RUTHERFORD, N.J. – The Felician University men's basketball team, the 2022 Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference champion, will participate in the NCAA Division II Championship tournament for the first time since 2010. On Saturday at 5 p.m., Felician will travel to Waltham, Mass., to play against Bentley University, the host of the East Regional Championship, at Bentley's Dana Center.
Felician (19-9) earned the CACC's automatic qualifier to the East Regional and was assigned the No. 8 seed in the event by the Division II Men's Basketball Committee. The Golden Falcons have won the second-most games in the 26-year history of their program and have captured the CACC Tournament crown for the second time. Bentley (22-4), the regional's top seed and the No. 14-ranked team in the latest Division II coaches' poll, won the Northeast 10 Conference championship.
'Of course, it feels good to have delivered a championship to the Felician community," said seventh-year Golden Falcon head coach Ivan Lewis, a 2004 graduate of Felician. "I moreso hope it can be a tone-setter for the rest of our programs. After a couple of days of excitement things have slowed down and we've been able to focus on getting ready for Bentley."
Bentley has published an information webpage for the East Regional at https://bentleyfalcons.com/sports/mbkb/ncaaeastregional2022. Ticket prices for Saturday's game are $8 for adults and $5 for children, students (with ID), and senior citizens. A webstream through NE 10 NOW will be available at https://portal.stretchinternet.com/bentley/portal.htm?eventId=688337&streamType=video and Bentley will offer Live Stats at http://www.bentleyfalcons.com/sports/mbkb/tournament/boxscores/20220312_k2pk.xml.
Felician is led by All-CACC performers Justin Davis (Jersey City, N.J./Hoboken), a First-Team selection, and Second-Team honoree Jaylen Colon (Paterson, N.J./John F. Kennedy). Davis, the Most Valuable Player of the CACC Tournament, ranks fourth in the East Region in scoring (20.6 points per game) and 14th in rebounding (8.2 per game). Colon averages 16.1 points and is the region's 11th-best free-throw shooter at 84.5 percent. Also dangerous for the Golden Falcons are junior Dee-End McRae (Newark, N.J./Newark Central) (.540 FG%, 12.5 ppg, 6.5 rpg, 3.1 apg) and sophomore Nas Amos (Newark, N.J./Newark East Side) (11.6 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 3.4 apg).
Bentley is making its 19th NCAA appearance, but its first in six years. Graduate guard Jordan Mello-Klein (Sharon, Mass./Thayer Academy) was a First Team All-Northeast 10 honoree after averaging 15.2 points, 8.4 rebounds and 5.4 assists. Graduate guard Colton Lawrence (Myerstown, Pa./ELCO) was the Falcons' top scorer at 16.2 points per game and was a Second Team all-league honoree. Bentley leads the NE 10 with 81.8 points per game.
"Bentley is a big, strong, disciplined team that doesn't make a lot of mistakes, Lewis said. "Whether they find themselves ahead or in a hole, they're not going to stop attacking."
In Felician's only other NCAA appearance in 2010, it suffered a 75-52 loss to Regional host Stonehill College. Bentley leads its all-time series with Felician, 2-0.
Following the Bentley-Felician game, No. 4 seed Pace University meets No. 5 seed Dominican (N.Y.) College. The winners of those two games play in the regional semifinals on Sunday at 7:30 p.m. at Bentley. The championship game is Tuesday at a time to be announced. The winner of the East Region will advance to the NCAA Division II Elite Eight, which will be held Mar. 22-26 in Evansville, Ind.
