RUTHERFORD, N.J. – The Felician University men's basketball team has qualified for the 2022 Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) Championship tournament as the No. 3 seed from the North Division.
Felician (16-9, 11-6 CACC) reaches the CACC playoffs for the fourth consecutive season in which they were held. Tonight, the Golden Falcons will travel to Philadelphia, Pa., to take on South Division No. 2 seed Chestnut Hill College in first-round postseason action at Sorgenti Arena on Chestnut Hill's campus in northwest Philadelphia. Tipoff time is 5:30 p.m.
Directions to Sorgenti Arena are available at https://griffinathletics.com/sports/2009/12/18/GEN_1218095433.aspx?id=17. Ticket prices for tonight's game are $10 for adults and $5 for children, students (with ID) and senior citizens (cash only). Children aged three years and under will be admitted free.
Chestnut Hill will also offer Live Stats at http://www.caccathletics.org/sports/mbkb/2021-22/boxscores/20220301_jbzl.xml and a live webstream at https://caccnetwork.com/?bfplayvid=366977. More information about the 2022 CACC Men's Basketball Championship tournament is available at https://caccathletics.org/sports/mbkb/2021-22/releases/226Tourn.
Felician is making its 15th CACC tournament appearance and is seeking its second championship. The Golden Falcons captured the title in 2010, but have not won a playoff game since. This season, they rank first in the 13-team CACC in scoring offense and 13th in scoring defense and are 9-4 in true road games.
Guided by seventh-year head coach Ivan Lewis, Felician's 16 victories are its most since its 2009-10 CACC championship season. Junior swingman Justin Davis (Jersey City, N.J./Hoboken) ranks second in the CACC in scoring average (20.8 points per game) and seventh in rebounding (8.0 per game), while junior guard Jaylen Colon (Paterson, N.J./John F. Kennedy) averages 15.9 points per game. Their play has been supplemented by that of junior forward Dee-End McRae (Newark, N.J./Newark Central) (.544 FG%, 12.7 ppg, 6.6 rpg, 3.1 apg), and sophomore point guard Nas Amos (Newark, N.J./Newark East Side) (12.1 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 3.5 apg, 1.8 spg).
"We need to stay composed (tonight)," said McRae, a tri-captain. "Everyone worked hard this summer to come together as one and get to where we are now. Now we need to play like we have a chip on our shoulder."
Chestnut Hill (14-12, 11-7), which did not compete last season due to the COVID-19 public health crisis, has improved by eight wins over its 2019-20 campaign. The Griffins seek their first CACC title, and are hosting a CACC playoff game for the first time. They are seventh in the conference in scoring offense and fifth in scoring defense, and are 8-4 at home.
Freshman swingman M.J. Iraldi (West Deptford, N.J./West Deptford) leads a balanced CHC offense with 13.8 points and 5.4 rebounds per game. Junior forward Amir Warrick (Washington, D.C./St. Vincent Pallotti) averages 13.3 points and 5.6 rebounds, and sophomore guard Nigel Haughton (Bel Air, Md./John Carroll), a transfer from Division-I Towson University, contributes 12.3 points, 7.2 rebounds and 3.1 assists per contest.
"Chestnut Hill is a good team that has surged this year under a new coaching staff," McRae said. "They're good in transition and we need to stop that transition and play good overall defense."
Felician won the 2021-22 regular-season meeting between the schools, 86-77, on Jan. 8 in Philadelphia. The Golden Falcons lead the all-time series, 11-4. The sides are meeting for the first time during the CACC Championship tournament.
Caldwell University will host the semifinals and finals of the CACC Championship tournament at the George R. Newman Center in Caldwell, N.J. Tonight's winner will take on the Wilmington (Del.) University-Post University first-round winner on Saturday at either noon or 2 p.m.
The 2022 CACC Championship Game is slated for Sunday, March 6, at noon on the Caldwell campus.
