CENTERVILLE, Mass. – The Endicott men's basketball team will make their first appearance in the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Division III New England Tournament since the 2006-07 season when they hit the road to take on North Atlantic Conference (NAC) opponent Castleton State as the #6 seed on Wednesday evening in Castleton, Vermont. Tip-off is currently scheduled for 7:30 pm.
Endicott qualified for ECAC postseason play with a 17-9 overall record, a quarterfinal appearance in the Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) with an 11-7 mark in-conference play, and non-conference victories over Salem State, Wheaton (Mass.), Berkeley (N.Y.), Lesley, Wheelock, and Fisher.
Castleton State earned the #3 seed in bracket after exiting the NAC Tournament in the semifinal round with a 19-8 (16-2 NAC) record. The Spartans had two non-conference wins this season, including one over NCAA Tournament-bound WPI.
This will be the first meeting between these two programs. Endicott's history goes back to the 1994-95 season while Castleton State has records going back to the 1951-52 campaign. Endicott is 31-19 all-time against current NAC schools with the majority of their competition coming against former CCC rivals Colby-Sawyer (8-13) and New England College (16-1).
The rest of the tournament features two of the top four teams coming out of the CCC including the top-seed Nichols (22-6), who's bid for a NCAA Tournament berth fell short in the title game against Gordon. The #4 seed Salve Regina (17-10) bested Endicott in the CCC Quarterfinals but lost to Nichols in overtime in the semifinal round. The Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) boasts two schools in the regional tournament with GNAC semifinalists Johnson & Wales (R.I., 20-7) and Lasell (16-11) claiming and #2 and #5 seeds, respectively. Number seven seed Elms (15-12) comes out of the New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) and #8 Plymouth State (13-13) from the Little East rounds out the bracket.
2014 ECAC Division III New England Men's Basketball Tournament
Quarterfinals • Wednesday, March 5
#8 Plymouth State (13-13) at #1 Nichols (22-6), 5:00 p.m.
#7 Elms (15-12) at #2 Johnson & Wales (20-7), 7:30 p.m.
#6 Endicott (17-9) at #3 Castleton State (19-8), 7:30 p.m.
#5 Lasell (16-11) at #4 Salve Regina (17-10), 7:00 p.m.
Semifinals • Saturday, March 8*
Winner of #5/#4 vs Winner of #8/#1, TBD
Winner of #6/#3 vs Winner of #7/#2, TBD
Championship Game • Sunday, March 9*
Semifinal Winners, TBD
* Both the semifinals and championship will be hosted by the highest remaining seed after the quarterfinals
