Boxscore
PIKE CREEK, Del. – Senior guard Sam McDuffie came through for the Lightning with a game-high 24 points and seven rebounds as the top-seeded Goldey-Beacom College men's basketball team used a late surge to hold off the No. 4 seed University of the Sciences in Philadelphia, 69-64 on Tues. night at the Joseph West Jones Center.
The Lightning (18-10) advance to the semifinals at the Campus Center of Holy Family University where they will take on the No. 2 seed out of the North, Post University at 5 p.m. on Fri., Mar. 4. Post hung on to beat Dominican, 71-68 tonight to advance.
In other quarterfinal action, South No. 3 seed Chestnut Hill upset No. 2 Philadelphia University at the Gallagher Center, 64-54, and North No. 1 Bloomfield defeated No. 4 Felician, 77-70. Chestnut Hill will take on Bloomfield in the other semifinal game on Fri. at 7 p.m.
The upset-minded Devils were led by William Kernan (23 points, 7-of-15 FG, 9-12 FT) and Adewale Adefemi (19 points, 10 rebounds), who not only scored, but forced the Lightning into unprecedented early foul trouble in the first half.
GBC starting guards Darnell Cephas, Jon Crawford and Azeez Ellegood played just eight, 12 and 16 minutes in the first half, respectively, as all three picked up three early fouls. Reserve forward Rich Flemming also picked up three fouls in just six minutes off the bench before halftime.
The Lightning nearly doubled-up USciences (13-7) in fouls, which made for a 9-of-14 to 3-of-5 disparity at the free-throw line for the half and helped the Devils stay within one, 28-27 at halftime despite their shooting 0-of-6 from three-point range. GBC led by as many as nine (15-6) in the first half, but struggled to find its offensive rhythm once so many players had to take a seat with foul trouble.
McDuffie came off the bench to give the Lightning a spark in the first half, scoring almost half (13) of GBC's 28 points on 4-of-6 from the field, and 2-of-2 from long-distance. He scored the final five points of the first half, including a three-ball with 18 seconds left to turn a 27-23 deficit into a 28-27 Lightning lead. Senior guard Ido Yehuda came off the bench and gave the Lightning some life with four points as well.
Nearly a minute into the second half, Crawford was on the receiving end of a pretty alley-oop pass from Cephas and his dunk sent an already rocking Jones Center crowd into a frenzy as the Lightning went up 30-27. USciences' Myer Messinger answered with a layup at the other end to silence the crowd, and from that point it was game-on.
After a McDuffie jumper pushed the Lightning back in front by three, the Devils went on an 11-2 spell over almost five minutes of action and took a 40-34 advantage at the 13:11 mark. Senior forward Terrence Parkes then scored the next six Lightning points to pull GBC within two, 42-40, but USciences extended the lead back to six with two consecutive layups.
Adefemi's layup at 9:31 gave the Devils their largest lead of the game, 48-41, before the Lightning went on a game-defining 19-4 surge. Again, McDuffie was the spark plug as he made four consecutive free-throws and then a layup to bring GBC within two.
Parkes put the Lightning in front for the first time in the second half since the 18:24 mark when he knocked down a trey off an assist from Yehuda and the Jones Center crowd erupted as their Lightning reclaimed a 50-49 lead with 6:11 left to play.
Tyrone Mann-Barnes of USciences hit a jumper to give the Devils back the lead momentarily, but a Parkes layup gave the Lightning the lead for good, 52-51 at the 5:19 mark.
Kernan was called for a flagrant foul when he swung his elbows and inadvertently hit a Lightning player, which resulted in two Lightning free-throws and possession. Ellegood went to the line and hit a pair to put GBC up 53-51, and later McDuffie nailed another three-pointer to push the lead to six.
Kernan got to the line on the next possession and sank both free-throws, but on the ensuing possession, Ellegood calmly jogged the ball passed the mid-court line, and when nobody stepped up to guard him, fired a three and hit. The Lightning led 60-53 at that point with 3:49 left in regulation.
The Devils never got any closer than three from that point on, as Ellegood and Crawford both hit a pair of free-throws to seal the victory and send the Lightning back to the semifinals for a third straight year.
The Lightning bench came up big for head coach Chuck Hammond, who earned his fourth career CACC playoff victory and improved his record to 4-4. They outscored the Devils 33-3 in bench points on the night. Yehuda finished with six and freshman guard A.J. Picard knocked down a three in the first half. Sophomore forward Lawrence Livingston also provided a big lift defensively with three blocks and a steal in his 18 minutes of work.
Both teams shot 40-percent from the floor, but the Lightning showed way more firepower from long-range, making 9-of-20 compared to the Devils' 1-of-11. USciences, after only being called for seven first-half fouls, committed 18 in the second half. The Lightning cashed in with 19-of-24 shooting at the line in the second stanza (22-of-29 for the game).
Next up is a meeting with North No. 2 seed Post in the CACC semifinals at Holy Family's Campus Center. The Lightning are looking to return to the Finals for the second straight year, and will have to beat Post for a second time this year to get there. GBC won the first meeting at the Jones Center, 68-60 on Feb. 5 courtesy of a season-high 23 points and a near-perfect shooting day by Ellegood.
