The Marymount University Saints men’s and women’s basketball teams each made good on their top seeds by winning Atlantic East Conference tournaments with 2-0 records, and as a result earned automatic bids to play in the NCAA Division III national tourneys.
The Saints each finished 2-0 on their home Converse Family Fieldhouse court and won the competitions for the second straight time.
The men (19-8) defeated Immaculata, 73-51, in the semifinals then Gwyneed Mercy, 83-72, in the final for their sixth straight victory. The women (22-5) downed Centenary, 70-47, in the semis, then Neumann, 66-48, in the title contest for their 10th win in a row.
The men’s conference-tournament title was Marymount’s fourth in program history and the NCAA berth its third. The women have won 17 conference crowns and have now earned 23 NCAA berths.
The Marymount women have won 21 straight conference games over two seasons (12-0 this winter).
Leading scorers, rebounders and producers for the Marymount men in the tournament were Montell Cooper, Marcus Stubbs, Marcus Beckett, Wyatt Hockenberry, C.J. Highsmith, Jack Bifano and David King. For the Marymount women, top scorers and producers were tournament Most Valuable Player Chandler Eddleton, Symantha Shackelford, Claire Smith and Terra Dzambo.
Next for the Marymount teams are first-round games in the NCAA tournament on Friday, March 1. The men are scheduled to play the Keene State College Owls (24-3) in New Hampshire. The women will face the Ohio Northern University Polar Bears (18-9) in Scranton, Pa.
Keene State is ranked fifth nationally by D3Hoops.com. Ohio Northern is unranked nationally, as are the Marymount teams.
NOTE: The Marymount men’s team is one of eight from the Virginia, Maryland and D.C. jurisdictions to qualify for the Division III national tournament. The others are Catholic University, Hood College, Hampden-Sydney College, Virginia Wesleyan University, Christopher Newport University, Mary Baldwin University and Randolph-Macon College.
