Men's Basketball Advances To ECC Finals With 76-65 Win Over UDC
Purple Knights To Face C.W. Post For Conference Crown At 2:30 p.m. On Sunday
Flushing, N.Y.-The University of Bridgeport men's basketball team advanced to the finals of the 2012 East Coast Conference Championship Tournament with a 76-65 win over the second-seeded University of the District of Columbia Firebirds in a hard-fought semifinal game played at Queens (N.Y.) College in Flushing, N.Y. on Saturday night. UB, the third seed, will now face the top seeded C.W. Post Pioneers at 2:30 p.m. on Sunday afternoon for the conference title and an automatic bid to the NCAA Division II Championship Tournament which will begin next weekend.
With the scored tied 30-30 at the half, the Purple Knights open the second half with a 7-0 run and never trailed for the remainder of the game.
Junior Darian David (Bronx, N.Y.) led the Purple Knights with 25 points, and he was joined in double figures by classmate Hakeem Rodriguez (Queensbridge, N.Y.) with 22 points and senior Dante Menter (Brooklyn, N.Y.) with 11 points.
Senior William Harrison (Bronx, N.Y.) led Bridgeport on the glass with a game-high 14 rebounds. UB outrebounded UDC, 52 to 44 on the night.
Nigel Munson led UDC with 21 points.
The Firebirds will now await word an at-large bid to the NCAA Division Tournament with a 22-5 record, and Bridgeport moves onto the ECC Finals with a 19-9 mark.