Men's Basketball Set To Host NCAA Northeast Regionals This Weekend, Top Seeded Skyhawks Host Eighth Seeded Bloomfield In Quarterfinal Round Play Saturday

March 5, 2006

Stonehill College has earned its first berth in the NCAA Division II Men's Basketball Championships in eight years and will serve as the host institution for the 2006 Northeast Regional Championships this weekend at Merkert Gymnasium.

Head Coach David McLaughlin's Skyhawks, 23-6 overall and regular season co-champions of the Northeast-10 Conference, earned the top seed in the Northeast Regional and will take on eighth-seeded Bloomfield (21-9) in regional quarterfinal round play on Saturday, March 11th at Merkert Gymnasium beginning at 6:00 p.m. EST. Stonehill earned an at-large bid into the NCAA national field of 64 teams, while the Deacons earned the automatic bid as tournament champions of the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference.

Stonehill, which earned its seventh overall NCAA tournament invitation, will be joined by four other Northeast-10 institutions in the Northeast Regional championship, as second-seeded Saint Anselm (23-7), which earned the conference's automatic bid on Saturday by defeating Stonehill in the tournament title game, will square off with seventh-seeded Bridgeport (23-10) in Saturday's second quarterfinal contest beginning at 2:30 p.m. EST. Third-seeded Bryant (21-9), which finished as the 2005 NCAA national runner-up to Virginia Union, will take on sixth-seeded UMass Lowell (19-9) in the first quarterfinal game of the Northeast Regional on Saturday afternoon at Noon EST, while fourth-seeded Bentley (21-8) will tangle with fifth-seeded Adelphi (26-4) in the final quarterfinal round contest on Saturday evening at 8:30 p.m. EST.

Stonehill, which last appeared in the NCAA Division II Championships in 1998, was one of five at-large selections to the Northeast Regional field, as Bryant, Bentley and UMass Lowell were tabbed out of the Northeast-10 while Bridgeport earned an at-large spot out of the New York Collegiate Athletic Conference. Adelphi earned the NYCAC's automatic bid as conference tournament champion by defeating Bridgeport in the title contest on Sunday afternoon.

Bryant is the defending NCAA Northeast Regional champion, as the Bulldogs posted a 73-63 victory over Bentley in the 2005 regional title game in Waltham, Mass.

Tickets for the 2006 NCAA Division II Men's Basketball Regional Championship are $8.00 for adults and $5.00 for children, seniors and students and will be available at the Merkert Gymnasium door prior to each session of the tournament. For more information on the 2006 NCAA Division II Men's Basketball Championship, log-on to www.ncaasports.com.

2006 NCAA Division II Men's Basketball

Northeast Regional Championship

Hosted by Stonehill College

All Games To Be Played At Merkert Gymnasium,

Easton, Massachusetts

NORTHEAST REGIONAL QUARTERFINALS SATURDAY, MARCH 11TH

Game #1:#3 Bryant (21-9) vs. #6 UMass Lowell (19-9)Noon

Game #2:#2 Saint Anselm (23-7) vs. #7 Bridgeport (23-10)2:30 pm

Game #3:#1 STONEHILL (23-6) vs. #8 Bloomfield (21-9)6:00 pm

Game #4:#4 Bentley (21-8) vs. #5 Adelphi (26-4)8:30 pm

NORTHEAST REGIONAL SEMI-FINALS SUNDAY, MARCH 12TH

Game #5:Bryant/UMass Lowell winner vs. Saint Anselm/Bridgeport winner5:00 pm

Game #6:STONEHILL/Bloomfield winner vs. Bentley/Adelphi winner7:30 pm

NORTHEAST REGIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP TUESDAY, MARCH 14TH

Game #7:Semi-Final winners7:00 pm