NE Conference Basketball

Bryant lost its shot at a win against Brown when guard Ikenna Ndugba inadvertently let the clock run out to end the game.

After two rapid-fire shots scored on both sides within the final 12 seconds of the fourth quarter, Ndugba got possession of the ball and tried to run it back the other way.

Unfortunately, he appeared to lose track of the score and tossed the ball away as time expired, as if he thought his team had won.

Granted, there's no guarantee Bryant would have been able to score had Ndugba shot. But with the way play was going…who knows? 

This article was originally published by Jesse Kamer on www.thecatchandshoot.com.

Behind a career performance from C.J. Garner, LIU-Brooklyn knocked off Mount St. Mary’s in the NEC title game at the WRAC, 91-70, to complete the first three-peat in NEC tournament history.

Garner, a senior guard is one of the many players to lead the Blackbirds’ to the national spotlight over the last few seasons, was unstoppable with 31 points on 13-of-17 shooting. He also had a two assists and a pair of steals.

Hot shooting in the first half for Mount St. Mary’s kept them within four points at halftime, but the Blackbirds blew the game open with 67.7 percent shooting in the second half, outscoring the Mountaineers 56-39 in the final 20 minutes.

The Mountaineers led 20-12 seven minutes in thanks to three three-pointers from Sam Prescott and one trey from Julian Norfleet, who was questionable for Tuesday’s game after injuring his ankle in the conference semifinals. Garner rattled off eight points in a 2:39 span and LIU tied the score at 25-25.

Named the NEC tournament MVP after the game, Garner really stepped up his play in the three single-elimination games. In the semifinals, he posted 30 points against Quinnipiac, and in the quarterfinals he recorded 23 against Wagner.

“There was a sense of urgency,” the senior said.

“He’s had it in him all along,” LIU-Brooklyn head coach Jack Perri said. “When you have Julian [Boyd], Jason [Brickman] and Jamal [Olasewere], he hasn’t had to do it. He’s done it when he needed to do it, but it was more like everybody can do it at different times... I said it from day one this year: ‘C.J., you’re as good as anybody in this league.’”

The score was still tied, at 31-31, inside of two minutes, and LIU scored back-to-back buckets to take a 35-31 lead to intermission. The Blackbirds held Mount St. Mary’s to one made field goal over the final nine minutes.

“We changed up to a 2-3 zone and extended it to take away those three-point shots,” Perri said.

The Blackbirds stayed in their zone in the second half, and it continued to work. They held the Mountaineers to 3-of-18 shooting from beyond the arc after allowing them to make 6-of-13 in the first period.

LIU’s offense quickly got in a rhythm, ending most possessions with at least a foul if not a made field goal.

An athletic slam by Olasewere over Shivaughn Wiggins with 12:02 left brought the home crowd to its feet and stretched the lead to 56-42. The Blackbirds would build their lead to as many as 24 points with 4:16 on the clock.

When D.J. Griggs dribbled out the clock and the final buzzer sounded, a third consecutive NCAA tournament appearance became official for LIU.

“This means so much to our program,” Perri said, who became the third first-year head coach to win a NEC tournament title. Perri had been at LIU as an assistant for seven seasons under Jim Ferry, including the recent championship years. “Being the leader of the group and having dealt with all that we’ve dealt with, this is definitely the sweetest.”

The Blackbirds were only the No. 3 seed in the tournament, so their quarterfinal matchup against Quinnipiac was expected to be their final home game of the season. But Mount St. Mary’s, the No. 5 seed, upset No. 1 seed Robert Morris in the semifinals, so, as the higher seed, LIU hosted.

“After we beat Wagner [in the semifinals], we all went to the locker room and watched the Mount and Robert Morris game,” said Olasewere, who finished the championship game with 15 points, 10 rebounds, three assists and two steals. “We were cheering when Mount won just because of the fact that we could come back here [to the WRAC].”

It was only fair that these players got to make NEC history on their home floor. LIU’s recent history had been filled with mediocrity, but thanks to players like Olasewere, Garner, Boyd and Brickman, the program has done a complete 180.

Brickman, a junior, has experienced a championship in all three of his season. “It’s great just to come into this program and win three championships and make history,” the starting point guard and nation’s leader in assists said. He finished Tuesday night with seven points and eight assists to only three turnovers.

Perri was quick to peg these four veterans, along with seniors Kenny Onyechi and Booker Hucks, to the “best ever” in the NEC. “Why wouldn’t they be the best ever?” said Perri. “They’ve done what nobody else has ever done.”

Now, the Blackbirds will wait until they hear their name called on Selection Sunday. Most likely, they will be a No. 16 seed.

“We’ve had some pretty rough losses in the beginning of the year, so I would imagine the play-in game is a clear option,” Perri said. “That’s fine. We’ll take whoever we get. We’ll have confidence one way or the other.”

And that confidence is not wrong.

With a scorer like C.J. Garner, a versatile forward like Jamal Olasewere, and the nation’s leading assist man in Jason Brickman, they could give a top-seeded team a good fight.

Jesse Kramer is the founder of The Catch and Shoot, a blog dedicated to college basketball news, observations and insights on nationwide topics. You can follow Jesse on Twitter at Jesse_Kramer, and you can follow The Catch and Shoot at Catch_N_Shoot.

All quotes in this article were received in person.

New coach, same story.

For the third time in as many years, the LIU Brooklyn Blackbirds will be headed to the NCAA Tournament after beating Mount St. Mary’s 91-70 in the Northeast Conference championship game.

This time, first-year head coach Jack Perri led the team through its conference tournament en route to a third consecutive NCAA Tournament berth. Perri was previously an assistant coach for the Blackbirds under Jim Ferry.

The Blackbirds, who have been a No. 16 seed in the previous two NCAA Tournaments, clearly did not want to send their seniors out on a losing note.

In a back-and-forth first half in which both teams were getting to the rim with ease, LIU Brooklyn headed into the locker room clinging to a close 35-31 halftime lead. Then, senior guard C.J. Garner turned up the heat.

Garner was the key to the Blackbirds’ 56-point outburst in the second 20 minutes, scoring 17 of his 31 points in that half as the team pulled away from the Mountaineers, who went cold in the second half.

The Blackbirds, who are one of the best teams in the nation in shooting percentage (47.9 percent), continued to do exactly what got them to the championship game, hitting 61.4 percent of their field goals while also shooting 55.6 percent from behind the arc.

As the automatic bids continue to be claimed as the week wears on, Coach Perri and his team can relax a little, knowing they will be playing somewhere next week.

Chances are, the Blackbirds will again be taking on one of the tournament’s top seeds.

At 20-13 on the season, LIU Brooklyn struggled a bit in league play despite returning the bulk of its starters from last year’s team. At one point, the Blackbirds suffered through a six-game losing streak.

But all is forgiven now that the team has punched its bid to the Big Dance. Plus, the Blackbirds seem to have hit their stride at the right time.

LIU Brooklyn has scored at least 90 points in its last four games, including all three of its conference tournament matchups. Since the Blackbirds are the sixth-best team in the nation in scoring average (79.1 per game), it is conceivable that they can score with just about anyone in the country.

Although his team has a subpar defense, Coach Perri preaches the same uptempo style on offense that Ferry developed during his time with the program, and LIU Brooklyn’s guards have shown the ability to get to the basket and score at will.

It would not be surprising to see the Blackbirds catch a top seed sleepwalking through its first tournament game, and perhaps provide some unwanted trouble.

In fact, due to their offensive pace, they probably will.

But for now, the team can celebrate and not worry about expectations. Because for the third consecutive season, Brooklyn is back—in the Big Dance.

LIU-Brooklyn received some crushing news over the weekend, as Nelson Castillo of Blackbirds Hoops Journal reported that star forward Julian Boyd will miss the remainder of the 2012-13 season with a torn ACL. Boyd was injured during the Blackbirds' matchup at Rice last week.

Without Boyd, who won the NEC Player of the Year award last season with 17.4 points and 9.3 rebounds per game, Long Island is still one of the top teams in its conference. The Boyd-less Blackbirds showed that on Sunday with a 27-point win over Manhattan, which was picked to finish No. 2 in the MAAC this season.

But with the Blackbirds now short-handed, they are no longer the hands-down favorite in the conference.

Robert Morris has been red hot, with wins in six of its last seven games. Most recently, the Colonials dominated Duquesne, 91-69.

As one of the more successful mid-major programs in the northeast over the past four seasons, with four appearances in the NEC championship game and two NCAA tournament berths, it would be no surprise to see the Colonials destroy Long Island's dreams of a three-peat.

Wagner, which finished second in the NEC last season, has been off to a slow start, but the Seahawks are easily the best defensive team in the conference. Ken Pomeroy ranks Wagner No. 29 in defensive efficiency, and the next-best team in the conference is Quinnipiac at No. 144.

Even when Long Island had Boyd, Robert Morris and Wagner were considered contenders for the NEC title, picked No. 2 and No. 3, respectively. In fact, the Colonials even garnered three first-place votes.

But now a few other teams, such as Central Connecticut State, Mount St. Mary's and Quinnipiac, could also get their names in the mix.

With a pair of dynamic scorers in Kyle Vinales and Matt Hunter, Central Connecticut State can give any NEC team fits on any given night. The Blue Devils are 4-4 so far this season, with three losses coming by three or fewer points on the road. Their only other loss was to then-No. 1 Indiana.

Mount St. Mary's and Quinnipiac have both struggled early in the season, but the Mountaineers have an exciting, young coach in Jamion Christian, who has adapted many pieces of VCU coach Shaka Smart's system. And with Boyd no longer in Long Island's frontcourt, Quinnipiac's combination of Ike Azotam, Ousmane Drame and Jamee Jackson is the best front line in the league.

Part of what made Long Island so dangerous over the last two seasons was that it had both Boyd and fellow senior Jamal Olasewere in the frontcourt. Having arguably the two best players in the conference playing side-by-side made the Blackbirds extremely explosive.

Olasewere is still good enough to do plenty of damage on his own. So far this season he is averaging 18.1 points, and against Manhattan he posted 11 points and nine rebounds in only 20 minutes.

But he now must adjust to being the main target of every opponent's defensive scheme, in addition to being more mindful about foul trouble.

Although the Blackbirds have a few other competent forwards in Booker Hucks and freshman E.J. Reed, their front line will not be able to do much damage if Olasewere's playing time is limited by fouls.

The loss of Boyd will be the biggest obstacle in Long Island's path to a three-peat, but fortunately the Blackbirds do have three more non-conference games to adjust to a new rotation until they begin NEC competition.

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On Thursday, four LIU-Brooklyn men's basketball players were arrested on charges of third-degree assault, according to a tweet by Pat O'Keefe of News 12 in The Bronx and Brooklyn. The arrests came following an on-campus fight.

Those arrested include forwards Julian Boyd and Jamal Olasewere, combo-guard C.J. Garner and reserve Troy Joseph. Boyd, Olasewere and Garner were the team's top three scorers and all started for the Blackbirds last season, when they won their second consecutive NEC championship.

CBSSports.com's Matt Norlander reported that all four players are suspended indefinitely.

If these players do not return to the team for the basketball season, the Blackbirds' seemingly inevitable three-peat in the NEC is in question.

Boyd was the NEC Player of the Year last season, averaging 17.4 points and 9.3 rebounds. He also made the conference's first team as a redshirt sophomore. Boyd became a feel-good story by making an unforeseen comeback to hoops after missing his sophomore season with a heart condition.

Olasewere and Garner were also huge contributors, averaging 16.9 points and 12.6 points, respectively. Olasewere led the team in field-goal percentage at 57.1 percent and was the Blackbirds' best defender with 1.5 steals and 1.1 blocks per game.

LIU was the clear favorite in the NEC prior to these arrests, although Robert Morris, Wagner and Quinnipiac were all expected to put up a solid fight. But without Boyd, Olasewere and Garner, the Blackbirds would at best be the second-best team in the conference, behind the Colonials. The Blackbirds would be in danger of falling behind Wagner and possibly even Quinnipiac.

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Mount St. Mary's University has placed men's basketball head coach Robert Burke on paid administrative leave at his request.

The Mountaineers are 7-20 overall and 5-11 in the Northeast Conference. 

Rumors are swirling around the campus. Some say Coach Burke was asked to resign, while others are saying that the leave is about Coach Burke's family. Either way, the second year Head Coach is absent on the sideline, as assistant coach Matt Henry was named the acting head coach.

Aside from on the court problems, the Mount has had trouble off the court. Player involvement with drug use has troubled the basketball program for the last two years.

Here's an excerpt from Mount St. Mary's athletic website:

"Decisions like these are never easy, and certainly more difficult while our season is in progress," said Director of Athletics Lynne Robinson. "We wish Coach Burke well and we are hopeful he is able to resolve these matters quickly."

Acting Head Coach Matt Henry is in second year as an assistant coach for Mount St. Mary's. He had previously spent six seasons at Georgetown under John Thompson III. 

For Burke, this is another bump in the road. He has been coaching since 1988 for UMBC, Loyola Marymount, Siena, Princeton, Georgetown, American and now Mount St. Mary's.

After becoming an assistant there, Robert moved on to Princeton, where he met Coach John Thompson III. The Tigers went to the NCAA Tournament twice during his four year stint there.

After Princeton, Robert Burke stayed with John Thompson III at Georgetown where immediate success was made. Under Burke, the Hoyas posted a 100-36 overall record that included two Big East regular season titles and a Final Four appearance.

He finally got his first collegiate coaching job, taking on the Mountaineers as their 20th head coach in program history.

His future with the Mount is unclear, but a decision should be made before the season ends.

The Mount will probably miss the Northeast Conference Tournament, as only eight of the 12 teams make the tournament. The Mount sits at ninth, two games behind Sacred Heart with only two games remaining.

With just seconds to go in the second half of Friday night's Wagner College vs. Santa Clara basketball contest, the Seahawks and Broncos were tied at 62 points apiece and looked poised for overtime.

That's when Wagner sophomore Kenneth "Kenny" Ortiz stepped in.

After a wild, backboard hitting attempt by Seahawks senior guard Tyler Murray, Ortiz was in the right place at the right time to set up one of the craziest finishes to a college basketball season thus far during the 2011-12 NCAA season.

Ortiz corralled the wild carom, heaving up a frantic prayer just fractions of a second before the final horn sounded, the clock struck zero and the backboard's red lights illuminated.

His prayer was answered as the insane shot attempt hit the front of the rim, bounced off the glass and dropped through the hoop.

Initially ruled a valid attempt by the official positioned opposite the table—who has final shot responsibilities—the call was confirmed upon a conference of all three officials.

Watching video of this sequence posted on the Wagner Seahawks' YouTube channel, it is clear at least one commentator (the analyst) is a Santa Clara fan: "No! That's no good! No good! NO! NO!"

The biggest criticism and argument against the on-court ruling was that Ortiz's shot should have been disallowed because it crossed over the vertical plane of the backboard on its flight from the "R" on the end line where Ortiz released the attempt.

If that is what indeed occurred, the basket should have been disallowed under Rules 7-2-3 and 9-3-2 of the NCAA Basketball Rules Book, which both state, "The ball shall be out of bounds when any part of the ball passes over the backboard from any direction."

However, replays do not support this assertion: The call on the court is inconclusive at best if not an outright confirmation of the center (slot) official's ruling of "score the goal."

The ball appears to have traversed the plane of the top of the backboard while still outside the backboard's horizontal plane, which is legal under NCAA rules.

If any call during the final sequence could be challenged, it was Murray's initial shot attempt, which hit the backboard and ricocheted towards the end line.

Rule 7-2-3 of the NCAA Rules Book states, "The ball shall be out of bounds when it touches...the supports or back of the backboard."

While replays confirm Ortiz's attempt was good, they are inconclusive as to Murray's try.

Murray's attempt appears to initially strike the side of the backboard—which is in play and in bounds—before suddenly changing course and bouncing towards the end line.

There is a distinct possibility the ball briefly touched the red light bars which form a rectangle behind the backboard, in which case the correct call would have been to declare the ball out of bounds at that point, seconds before Ortiz could obtain possession.

However, there is also a considerable chance Murray's shot struck the curved padding on the side of the backboard, in which case the correct call would have been the call on the floor—the ball remains live and sets up Ortiz for his wild winning shot.

Replays as to whether the ball struck the ground in or out-of-bounds after hitting the backboard are inconclusive.

When evaluating plays, calls are either definitely or probably correct, incorrect or inconclusive. While the officiating crew might review the tape and objectively declare this call to be inconclusive, sports aficionados are very subjective depending on their own fan-based bias.

In the end, this sequence of calls is certainly inconclusive after consulting replay several times—Seahawks fans seem to think the officials got the call right, while Broncos fans suggest the call was dead wrong.

In the United States and many other countries, the criminal justice system follows a doctrine known as the presumption of innocence, or "innocent until proven guilty." 

As a result, the call on the floor must be upheld and considered correct, for lack of clear and convincing evidence to declare otherwise.

Gil Imber is Bleacher Report's Rules Featured Columnist and owner of Close Call Sports, a website dedicated to the objective analysis of close or controversial calls.

The Pittsburgh Panthers did something they had never done before on Friday night.

Which, in this case, is not a good thing.

In case you missed it, 13th-ranked Pitt lost a thriller to the mighty Wagner Seahawks on Friday night. Wagner got hot and took a lead into the half, and it kept up the pressure in the second half to come away with a 59-54 victory in front of a stunned crowd at the Petersen Events Center.

The perfect 70-0 mark Pitt came into the game with against foes from the Northeast Conference is gone. In its place is a 70-1 mark, which will no doubt make the Wagner faithful (all 2,400 of them) feel like celebrating.

How could this happen, you ask?

Well, it helps that the Seahawks have two guys at the helm who know all about winning. They are coached by Dan Hurley, who is flanked by assistant coach Bobby Hurley.

Yeah, they're brothers, and my guess is you remember Bobby quite well.

If not, he played the point at Duke under Mike Krzyzewski in the late 1980s and early '90s. He led the Blue Devils to back-to-back championships in 1991 and 1992, and his No. 11 jersey was swiftly retired in 1993.

Hurley was the seventh overall pick of the Sacramento Kings in 1993, and played in the NBA until 1998. His career was marred by a nasty car crash in his rookie season.

As for Dan, he played ball at Seton Hall, and that was the extent of his playing career. Coaching has proven to be his true calling, and he gets that from his dad, Bob Hurley, one of the greatest high school basketball coaches in history.

And yes, Bob is Bobby's father too.

The point of this little history lesson?

Simply put, it's that Friday night's monumental upset isn't necessarily a fluke. Wagner has two legit coaches, so it always was a matter of time before the Seahawks pulled off a legit win.

Heck, they even managed to hold their own against UConn earlier this season.

Rest assured, we haven't seen the last of Wagner. If it can hang with and even beat the best teams the country has to offer, then surely it can make a run at the Big Dance. When the Seahawks get there, there will be plenty of big-name dragons for them to slay.

With the Brothers Hurley at the helm, nothing can be ruled out.