Box Score CALDWELL, N.J. – Felician University captured the 2022 Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference men's basketball title with a 65-64 championship game victory over Dominican (N.Y.) College on Sunday afternoon on the George R. Newman Center's Corino Court. A successful fadeway jump shot by redshirt junior forward Dee-End McRae (Newark, N.J./Newark Central) with 2.3 seconds remaining in regulation time provided the winning margin.
Felician (19-9), which averages a CACC-high 82.9 points per game, emerged victorious despite being held to a season-low offensive output. After leading for much of the day, the Golden Falcons saw the lead change hands six times during the game's final 2:06. Dominican called two timeouts after McRae's go-ahead shot before a desperation heave from just over the midcourt line missed wide.
"This means everything," seventh-year Felician head coach Ivan Lewis told CACC Network reporter Jim Ferchland after the game. "It just shows the character of our guys. They're resilient, and they're Jersey strong. We have guys from some of the toughest areas of New Jersey, and they bring that toughness to this program."
Felician wins its second CACC championship in men's basketball, with the other coming in 2010. The Golden Falcons have also shared a pair of conference/division regular season titles (2004, 2010) and won an ECAC Division II crown (2004). Overall, Felician claimed its 15th CACC title, having also won nine in men's cross-country, two in men's soccer, and two in baseball.
Dominican (21-7), playing in its fifth consecutive final, had won the last two CACC Championship tournaments. The event was not held in 2021 due to the COVID-19 public health crisis. The Golden Falcons earn the CACC's automatic qualifier to the 2022 NCAA Division II Championship tournament, and both Felician and Dominican, a likely at-large qualifier, will learn their status during the NCAA Division II Men's Basketball selection show on Sunday at 10:30 p.m. on www.ncaa.com.
Felician opened its largest lead of the afternoon, 30-18, following two Etnik Peci (Pristina, Kosovo/Renaissance Academy [Calif.]) free throws with 4:18 left in the first half. Following a late jumper by Dominican senior Jalen Burgess (Springfield Gardens, N.Y./Elmont), the Golden Falcons settled for a 34-25 halftime advantage.
Felician withstood early second-half surges by the Chargers and still led, 50-39, following a Nas Amos (Newark, N.J./Newark East Side) layup at the 11:34 mark. With McRae on the bench with four personal fouls, Dominican closed to a four-point deficit, but a Justin Davis (Jersey City, N.J./Hoboken) bucket brought the spread back to nine, 57-48, at 5:51.
Dominican followed with a 12-2 run, taking its first lead of the period, 60-59, on two Justin Copman (Cumberland, Md./Allegany) free throws with 2:06 showing on the game clock. The sides traded edges until Daniel Grant (Middletown, N.Y./Middletown) converted a pair at the foul line at 0:27 for a 64-63 Charger lead, setting up McRae's heroics.
"I was trying to get to the basket," McRae told Ferchland postgame. "But they had extra help, and once he cut me off, I just decided to go for the step-back. I'm glad my teammates trusted me with the ball in my hands for the final possession."
Davis had 14 points and a season-high 15 rebounds, leading Felician to a 37-29 edge on the boards. Amos also scored 14 points, and McRae finished with 13 points and seven rebounds. The Golden Falcons received 11 points each from Peci and Jaylen Colon (Paterson, N.J./Paterson).
Burgess scored 27 points for Dominican.
"We stuck together," McRae said. "Everybody played their role; no one tried to do anything out of their element. For me, this is No. 1 in my career – a championship, and a college championship at that, especially with the people I did it with. We all stood together as brothers."
The 2022 CACC Men's Basketball Championship information webpage, with the final bracket and links to boxscores, recaps and video archives, can be viewed at https://www.caccathletics.org/sports/Championship/21-22/MBB.
