ALBANY, NY – The Bloomfield College Bears made their 9^th NCAA Division II Tournament appearance and advanced to the semis after a, 71-58 win over Nyack College Saturday night. The Bears entered the tourney with the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference's (CACC) automatic bid to improve to 7-3 on the year. The 6^thseeded Warriors, also from the CACC, made their first appearance in school history at the tournament and saw their season come to a close with a final record of 4-5.
 
Both teams opened up the game with a basket on their first possessions but back-to-back three pointers from the Warriors gave the #6 seed an 8-4 advantage with just under 17 minutes on the clock. Senior forward Rich Chapman (Newark, NJ) knocked in his first offering from downtown and pulled the Bears to within two (11-9). Tony Godwin (Plainfield, NJ) checked in and put back a bucket to even the game at 13-13 before Ben Basten (Sydney, Austrailia) hit a long-range jumper to put Bloomfield ahead by three with under 11 minutes to play in the first half.
 
Chapman found guard Isaiah Sparks (Ewing, NJ) in transition for a three-ball that gave Bloomfield a 26-20 lead. Chapman then extended the margin to nine (29-20) with a three-pointer of his own prompting a Warrior timeout at the 5:59 minute mark. The #3 team flexed to a, 36-20 disparity following another Sparks three as Nyack fell into an over five-minute scoring drought. Head Coach of the Bears, Gerald Holmes called a timeout with 3.4 seconds to go in the half to draw up a play following a forced Warrior turnover by Chapman. Bloomfield capitalized by drawing a foul and went into the intermission with the score 42-26 in their favor.
 
The tenacious defense of the East Region's 3^rd ranked team held Nyack to 30.3 percent shooting from the field (10-of-33) in the opening frame. Sparks was perfect from long-range going 3-for-3 and led all scorers at the break with 11 points. 
 
Bloomfield drained the first two baskets of the 2^nd half and push to a 20-point lead at, 46-26. Nyack tried to chip away at their deficit but couldn't get closer than 13 and the higher-seeded team claimed the victory at the Albany Capital Center. 
 
Chapman recorded a double-double on the evening, cashing in 15 points to go along with 11 boards, 10 of which came on the defensive glass. Sparks finished the quarterfinal with a game-high 16 points on an efficient, 4-of-6 shooting from the field, including 3-of-4 from deep. Senior guard, Tariq McKenith (Newark, NJ) dished out a team-high 5 assists. Every Bear that stepped on the court got into in the scoring column and despite having only a 40-38 advantage in rebounds, the #3 seed dominated with 32 defensive boards which limited the Warriors second-chance opportunities.
  
Bloomfield advances to face #2 seeded, Daemen College tomorrow night in the Semifinal Round of the Tournament. The Dance continues for the Bears as they draw another 8:45 pm tip-off, this time against the Wildcats with the two teams meeting for the first time in school history.
 
For more information on the NCAA Div. II Men's Basketball Tournament please click here. To see the updated Official NCAA Bracket click here. Join the #BearsNation and stay up-to-date with the latest news, including game previews and recaps, from the Bloomfield College athletic department by liking the Bears on Facebook and following us on Twitter or Instagram @GO_BCBears. Use the hashtag #FearTheGrowl to join the conversation.