Blount leads with team, averaging 13.2 points per game. O'Connor is just behind him with 13.0 points per game. Blount set the single season record for blocks, currently with 78.
Head coach Lenny Stanziano will try to lead his team to victory Tuesday, after starting his third season at the helm of the men's basketball program at Neumann University. Stanziano's first two seasons each have finished with 16 wins and bids to the ECAC tournament, giving the Knights back-to-back winning seasons for the first time since 2002-03 and 2003-04.
The other semifinal match will be between No. 1 seed Cabrini College (24-1) and 6th seed Immaculatta (11-15). The Colonial State Athletic Conference (CSAC) championship game will be played on February 24 between the winners of the semifinal contests.
