RUTHERFORD, N.J. – The Felician University men's basketball team, the No. 3 seed from the North Division, has reached the championship game of the 2022 Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference Championship tournament. Standing between Felician and the conference title is the event's two-time defending champion, Dominican (N.Y.) College, the North's No. 2 seed.
Felician (18-9) is playing in the final for the third time in its history, and the first since winning its only CACC championship in 2010. The Golden Falcons will face Dominican on Sunday at noon at the George R. Newman Center on the Campus of Caldwell University in Caldwell, N.J.
Directions to Caldwell University are available at https://www.caldwell.edu/about/directions/. Ticket prices for Sunday's game are $10 for adults and $5 for children, students (with ID) and senior citizens. Children aged three years and under will be admitted free. Caldwell will provide a free online statistics feed at http://www.felicianathletics.com/sports/mbkb/2021-22/boxscores/20220306_71v6.xml. A live webstream through the CACC Network in partnership with BlueFrame Technology will be offered at https://caccnetwork.com/?bfplayvid=368780.
Felician advanced with a 72-59 semifinal victory over North No. 1 seed Post University on Saturday in Caldwell. Junior Justin Davis (Jersey City, N.J./Hoboken) scored 32 points with eight rebounds and Felician held an opponent to its lowest scoring output of the season. Dominican (21-6) received 25 points and 10 rebounds from Jalen Burgess (Springfield Gardens, N.Y./Elmont) during an 87-84 overtime win over Thomas Jefferson University in Saturday's first semifinal.
"We got off to a fast start, and that was a point of emphasis for us," said seventh-year Felician head coach Ivan Lewis. "I've been fortunate enough to reach this point as a player, assistant coach, and now as a head coach, all with Felician. It almost feels like the journey has come full circle."
Dominican won both regular-season meetings between the schools. The Chargers lead the all-time series, 34-16. The sides have met only once previously during the CACC playoffs, a Felician quarterfinal victory in 2010 in Rutherford, N.J., to start its path to that year's championship.
The CACC Men's Basketball Championship tournament was not held in 2021 due to the COVID-19 public health crisis. Dominican has reached the finals for the fifth consecutive time and captured the 2019 and 2020 championships.
"I've always had a ton of respect for Joe Clinton and his program, dating back to my time competing against DC as a student-athlete," Lewis said. "For a long time Dominican has been the CACC standard. I feel fortunate for the opportunity to compete against Joe and his team for a CACC championship."
More information about the 2022 CACC Men's Basketball Championship is available at https://www.caccathletics.org/sports/Championship/21-22/MBB.
The winner of the CACC Championship tournament automatically qualifies for the 2022 NCAA Division II East Regional Championship, to be held next weekend on the campus of a regional participant.
Felician University inspires and engages more than 2,300 undergraduate, graduate, and adult education students through programs in its schools of Arts & Sciences, Business, Nursing, and Education. In the past three years, Felician has ranked third in New Jersey in "Best Return on Investment for Private Colleges" in the PayScale.com College ROI Report and as the "Safest College Campus in New Jersey" by niche.com. With campuses in Rutherford and Lodi, New Jersey, the Franciscan values of social justice, compassion, and respect for human dignity serve as an inclusive foundation for transforming the lives of tomorrow's leaders. Felician also sponsors 14 varsity intercollegiate sports that compete at the NCAA Division II level. To learn more about Felician University please visit www.felician.edu.
