2012 NCAA Division III Men's Basketball First and Second Round
State University of New York at Oswego – Oswego, New York

Friday, March 2 – First Round
#21 Eastern Connecticut State (22-5) vs. Medaille College (25-2) – 5:30 p.m. (EST)
Live Stats | Live Video
#14 Oswego State (25-3) vs. Endicott College (20-8) – 7:30 p.m. (EST)
Live Stats | Live Video | Live Audio

Saturday, March 3 – Second Round
Winner of Eastern Connecticut State/Medaille College vs.
Winner of Oswego State/Endicott College - 7 p.m. (EST)
Live Stats | Live Video

Visitor Information

Competition will take place in Max Ziel Gymnasium
Directions to Laker Hall
Campus Map
Visitor Guide

For the second straight year, Oswego State has been chosen to host the first and second rounds of the NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Tournament Friday, March 2 and Saturday, March 3. 

Tickets are $6 for adults and $3 for students with valid ID.  The Campus Center Box Office hours are 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Thursday and Friday. They may be reached at (315) 312-3073. Online tickets may be purchased for each game at tickets.oswego.edu.  Tickets will also be available the day of the game one hour prior to tip-off.  Fans are encouraged to purchase tickets in advance.

The 14th-ranked Oswego State Lakers (25-3) head into the NCAA tournament fresh off their first SUNYAC championship since 1965. The Lakers, who captured the regular season title with a perfect 18-0 record swept through conference foes New Paltz, Brockport and Cortland en route to the conference tournament championship.

Sixteen is the lucky number for Oswego State as it has won 16 straight contests, and won 16 games by double digits this season. Hosting the first two rounds of the tournament could be of great benefit to the Lakers, who were 16-0 at Max Ziel Gymnasium.

The Lakers are led by senior forward Chad Burridge (Hannibal, N.Y.), who earned SUNYAC Player of the Year for the second consecutive season. Burridge was fourth in the conference in scoring (16.0 ppg) and led the league in blocks per game at 2.1.

However, Oswego State is not just a one-man show. Junior forward Hayden Ward (Montauk, N.Y.) also took home First Team All-SUNYAC honors, leading the conference in rebounding (9.0). He was fifth in scoring (15.7) and registered 12 double-doubles this season including a 25-point, 16-rebound performance against New Paltz in the conference quarterfinals. The Lakers were undefeated when Ward tallied a double-double.

A balanced scoring attack has carried Oswego State all season long as the Lakers had three or more players score in double figures in 20 of its 25 wins. Sean Michele (Sr., Rochester, N.Y.) and Ryan Sheridan (Sr., Blauvelt, N.Y.) give Oswego State a powerful duo from behind the arc. Michele is also the top three-point shooter in Division III at 51.1 percent.

Defense has been a mainstay of the Laker gameplan this season, as Oswego State stifled opposing offenses, holding teams to just 61.4 points per game, which was the best in the SUNYAC. Senior Conor Monaghan (Brooklyn, N.Y.) will be key for the Laker schemes on the perimeter.

As a team, Oswego State is nationally ranked eighth in turnovers per game (10.6), ninth in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.34), and 23rd in three-point field goal percentage (38.7).

Endicott College (20-8) punched its ticket into the NCAA Tournament after upsetting top-seeded Salve Regina, 90-66, in the Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) Championship. It marked the Gulls' first appearance in the league championship since the 2005-06 season.

The Gulls have five players who average over 10 points per game in scoring, led by Lachlan Magee's 13.5 points per contest. Lance Greene (13.1 ppg), John Henault (12.9 ppg), Andre Makris (12.5 ppg) and Erik Callo (11.3 ppg) round out leading scorers for Endicott. The Gulls rank sixth nationally in field goal percentage defense (37.7) and tenth in blocked shots (5.1).

Greene was named the CCC Player of the Week after averaging 20.3 points, 6.7 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 2.0 steals per contest during Endicott's three playoff games. Henault was recognized as the CCC Rookie of the Week after averaging 15.7 points, 2.0 rebounds, 1.0 assist and 2.0 steals per game in the same span.

The squads have not met previously.

Eastern features four senior starters or key reserves in guards Chae Philips and Nick Nedwick and forwards Jamie Kohn and Hamilton Levy. Nedwick, who became the program's all-time leading scorer late in the league title game, leads the Warriors in scoring (17.0) and also averages 4.0 rebounds and 3.4 assists. Philips averages 3.9 points and 2.6 rebounds off the bench, Levy 10.4 points and 4.8 rebounds and Kohn, the Little East Tournament MVP, 9.9 points and a team-high 7.5 rebounds. Chris Robitaille is second on the team in scoring (11.3) and rebounding (6.6) and has a team-leading 62.6 shooting percentage.

Eastern Connecticut features one of the best defenses in the nation, as it has limited opponents to 59.2 points per game, which ranks 11th in Division III.

Medaille College (25-2) advanced by knocking off Penn State-Behrend in the Alleghany Mountain Collegiate Conference (AMCC) tournament by the score of 65-52 to also aset a program record with wins in a single season (25). The Mavericks were paced by Phil Maiarana's game-high 17 points. This marks the fourth time that Medaille has made an NCAA appearance since 2006-07 when Mike MacDonald took over the program.

Five players, including four seniors, have started every game for Medaille, which features a balanced lineup of seven players averaging between 7.0 and 11.3 points. The Mavericks average 9.0 three-pointers per game, which is 19th most in the nation, at a 39.6 percent clip. Medaille is one of the most unselfish teams in the country as evident by it ranking sixth in Division III at 18.2 assists per game.

Sean Bellomo was named AMCC Co-Newcomer of the Year, while David Shuey, Angel Flores and Maiarana were selected as Second Team All-AMCC honorees.

Eastern and Medaille have met once previously, with the Warriors posting a 72-44 victory at the Bahama House Classic at Daytona Beach on January 2, 2007.