Box Score

NEW HAVEN, CONN - The Bloomfield College men's basketball team fell to the Hawks of Saint Anselm 82-68 ending their playoff run in the NCAA Tournament. The Deacons conclude their season with a 21-9 overall record while the Hawks improve to 22-7 overall and advance to play in the East Regional final on Tuesday, March 18th.

In a battle where the Deacons never lead, junior Marvin Williams (Jersey City, NJ) notched a game-high 25 points but it wasn't enough to get by the #3 seed in the East Region of the NCAA Tournament.  Senior Kevin Udo (West Orange, NJ) grabbed a team-high 14 rebounds in what proved to be his final game on the court for Bloomfield College.  Saint Anselm shot the ball well, knocking down 30-for-66 field goals on the evening (46.0%) while Bloomfield put up 71 attempts, converting 24 of them for a 34.0% shooting percentage.  The Hawks out-scored the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference representatives 40-34 in the paint and held a 23-15 edge in bench production as well.
 
St Anselm scored the first 6 points of the contest before Bloomfield netted a bucket. The Hawks scored on six out of their first seven shots from the field posting a 15-10 lead heading into the game's first media time out. The Deacons weathered the storm to tie the match at 15 on a jumper by sophomore Claude Blue (Brooklyn, NY) but the Hawks answered back with an 8-0 run to go up 23-15. Saint Anselm would lead by as many as nine in the opening frame (41-32) as the Deacons struggled to find a foot-hold in the match-up. Bloomfield headed to the locker room down 47-41 at halftime.
 
Blue amassed 12 points, 2 steals and an assist in the half to compliment Williams who led all point-getters with 15 at the break.  Senior Dominic Borelli (Westbrook, Maine) came off the bench to soar for the Hawks grabbing 9 rebounds to match his 9 points.
 
The second half opened up with Bloomfield determined to claw back into contention, drawing to within two (52-54) on a Matt Hall (Brooklyn, NY) jump shot at the 14:01 mark. Both squads would go cold over the next five minutes until Williams sank two free throws to end the scoring drought and pull the Deacons even (54-54) with a little over 9 minutes left on the clock. Bloomfield couldn't seem to get over the hump as the time ticked off and the Hawks seized final control of the game, opening up as much as a 16 point advantage (66-82) before taking the eventual victory to advance their season.
 
Williams scored 10 points in the second half and shot 9-for-24 during the game. Seniors Mike Williams (Ewing, NJ), Dondre Whitmore (Trenton, NJ) and Steve Henderson (West, Orange, NJ) finished up their final game together for the Deacons with eight, four and three points respectively.  "I'm proud of what this group of seniors have accomplished for the program over their careers," commented Coach Holmes after the setback. "Three CACC Championships and four NCAA Tournament bids are a testament to the hard work they put in," Holmes added.
 
On the other side of the ball Borelli finished the game with a double-double performance of 16 points and 14 rebounds.  Saint Anselm saw five players score in double-figures on the evening led by Borelli and starter Mike McCahey (Clarkstown, NY) each with a team-high 16.
 
Bloomfield closes out an amazing season with 21 wins under the CACC Coach of the Year, Gerald Holmes. The Deacons placed Claude Blue on the All-Conference First Team and All-CACC Tournament Team. Marvin Williams was voted to the All- Conference Third Team and Kevin Udo received honorable mention for his efforts on the court this season. As the Deacons lose 4 seniors this year, the prospectus for next season looks bright with the nucleus of the Bloomfield line-up being battle tested and experienced in what it takes to make it to the NCAA Tournament.