ALBANY, NY - The Bloomfield College men's basketball team saw their NCAA Division II Championship post season run come to an end Sunday night as they fell to #2 seeded Daemen College, 81-69 in the semifinal round.
The Bears ended their season at 7-4 with the setback while the Wildcats improved to 9-5 and advanced to Tuesday's championship final where they'll face top seeded, St. Thomas Aquinas College.
Daemen scored on their first two possessions of the game and after being tied with Bloomfield at 4-4, the Wildcats never relinquished their lead the rest of the way. The #3 seeded Bears struggled offensively in the first period, converting only 32.4 percent of their shots (11-of-34). Following an Isaiah Poole (North Plainfield, NJ) jumper at the 6:45 minute mark, the #2 seed went on a, 14-5 run to close out the opening half, up 42-29.
Senior forward,
Rich Chapman (Newark, NJ) netted 9 points by the halftime break while sophomores,
Tony Godwin (North Plainfield, NJ) and
Isaiah Sparks each chipped in five points with Sparks grabbing a team-high six boards. Daemen shot 17-for-31 from the field (54.8 percent) in the first half and put Bloomfield in a deficit they would not be able to overcome.
The Bears made a quick push to start the 2
nd period and closed to within seven (51-44) on a three-pointer from Godwin at the 15:14 mark but the Wildcats answered the charge with a 19-2 explosion that ultimately punched their ticket to Tuesday's East Regional Final.
Poole finished the night with a career and team-high, 17 points on 6-of-10 shooting from the floor. Godwin ended the contest shooting 6-of-8 from the field to tally 16 points while Sparks ended with 13 points and a team-high 7 rebounds in the loss.
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