City of Basketball Love

Josh Verlin (@jmverlin)
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Far too quickly, the 2016-17 Division III regular season is over.

The last two weeks of the season brought a flurry of action to the CoBL-area Division III Power Rankings, with a few hot teams finally breaking through into our regional top 10.

Here they are, our final rankings of the year:

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Others to Watch: Albright (12-13, 10-6 MAC Commonwealth), Alvernia (15-10, 9-7 MAC Commonwealth), Dickinson (15-10, 12-6 Centennial), Immaculata (12-13, 10-8 CSAC), Lancaster Bible (12-13, 12-8 NEAC), Lebanon Valley (15-10, 9-7 MAC Commonwealth) Muhlenberg (12-12, 7-11 Centennial), Penn State-Abington (8-11, 7-7 NEAC), Ursinus (14-11, 11-7 Centennial), Widener (12-9, 6-6 MAC Commonwealth), York (16-9, 12-6 Capital)

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10. Rosemont Ravens (Last Week: OTW)
Record: 15-10 (13-5 CSAC)
Last Two Weeks: vs. Neumann (W, 97-96 OT), vs. Centenary (W, 92-74), @ Immaculata (89-88 OT), vs. Clarks Summit (W, 79-72)
Star Watch: Jamier Hughes (Sr./F) -- 18.1 ppg, 9.6 rpg

Update: Winners of eight of their last nine games, the Ravens are on a roll heading into the postseason, handing Neumann its first league loss along the way. They have to play the Mighty Macs of Immaculata, which they’ve already beat twice this year, by a grand total of five points. Each time, Rosemont has gotten big outings from Hughes, a muscular 6-3 wing forward who already has 13 double-doubles on the season. Despite the strong finish to the year, head coach Bobby Hughes has a tough road ahead for the program’s first CSAC championship, needing to go on the road to Neumann if they can get through Immaculata.

Up Next: CSAC Playoff First Round vs. Immaculata (Feb. 20, 7 PM)

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9. Eastern Eagles (OTW)
Record: 16-9 (11-3 MAC Freedom)
Last Two Weeks: @ FDU-Florham (W, 77-65), vs. Manhattanville (W, 69-60), @ Delaware Valley (L, 72-60), vs. Wilkes (W, 93-69)
Star Watch: Shaquan Turk (Sr./SF) -- 18.5 ppg, 5.2 rpg

Update: A five-game losing streak in the middle of the season knocked Eastern down, but the Eagles have responded over the last month-plus, going 11-2 since Jan. 7 to finish in second place in the MAC Freedom conference. That earned Eric McNelley’s squad a home game against Misericordia as the program enjoys its best season since winning 17 games back in 2008-09, its first season in the MAC Freedom; the Eagles last made the MAC Freedom playoffs in 2012, and haven’t had a home playoff game since 2010. The win over Wilkes showed impressive balance, as Turk and Austin Carroll (15 points) led six Eagles in double figures.

Up Next: MAC Freedom Semifinal vs. Misericordia (Feb. 22, 7:30 PM

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8. Delaware Valley Aggies (OTW)
Record: 16-9 (11-3 MAC Freedom)
Last Two Weeks: @ Manhattanville (L, 75-70), vs. FDU-Florham (W, 76-72), vs. Eastern (W, 72-60), @ DeSales (W, 76-67)
Star Watch: Tyliek Kimbrough (Sr./G) -- 16.7 ppg, 4.7 rpg

Update: First-year head coach Mark Seidenburg has done a terrific job with Del-Val, though he inherited quite a bit of talent from Casey Stitzel -- starting with Kimbrough, a 6-0 guard from Brooklyn. The MAC Freedom champions went into DeSales on Saturday and ruined Senior Day with a 76-67 win, and now get to host the Bulldogs all of four days later with a spot in the league championship game on the line. The Aggies were able to limit their opponent to 36.2 percent shooting (21-of-58) and just 26.1 percent (6-of-23) from 3-point range while also winning the rebound battle 37-31; a similar defensive effort Wednesday should bode towards similar results.

Up Next: MAC Freedom Semifinal vs. DeSales (Feb. 22, 7 PM)

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7. Gwynedd-Mercy Griffins (5)
Record: 19-6 (13-5 CSAC)
Last Two Weeks: vs. Immaculata (L, 66-60), @ Keystone (W, 101-67), vs. Clarks Summit (W, 83-52), @ Cabrini (L, 100-83)
Star Watch: Arron Goodman (Sr./F) -- 16.2 ppg, 7.7 rpg

Update: Three losses in seven games to end the season caused the Griffins to slide a few spots, and all three losses were to teams also in the six-team CSAC playoffs. Gwynedd-Mercy hasn’t played Centenary, it’s first-round playoff opponent, since Jan. 21 after playing the Cyclones twice in the span of 10 days; the Griffins won those two games by a combined 25 points.If they can go three-for-three, that sets up a semifinal game with Cabrini, which won by 17 in the season finale despite Gwynedd holding a 53-34 lead on the boards. What the Griffins can’t do is allow its opponent to take 43 foul shots, which the Cavaliers did to pull off the win.

Up Next: CSAC First Round vs. Centenary (Feb. 20, 8 PM)

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6. Franklin & Marshall Diplomats (6)
Record: 18-7 (12-6 Centennial)
Last Two Weeks: vs. Johns Hopkins (L, 67-57), @ Washington (W, 74-63), @ Dickinson (W, 77-75), vs. Swarthmore (W, 93-66)
Star Watch: J.C. McGrath (Soph./SF) -- 8.7 ppg, 5.2 rpg

Update: After a 1-5 start to Centennial Conference play, Franklin & Marshall rallied to finish second in the league, tying with Dickinson and Hopkins with 12-6 league records but emerging with the tiebreaker. In the league semifinals, the Diplomats take on a Red Devils squad whose only loss since Jan. 26 was the one it suffered to this same F&M team just last Wednesday; the Diplomats were up eight with 47 seconds left before Dickinson rallied for the final margin. McGrath, a 6-5 wing originally from Newark (Del.) by way of Munich International School, only scored 10 points in the team’s first 10 games but moved into the starting lineup 13 games ago and has scored in double figures nine times since, including 24 points against Swarthmore on 10-for-10 shooting.

Up Next: vs. Dickinson (Feb. 24, 6 PM @ Swarthmore)
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5. Moravian Greyhounds (7)
Record: 18-7 (11-3 Landmark)
Last Two Weeks: @ Goucher (W, 81-74), @ Juniata (W, 82-66), @ Drew (W, 87-80), vs. Catholic (W, 90-82)
Star Watch: Brandon McGuire (Sr./F) -- 17.3 ppg, 10.1 rpg

Update: The only team in the area besides Neumann to win nine of its past 10 games, the Greyhounds are on a roll at the right time of the year, and are having a record-setting type of season under second-year head coach Justin Potts; the 18 regular-season wins marks just the seventh time Moravian has won that many games in 80 years. Now they get a home playoff game for the first time in nine years against the same Susquehanna squad they beat on Jan. 28, the one ranked No. 15 in the country by D3Hoops.com. McGuire, a 6-5 forward out of Father Judge, had 16 points and six rebounds in that win, though it was sophomore Jimmy Murray who led the way with 21 points.

Up Next: Landmark Semifinal vs. Susquehanna (Feb. 22, 7 PM)

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4. Cabrini Cavaliers (4)
Record: 19-6 (15-3 CSAC)
Last Two Weeks: vs. Cairn (W, 84-67), @ Clarks Summit (W, 90-75), @ Neumann (L, 73-69), vs. Gwynedd-Mercy (W, 100-83)
Star Watch: Tyheim Monroe (Jr./F) -- 22.0 ppg, 16.0 rpg

Update: Cabrini survived a tough season one win shy of 20, not bad considering the Cavaliers played Moravian, Eastern, Scranton, Hopkins and Lehigh as part of its non-conference slate as well as the typically tough CSAC. As expected, Monroe, the team’s 6-7 big man, had a monster season, continuing to expand his game by shooting 18-of-43 (.419) from 3-point range and chipping in better than two assists per contest as well. Any of the top six are capable of beating anybody at this point, so Tim McDonald could certainly make his first appearance in the NCAA Tournament since taking over the program three years ago, right after the Cavaliers’ last March Madness appearance in 2014.

Up Next: CSAC Semifinal vs. TBD (Feb. 22, TBD)

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3. Swarthmore Garnet (3)
Record: 20-5 (14-4 Centennial)
Last Two Weeks:  @ Ursinus (W, 84-74), @ Johns Hopkins (W, 70-48), vs. Haverford (W, 86-63), vs. Franklin & Marshall (L, 93-66)
Star Watch: Cam Wiley (Soph./G) -- 18.0 ppg, 3.0 apg

Update: It’s official: the Centennial playoffs run through Tarble Pavilion. Swat wrapped up the regular-season league championship with the win over Haverford, after big-time victories over Ursinus and Hopkins solidified the Garnet in the drivers’ seat; the season-ending loss to F&M shouldn’t be taken as a sign. Swarthmore has to wait on a game between Ursinus and Hopkins on Wednesday to see who it will be playing in Friday’s semifinal; a win pits the Garnet against either F&M or Dickinson in Saturday’s final with the program chasing its first-ever spot in the NCAA Tournament. Head coach Landry Kosmalski has the group to get it done, led by Wiley and junior wing Zack Yonda (13.2 ppg, 5.0 rpg), who surpassed the 1,000-point mark in the Ursinus win.

Up Next: Centennial Semifinal vs. TBD (Feb. 24, TBD)

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2. Susquehanna River Hawks (2)
Record: 21-4 (11-3 Landmark)
Last Two Weeks: vs. Catholic (W, 88-64), vs. Drew (W, 85-74), @ Scranton (L, 75-66), @ Elizabethtown (W, 82-69)
Star Watch: Steven Weidlich (Sr./G) -- 21.4 ppg, 5.0 rpg

Update: Susquehanna has dropped three games since a season-opening loss to Misericordia: two have been to Scranton, and the third to the team the River Hawks face in the Landmark semifinals. But Frank Marcinek has been here before, with the program making the NCAA Tournament a year ago, as well as setting the program record for wins in a season (24); this year’s team can match that number if it also matches that result. When the inside-out duo of Weidlich and junior Ryan Traub (17.0 ppg, 6.3 rpg) are clicking, the Rivers Hawks are a powerful squad, especially when the supporting cast is also hitting shots.

Up Next: Landmark Semifinal @ Moravian (Feb. 22, 7 PM)

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1. Neumann Knights (1)
Record: 23-2 (17-1 CSAC)
Last Two Weeks: @ Rosemont (L, 97-96 OT)), vs. Cairn (W, 103-74), vs. Cabrini (W, 73-69), @ Marywood (W, 86-66)
Star Watch: DeShawn Lowman (Sr./SG) -- 19.0 ppg, 7.4 rpg

Update: Neumann had its best regular-season in program history, winning more games than any Knights program had before, but now the pressure is on to get it done over two CSAC playoff games and get back to the NCAA Tournament after just missing out a year ago. Coming up first could very well be the same Rosemont squad that dealt the Knights their only league loss of the year, but that would be back on Neumann’s home court. It’s no coincidence that Rosemont’s win came with a tough outing by Lowman, who only had nine points in that game; 24 points and 13 rebounds against Cabrini was much more his typical output.

Up Next: CSAC Semifinal vs. TBD (Feb. 22, TBD)