Men’s Basketball Headed to the NCAA Tournament for the First Time in Program History

3/9/2026 12:00:00 AM

Goldey-Beacom will see its historic men's basketball season continue, earning a berth into the NCAA Tournament for the first time in program history.

Goldey-Beacom is the eighth seed in the East Region. It will face top-seeded and fourth-ranked Daemen in the first round on Saturday at a time to be determined. The regional semifinals are Sunday and the final is Tuesday.

It is the third postseason appearance in program history and second in the NCAA era. Goldey-Beacom won the 2007 ECAC championship and competed in the 1999 NAIA Region 10 quarterfinals.

The remarkable campaign continues for Goldey-Beacom (21-10, 13-7 CACC), which broke the school record for most wins and advanced to the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference Tournament final. The Lightning went on an eight-game winning streak from January 6-February 3 and were on a four-game winning streak going into the conference final.

This marks the fifth time the squad has reached at least 20 wins and the third under 10th-year coach TJ Dekmar.

A major reason the Lightning have advanced this far is sophomore guard Tre Powell (Mount Laurel, NJ), who was picked first team All-CACC and made the league's all-tournament team. He has amazed all season with his incredible shooting touch, quickness in driving to the goal and tenacity in clutch situations. He scored at least 20 points on 12 occasions this season, which included a career-best 33 points Tuesday in Goldey-Beacom's 88-87 victory over Georgian Court in the CACC Tournament quarterfinals.

Powell is 15th in team history with 950 career points, third with a .391 three-point percentage, fifth with an .839 free throw percentage and sixth with 260 made free throws. His 602 points are the second-best single-season mark in team annals and 38 off the record held by Kyle White (2009-10).

He is third in the league with 19.4 points per game, first with a .417 three-point percentage, third with an .837 free throw percentage, third with 4.6 assists per contest, seventh with 2.1 three-pointers per game and 10th with 1.5 steals per contest. Powell also is 11th in the country with 175 made free throws and his 602 points are 22nd.

Powell also is averaging 25.8 points over his last five games.

Junior guard/forward Emarquis Jones (Brooklyn, NY) has been a tremendous addition to the program with his toughness in the paint, solid defense and ability to give the Lightning yet another scoring presence. He was named third team All-CACC and was picked to the league's all-tournament team after recording two double-doubles last week, bringing his season total to six.

Jones is 14th in the CACC with 13.7 points per game, third with 2.0 steals per contest, seventh with 7.0 rebounds per game, eighth with a .518 field goal percentage and 12th with 0.8 blocks per contest.

Junior forward Julian Williams (Fayetteville, NC) has been with the program the last two seasons and made a presence with his scoring and rebounding ability, earning him a spot on the all-tournament team. He has six double-doubles this season, which included getting 18 points and 14 rebounds in the conference final Sunday against Felician.

Williams is 20th in the CACC with 12.9 points per game, sixth with 1.3 blocks per contest, 13th with 6.4 rebounds per game and 13th with a .495 field goal percentage.

Sophomore guard Brian Blanchet (North Babylon, NY) has started 23 games this season and taken a great deal of pressure off Powell with a deft shooting touch, sitting fourth on the team with 9.4 points per contest. Sophomore guard Anthony Akande (Newark, NJ) has made 26 starts this season and has been key on the glass with 6.7 rebounds per game.

2026 Men's Basketball NCAA Tournament – East Region

Saturday, March 14
No. 8 Goldey-Beacom at No. 1 Daemen, TBD
No. 5 Saint Michael's vs. No. 4 Bentley, TBD
No. 6 Assumption vs. No. 3 Saint Anselm, TBD
No. 7 Adelphi vs. No. 2 Felician, TBD

Sunday, March 15
Regional Semifinals, TBD

Tuesday, March 17
Regional Final, TBD

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