PHILADELPHIA, PA (March 4, 2011) - The men's basketball team advanced to the CACC Final in dramatic fashion Friday evening, as they outlasted the valiant Chestnut Hill College Griffins in an 82-80 semifinal masterpiece.  

It was clear from the opening tip there would be no repeat of the Deacons' lopsided regular season victory over Chestnut Hill, as the fourth-seeded Griffins came out firing on all cylinders at the offensive end of the floor.  The underdogs mounted a nine-point advantage through the first eight minutes of the contest, and saw their lead reach as high as 10 points with three minutes remaining.  But the Deacons weathered the first-half storm, engineering a spurt of their own in the final seconds of the frame to trim the deficit to 40-36 at intermission.

The top-seeded Deacons carried the momentum into the second half, overtaking the Griffins and controlling the action through the early stages of the stanza.  Newly-crowned CACC Player of the Year Gage Daye, relatively quiet by his lofty standards in the first half, erupted for 19 points in the final 20 minutes, helping the Deacons preserve the lead as the Griffins stayed within striking distance.  Desperately trying to hold on, Bloomfield's lead dwindled along with the seconds on the clock, seeing their once comfortable cushion reach just a single point with 3:23 remaining.  A pair of Chestnut Hill free-throws would knot the score at 80 with just 59 ticks to play, setting the stage for an epic final minute of action, a place in Saturday's Tournament Final the ultimate prize.

On Bloomfield's next offensive possession, Daye earned a trip to the free-throw line, connecting on one of two to give the Deacons the slimmest of leads.  Chestnut Hill worked for a last-second three, but the Griffins' long-range try drew iron, forcing them to foul and send Bloomfield forward Kevin Udo to the line with a chance to move the lead to three.  The freshmen also hit one of two, giving the Griffins one last chance to pull off the miracle victory.  Chestnut Hill guard Uros Kovacevic got a desperation heave away, but could not connect on his final three-point try, sending the Deacons to their second CACC Final in three seasons.

"Tonight was a great game, and we were fortunate enough to come out on top and move on to the final," Bloomfield head coach Gerald Holmes said.  "Chestnut Hill played extremely well, and they've had an outstanding season.  Our guys really hung tough tonight, and now we're one win away from a championship."

Daye finished the evening with a game-high 26 points, seven rebounds and three assists, while Ryan Rodrigues went 5-8 from beyond the arc to finish with 20 points.  Matt Wafula keyed the frontcourt scoring, posting a double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds. 

The Deacons will move on to the CACC Final Saturday, March 5, where they will take on the Goldey Beacom College Lightning, who defeated Post University earlier in the afternoon.  Tip-off for the finale is set for 7:00 PM.