TRENTON, N.J. -- Northeast Conference player of the year Rahsaan Johnson
scored 20 points and Gerry Crosby added 19 to lead Monmouth to a 71-59 win over Fairleigh Dickinson in the quarterfinals of the Northeast Conference Tournament on Saturday.
Russell Anderson added a season-high 15 points as Monmouth (19-9) won for
the ninth time in 11 games. The second-seeded Hawks will play third-seeded Maryland-Baltimore County in Sunday's semifinal at the Sovereign Bank Arena.
Matt Hammond and James Felton scored 13 points apiece for Fairleigh Dickinson (13-15), which turned the ball over 24 times against Monmouth's
matchup 2-3 zone while shooting less than 40 percent from the field.
The Hawks decided this game in the opening minutes, scoring 17 of the first 20 points. Crobsy had eight in the run and Johnson seven. Anderson, who had
scored in double figures only four times this season, had 11 in the opening
half, hitting 4-of-5 shots.
Monmouth, which held the Knights to a season low in points in a 74-50 win in
their last meeting, blew the game open with a 16-8 spurt in the opening minutes
of the second half. Crosby had seven points in that run and Johnson five.
Game summary
Terence Ward had 22 points and Maryland-Baltimore
County overcame a woeful shooting performance to beat defending champion Central Connecticut State in the first round.
The third-seeded Retrievers (18-10) shot 25.4 percent from the field in winning for the 12th time in 15 games and advancing to the semifinals against second-seeded Monmouth (19-9) on Sunday at the Sovereign Bank Arena.
The 44 points allowed was UMBC's best defensive effort and a season-low for Central Connecticut State, which earned its first NCAA Tournament berth last year.
UMBC had no other player in double figures in scoring.
Corsley Edwards had 16 points and nine rebounds and John Tice added 10 points for the undermanned, sixth-seeded Blue Devils (14-14).
Jermaine Hall scored 28 points and Wagner rallied from
an 11-point deficit midway through the second half to defeat Long Island
University in the quarterfinals.
Courtney Pritchard added 16 points and Jeff Klauder hit five 3-pointers for
15 points as the Seahawks (16-12) advanced to a semifinal showdown with
top-seeded St. Francis of New York (17-10). The Terriers won both
regular-season meetings.
Dedrick Dye scored all eight of his points in the final 6:16, and Nigel
Wyatte hit four free throws in the final 19 seconds as Wagner beat LIU (12-16)
for the fifth time in six games.
Antwan Dobie had 23 points to lead LIU, but missed two free throws with 21
seconds to play with the Blackbirds trailing 82-80. Ray Rivera added 20 points
and 14 rebounds and Maurice Yearwood had 19 for LIU.
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