ECC Basketball Championship Brackets Set

Central Islip, N.Y. – With regular season play wrapping up on Sunday afternoon, the brackets for the 2015 East Coast Conference Men’s and Women’s Basketball Championships are now set.

Tournament action begins on Wednesday, March 4 with the play-in round quarterfinals on campus sites. LIU Post's Pratt Recreation Center will host the semifinals and finals of both tournaments on Saturday, March 8 and Sunday, March 9.

Men’s Basketball

After advancing to the ECC Championship game for the first time ever as the No. 5 seed last season, St. Thomas Aquinas carried the momentum into the 2014-15 season, sharing the conference's Regular Season Championship and earning the top seed. They enter the tournament with a 20-10 (17-3 ECC) record. This is the first time since the 1998-99 season, before they were even NCAA Division II members, that the Spartans have won 20 games in a season.

As the top seed, St. Thomas Aquinas earns a bye into the semifinals where they will face off against the winner of the No. 4 vs. No. 5 matchup of LIU Post hosting Molloy. The schools split their two regular season meetings, with each game finishing within a margin of at least five points. LIU Post (16-12, 11-9 ECC) is making their 13th straight appearance in the ECC Championship, while Molloy (16-12, 11-9 ECC) is in the field for the eighth consecutive season.

Two-time defending ECC Champion and Co-Regular Season Champion, Bridgeport, receives the other bye after posting a 22-6 (17-3 ECC) record during the regular season.

In the semifinals, Bridgeport will take on the winner of the No. 3 vs. No. 6 quarterfinal matchup which features the New York Institute of Technology Bears hosting the Dowling College Golden Lions. NYIT (14-14, 11-9 ECC), is back in the ECC Championship after a one-year hiatus. The Golden Lions (12-15, 10-10 ECC) swept the season series between the two schools, including an exciting 86-85 win at NYIT on February 4th.

Women’s Basketball

On the women’s side, defending ECC Champion, University of the District of Columbia earned their first-ever ECC Regular Season Championship with an 18-2 record in conference play. As the top seed the Firebirds, who have set a program record with 25 wins, earn a bye into the semifinals. This is the third time in their four years in the conference that UDC has earned a first round bye.

The quarterfinal which will see the winner advance to take on UDC has No. 5 seed, LIU Post (17-11, 13-7 ECC), taking on their Northern Boulevard rival and No. 4 seed, New York Institute of Technology (18-10, 13-7 ECC). The game is a rematch of a semifinal game from the 2014 Championship that LIU Post won. The two teams split their regular season match-ups with each winning on their home courts.

Joining UDC with a first round bye is Queens College. The Knights earned the second seed with a 15-5 record (20-7 overall) in conference action.

Roberts Wesleyan earns the No. 3 seed and will host the No. 6 seed, St. Thomas Aquinas College. Roberts is making their first-ever appearance in the ECC Championship. The Redhawks are in their first season as full NCAA Division II members after a three-year transition process from the NAIA. Roberts also finished with a 15-5 ECC mark (20-6 overall) but lost out on the No. 2 seed to Queens due to conference tie-breakers. St. Thomas Aquinas (13-16, 9-11 ECC) are back in the tournament after having a streak of 11 straight appearances snapped a season ago. Roberts Wesleyan swept the season series between the two, but won in overtime, 50-46, in Rochester on February 21st.

Tip-off times for some games are yet to be determined. All games during the championship will be broadcast live. The quarterfinal match-ups will be available on the ECC website and ECC iHigh network (www.ihigh.com/eccsports).  The semi-finals and finals broadcast, provided by the Birdseye Sports, will be high-quality broadcasts on the ECC website. To read Twitter updates throughout the tournament, follow us @ECCsports.  Tournament recaps, highlights, interviews, and box scores will also be available on www.eccsports.org at the tournament specific web pages.

2015 East Coast Conference Men’s Basketball Championship

Quarterfinals – Wednesday, March 4 at campus sites

7:00 p.m. - No. 5 Molloy at No. 4 LIU Post

7:30 p.m. - No. 6 Dowling at No. 3 NYIT

Semifinals – Saturday, March 7 at LIU Post

5:00 p.m. - MOL/LIUP vs.  No. 1 St. Thomas Aquinas

7:30 p.m. - DOW/NYIT vs. No. 2 Bridgeport

Final – Sunday, March 8

2:30 p.m. - Semifinal winner vs. Semifinal winner

To view the ECC Men's Basketball Tournament page, click here.

2015 East Coast Conference Women’s Basketball Championship

Quarterfinals – Wednesday, March 4 at campus sites

5:00 p.m. - No. 5 LIU Post at No. 4 NYIT

Time TBA - No. 6 St. Thomas Aquinas at No. 3 Roberts Wesleyan  

Semifinals – Saturday, March 7 at LIU Post

12:00 p.m. - LIUP/NYIT vs. No. 1 Dist. Columbia

2:30 p.m. - STAC/RWC vs. No. 2 Queens

Final – Sunday, March 8 at LIU Post

12:00 p.m. - Semifinal winner vs. Semifinal winner

To view the ECC Women's Basketball Tournament page, click here.

Justin Beck Selected To All-CIAA Tournament Men's Basketball Team

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Junior guard Justin Beck (Ellicott City, Md.) of Bowie State University was named to the All-CIAA Tournament Men's Basketball Team after the championship game concluded at Time Warner Cable Arena on Saturday night, February 28, 2015.

Beck led the Bulldogs in scoring in Bowie State’s semifinal loss against champions Livingstone College, scoring a personal season-best of 18 points. He scored 11 points in a quarterfinal victory over Chowan University and averaged 14.5 points in both games.

In games through 2/27/15, Beck leads the team in field goal percentage (.527), rebounds (180), rebound average (6.0) and minutes (803).

Below is the 2015 All-CIAA Men's Basketball Tournament Team:

Joe Reid (Shaw) - Senior Forward

Anthony Gaskins (Saint Augustine's University) - Sophomore Guard

Joshua Dawson (Fayetteville State) - Sophomore Guard

Ty Newman (Livingstone) - Junior Guard

Justin Beck (Bowie State) - Junior Guard

Anthony Shelton (Fayetteville State) - Senior Forward

Eric Dubose (Livingstone) - Junior Guard

Donta Harper (Winston-Salem State) - Senior Forward

Eric Mayo (Livingstone) - Senior Forward

WyKevin Bazemore (Winston-Salem State) - Senior Forward

2015 Men's Tournament Most Valuable Player

Ty Newman (Livingstone) - Junior Guard

Livingstone Advances to CIAA Championship Game By Knocking Off Bowie State, 83-65

Charlotte, N.C. – The defending CIAA champion Livingstone knocked off CIAA Northern Division Champion Bowie State 83-66 in the semifinals of the 2015 CIAA Men’s  Basketball Tournament at Time Warner Cable Arena on Friday evening. Bowie State entered the tournament ranked fifth in the latest NCAA Atlantic Region poll with the top eight receiving a bid to post season play.

Livingstone (18-9) jumped on Bowie State early, opening up a 10-5 lead capped by an Eric Mayo layup at the 16:28 mark.  That basket forced BSU to call a timeout to slow the Blue Bear momentum.

The Blue Bears continued to build the lead, going up 17-7 after Ty Newman knocked down a free throw with 12:58 left.  After a Bowie State miss, Livingstone’s Daryl Traynham hit a long jumper to make it 19-7.

Bowie State (22-8) cut the Livingstone lead to 21-11 after Julian Livingston scored on a tip-in while being fouled.  Livingston’s free throw was good to make it 21-12 at the 11:14 mark.

The Livingstone lead ballooned to 29-14 when Traynham converted a fast break layup while getting fouled.  Traynham’s free throw dropped, staking the Blue Bears to their largest lead.  Bowie State responded with a three point play of their own when Justin Beck got a twisting layup to go.  Beck’s free throw trimmed the Blue Bear lead to 29-17 with 9:21 left.  Beck added another free throw to further cut into the lead, making it 29-18.

Livingstone’s Eric Dubose added a three pointer, pushing the lead back to 14 points at 32-18.  Bowie State’s Andre Jackson followed up with a tip-in, but Livingstone’s Cristian Henry got a layup to go making it 34-20.  Bowie State’s Cameron Knox, the CIAA Player of the Year, then knocked down a three pointer, cutting the lead to 34-23 at the 7:07 mark.

After a Ty Newman long three pointer and a Juwan Cole layup, Livingstone found itself on top 40-23 with 5:15 to go.  The Blue Bears extended their lead to 42-23 after Dubose made two free throws.

Bowie State would go on a 15-8 run to close the half, but Livingstone’s Dwight Adams just beat the halftime buzzer with a tip in to spark the Blue Bears to the 50-38 halftime lead. 

Livingstone shot 47.4% in the first half compared to BSU’s 37.9%.  Livingstone forced 14 BSU turnovers, translating into 13 points.  The Blue Bears also pounded the ball inside, scoring 33 points in the paint, compared to BSU’s 14 inside points.

In the second half, the Bulldogs slowly chipped away at the Livingstone lead, cutting it to 54-48 with 15:15 remaining on a pair of Justin Beck free throws.  Livingstone would respond by jumping back up by nine points (57-48) after a Hakeem Jackson dunk at the 14:33 mark.  The Blue Bear lead would swell to 13 points after a Darresse Johnson tip in that made it 61-48 with 11:18 left.


Bowie State would then embark on a 9-0 run over a span of nearly three minutes sparked by a Cameron Knox three pointer from the corner.  Knox was fouled on the play, but the resulting free throw was no good.  Following a Livingstone miss, BSU would miss a three pointer, giving Livingstone the ball.  The Blue Bears’ Robert Flint would make a three pointer of his own, making it 64-58 at the 7:08 mark.

Livingstone was able to get to the free throw line after a BSU turnover, their 18^th of the game.  Livingstone’s Daryl Traynham would hit the first shot.  After missing the second shot, Traynham boarded his own miss and laid it in, extending the Livingstone lead to 67-58 with 6:56 to play.

Bowie State was able to connect on a pair of free throws to draw within 67-60 with 5:38 on the clock.  Ty Newman then connected on a tip in for Livingstone, providing the 69-60 lead.  BSU then committed their 19^th turnover of the evening, giving the Blue Bears the opportunity to extend their lead.

On the ensuing possession, Hakeem Jackson found his way to the foul line.  Jackson drilled two free throws, putting Livingstone up 71-60.

The Blue Bears got another basket from Jackson on a hook shot as the shot clock expired to make it 73-60.  Bowie State quickly sped down the floor and Julian Livingston nailed a three pointer from the top of the circle to make it 73-63 with 2:53 remaining.

Bowie State could get no closer than 11 points the rest of the way and Livingstone would go on to hit 10 free throws over the last 2:30 of the game to seal the 83-65 win.

The Blue Bears would place four players in double figures, led by Ty Newman’s 18 points.  Other players scoring in double figures for the Blue Bears include Daryl Traynham (15), Eric Mayo (12) and Eric Dubose (10).  Bowie State’s Justin Beck finished with 18 points and 12 rebounds while teammates Cameron Knox and Ahmaad Wilson finished with 17 and 10 points, respectively.

Livingstone’s defense forced BSU to shot only 32.2 % for the game (19-59).  The Blue Bears also forced 21 BSU turnovers and turned those miscues into 22 points.

Official Basketball Box Score
Livingstone vs Bowie State
2/27/15 7:00 pm at Time Warner Cable Arena - Charlotte, NC


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
VISITORS: Livingstone 18-9
                          TOT-FG  3-PT         REBOUNDS
## Player Name            FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF  TP  A TO BLK S MIN
01 COLE,Juwan.......... *  1-3    0-2    0-0    0  1  1   2   2  2  0  0  1  16
03 JACKSON,Hakeem......    2-6    0-0    4-6    3  4  7   3   8  1  2  2  0  23
04 DUBOSE,Eric......... *  3-11   1-3    3-4    1  3  4   1  10  6  2  0  2  35
05 HENRY,Cristian...... *  2-5    0-0    2-4    2  3  5   3   6  0  2  0  1  17
12 WILLIAMS,Dwight..... *  1-1    0-0    0-0    1  3  4   1   2  1  0  0  2  14
14 HARRIS,Austin.......    0-0    0-0    0-0    0  0  0   0   0  0  0  0  0   1
15 FLINT,Robert........    1-1    1-1    0-0    1  1  2   1   3  0  0  0  1  10
21 JOHNSON,Darresse....    3-3    0-0    0-0    2  3  5   1   6  0  3  0  0  13
23 NEWMAN,Ty...........    6-16   1-2    5-6    3  5  8   2  18  2  0  0  5  27
32 JOHNSON,Cornelius...    0-1    0-0    1-2    0  2  2   1   1  0  2  0  1   4
34 MAYO,Eric........... *  5-9    0-1    2-4    5  4  9   4  12  0  3  2  2  19
44 JOHNSON,Mark........    0-0    0-0    0-0    0  0  0   0   0  0  0  0  0   1
50 TRAYNHAM,Daryl......    3-9    0-1    9-12   1  2  3   2  15  0  0  0  0  20
   TEAM................                            1  1
   Totals..............   27-65   3-10  26-38  19 32 51  21  83 12 14  4 15 200

TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 18-38 47.4%   2nd Half:  9-27 33.3%   Game: 41.5%  DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half:  2-5  40.0%   2nd Half:  1-5  20.0%   Game: 30.0%   REBS
F Throw % 1st Half: 12-19 63.2%   2nd Half: 14-19 73.7%   Game: 68.4%    5


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
HOME TEAM: Bowie State 22-8
                          TOT-FG  3-PT         REBOUNDS
## Player Name            FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF  TP  A TO BLK S MIN
00 WELLS,Dayshawn......    1-8    1-6    0-0    0  0  0   4   3  3  0  0  2  25
01 WILLIAMS,Zafir...... *  1-7    0-2    0-0    1  1  2   1   2  3  1  0  2  28
03 WILSON,Ahmaad.......    2-7    0-3    6-7    1  3  4   1  10  1  2  0  0  14
04 KNOX,Cameron........ *  6-17   4-11   1-3    0  2  2   4  17  1  5  1  0  27
10 JACKSON,Andre.......    2-5    1-2    0-0    1  3  4   3   5  0  2  1  0  16
11 LIVINGSTON,Julian...    3-7    1-4    1-1    1  0  1   1   8  0  2  1  0  18
20 GEORGE,Omari........    0-0    0-0    0-0    0  0  0   0   0  0  0  0  0   1
21 JACKSON,Miles....... *  1-2    0-0    0-1    2  8 10   4   2  0  3  0  2  29
22 BECK,Justin......... *  3-6    0-2   12-14   4  8 12   4  18  3  5  0  0  28
25 TAPPIN,Kenneth......    0-0    0-0    0-0    0  0  0   0   0  0  0  0  0   1
34 CLEMMONS,Joel....... *  0-0    0-0    0-0    1  0  1   3   0  0  0  0  1   7
45 MARSHALL,Tai........    0-0    0-0    0-0    0  0  0   0   0  0  1  0  0   6
   TEAM................                         2  1  3
   Totals..............   19-59   7-30  20-26  13 26 39  25  65 11 21  3  7 200

TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 11-29 37.9%   2nd Half:  8-30 26.7%   Game: 32.2%  DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half:  3-14 21.4%   2nd Half:  4-16 25.0%   Game: 23.3%   REBS
F Throw % 1st Half: 13-15 86.7%   2nd Half:  7-11 63.6%   Game: 76.9%    1


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Officials: Haywood Bostic, William Covington, Jr. & Clyde Owens
Technical fouls: Livingstone-None. Bowie State-None.
Attendance:
Score by Periods                1st  2nd   Total
Livingstone...................   50   33  -   83
Bowie State...................   38   27  -   65
CIAA Men's Basketball Tournament - Semifinal Game 1

Points in the paint-LC-M 49,BSU-M 22. Points off turnovers-LC-M 22,BSU-M 13.
2nd chance points-LC-M 18,BSU-M 14. Fast break points-LC-M 15,BSU-M 2.
Bench points-LC-M 51,BSU-M 26. Score tied-1 time. Lead changed-2 times.
Last FG-LC-M 2nd-03:02, BSU-M 2nd-02:57.
Largest lead-LC-M by 19 1st-04:51, BSU-M by 1 1st-17:29.
LC-M led for 38:37. BSU-M led for 00:30. Game  was tied for 00:53.

College Sports Live This Weekend

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Baseball

• Hartford vs. #2 Virginia
• Eastern Illinois vs. Kansas State,
• Western Illinois vs. #10 Oklahoma State
• Stanford vs. #12 Rice
• #18 Ole Miss vs. #17 UCF
• Saint Louis vs. Memphis

M. Hockey

• Northeastern vs. #4 Boston University
• #5 Miami (OH) vs. #7 Denver

M. Basketball

• Lamar vs. SFA

W. Basketball

• Boston College vs. Louisville

M. Lacrosse

• Delaware vs. Villanova
• Brown vs. UMass

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East Coast Conference Players of the Week

This week's East Coast Conference Player of the Week awards are listed below. More information is available in the weekly reports that are attached. 

Men's Basketball
Player of the Week: Tyuan Williams, LIU Post (Newark, N.J./St. Anthony's HS)
Rookie of the Week: Tristan Brown, Dowling College (Elmont, N.Y./Elmont Memorial)

Honor Roll: Devon Elliott, University of Bridgeport (Brooklyn, N.Y./Bishop Loughlin HS); Jordan Greene, Daemen College (Fort Edward, N.Y./South Glens Falls HS); Evan Maxwell, Dowling College (East Islip, N.Y./East Islip HS); Jeremiah Mordi, Queens College (Valley Stream, N.Y./Valley Stream Central)

Women's Basketball
Player of the Week: Madison Rowland, Queens College (Cohoes, N.Y./Shaker HS)
Rookie of the Week: Sarah Saba, Daemen College (Lancaster, N.Y./Lancaster HS)

Honor Roll: Tanayzha Augustine, Mercy College (Poughkeepsie, N.Y./Poughkeepsie HS); Nyasia Davis, LIU Post (Rahway, N.J./Abraham Clark HS); Kaitlyn McCue, St. Thomas Aquinas College (Bergenfield, N.J./Bergenfield HS); Julie Williams, NYIT (Smithtown, N.Y./Hauppauge HS)

Men's Lacrosse

Player of the Week: Matt Bellando, LIU Post (Miami, Fla./Saint Andrew's School)

Goalkeeper of the Week: Alex Seltzer, NYIT (Plainview, N.Y./Plainview JFK HS)

Rookie of the Week: Ryan Toomey, Molloy College (Hicksville, N.Y./Hicksville HS)

Honor Roll: Joe Leonard, Molloy College (Hicksville, N.Y./Hicksville HS); Luke Miller, NYIT (Mastic, N.Y./Williams Floyd HS); Brian White, Dowling College (Bayport, N.Y./Bayport-Blue Point HS); Jesse Wood, Mercy College (Binghamton, N.Y./Seton Catholic Central)

Baseball

Player of the Week: Scott Hagan, Mercy College (Mamaroneck, N.Y./Mamaroneck HS)

Pitcher of the Week: Matt Nalbone, Mercy College (Islip, N.Y./Islip HS)

Rookie of the Week: Elijah Leerdam, Molloy College (Jamaica, N.Y./Bayside HS)

Honor Roll: Alex Brosnan, Molloy College (Farmingdale, N.Y./Farmingdale HS); John Young, Mercy College (New Hyde Park, N.Y./Archbishop Molloy)

Men's Tennis

Player of the Week: Rafal Charkiewicz, NYIT (Opole, Poland/Autorska Szkola Samorozwoju [ASSA])

Rookie of the Week: Mark Veitengruber, Daemen College (Rockford, Mich./Rockford HS)

Lady Blue Bears Roll Past Bowie State 91-73 in CIAA Tournament Opening Round

CHARLOTTE, N.C. - The Livingstone College Lady Blue Bears advanced to the second round of the CIAA Tournament on Tuesday afternoon with a 91-73 win over Bowie State University.  The Lady Blue Bears, the third seed out of the CIAA Southern Division, advance to the next round with a 10-19 record while the Lady Bulldogs, the sixth seed out of the Northern Division, end their season with a 9-18 mark. 

Each team had four players score double-digit points in the contest.  Amber Curtis led the effort for Livingstone with 18 points while Precious Roberts added 16 points in the victory.  Labrea Walker chipped in 12 points and grabbed nine rebounds (two offensive, seven defensive) while Cierra York followed with 11 points.

Ty-Nita Baker (Houston, Miss.) paced Bowie State with 18 points.  Sheldeen Joseph (Belair St. Vincent and the Grenadines, West Indies) added 14 points while Donia Naylor (Washington, D.C.) chipped in 12 points and 11 rebounds. Keira Phipps (Arlington, Texas) rounded out the double-digit scoring effort with 11 points.

“I’m extremely proud of this team.  We got off to a slow start today but our team never gave up and fought all the way until the end of the game.  I honestly think the slow start is what hurt us the most today,” stated Bowie State interim head coach Shadae Swan.

York started the contest with a jumper for the Livingstone.  The bucket marked the start of a 13-0 run before Baker’s jumper for Bowie State at the 14:57 mark brought an end to a five minute scoring drought for Bowie State.  With 13:40 left in the first half, Jourdan Stanhope (Columbus, Ohio) netted a layup for the Lady Bulldogs to cut the deficit to nine points (16-7).  After a free throw by York for Livingstone, Joseph netted a layup for Bowie State allowing the Lady Bulldogs to pull within eight points, 17-9, at the 12:43 mark.

A jumper by Alexis Hicks on the Lady Blue Bears’ next possession contributed to a 16-2 run for Livingstone, leaving Bowie State trailing 33-11 with 8:23 on the clock in the first half.  The Lady Bulldogs were unable to stop Livingstone’s momentum and headed into halftime trailing 55-24. 

Amber Curtis’ three-pointer with 18:40 on the clock in the first half gave the Lady Blue Bears a 34 point lead (63-29) and their largest advantage of the contest.  Trailing 69-37 with 14:21 on the clock, Naylor’s made free throws led to a 9-0 run for Bowie State.  The late run proved to be short lived as Livingstone regained a 30 point advantage (76-46) with 10:41 remaining in the contest.

Down but not out, Bowie State used a 9-2 run to make the score78-55 after Naylor’s jumper.

Livingstone held onto the momentum for the remainder of the contest and closed out the game with the 91-73 victory.

UDC Women’s Basketball Team Ranked No. 4 in the 2nd NCAA East Region Poll

INDIANAPOLIS – The University of the District of Columbia is once again ranked No. 4 in the 2^nd NCAA East Region Poll released late Wednesdayafternoon.

The Firebirds are 23-3 overall (16-2 East Coast Conference), and they are also ranked T-22^nd in the USA Today/WBCA Division II Poll and No. 4 in the D2SIDA East Region Poll. UDC won its 11^th and 12^th straight games last week and have already clinched at least a share of the ECC Regular Season Championship.

Sixteen of UDC's 23 wins have come by double-figures, and the Firebirds are 7-1 outside of conference play and 12-1 on the road this season. UDC also boasts a win over a top-25 ranked team as they dominated then-No. 25 Virginia St., 88-62 back on November 19^th.

Meanwhile, New Haven (22-3) jumped two spots from the first poll to top this week’s poll after winning its only game last week, 66-60 at American International. The Chargers, who boast a 72-71 victory over Stonehill on January 24^th, are one spot ahead of UDC in the USA Today national poll at No. 21. They have, however, since lost to the No. 10 ranked team in the nation (3^rd ranked in the region), Adelphi last night after the voting was in for all of this week’s women’s basketball polls.

Coming in at No. 2 for the second straight week is Stonehill. The Skyhawks (21-3) fell on the road at Franklin Pierce (No. 5 in the region), 81-71 on Wednesday night, but bounced back to beat Bentley on Saturday at home, 85-71. Stonehill, who boasts an 86-72 win over Adelphi on January 7^th,  is T-12^th in the USA Today national poll. The Skyhawks have since won their regular season finale, 64-56 over Saint Anselm last night to improve to 22-3.

Adelphi dropped from No. 2 in last week’s poll to No. 3 despite two wins last week at home over College of Saint Rose (69-56) and in overtime on the road at Pace, 82-72. The Panthers are 24-3 overall and are ranked No. 10 in the nation. After the poll was voted on, they defeated New Haven, 76-73 last night.

Two other ECC teams join UDC in this week’s poll, including Queens at No. 5 and Roberts Wesleyan at No. 10.