#15 Falcons to Face Saint Joseph’s College L.I. in NCAA Tournament

NEW HAVEN, Conn. (February 27, 2012) – The No. 15 Albertus Magnus men’s basketball team will travel to Middlebury, Vt. to take on Saint Joseph’s College Long Island in the First Round of the NCAA Division III Men’s Basketball Championship. The Falcons’ tournament opener will take place on Friday, March 2 at 5:30p.m. at Middlebury College.

 The Falcons (27-1) earned an automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament on Saturday when they defeated Anna Maria College 88-54 for the Great Northeast Athletic Conference Tournament title. The title marks their second in the last three seasons.

Saint Joseph’s College (L.I.) (21-4) earned its first-ever at-large bid after falling to Purchase College in the Skyline Conference Tournament Semifinals on Thursday. The Eagles were the top seed of their league tournament.

Middlebury (24-3), the host of the first and second rounds, will take on Morrisville State (19-8) in an 8:00 p.m. match-up on Friday, which follows the Falcons’ tournament opener. Middlebury enters the tournament after winning the NESCAC, while Morrisville State captured the NEAC title to earn the automatic trip.

The winners of those two contests will face off on Saturday, March 3 at 7:00 p.m. The victor of that match-up will advance to one of four sectional-round sites on March 9-10. Winners of the four sectional games will advance to the finals on March 16 and 17. The finals will be played at the Salem Civic Center in Salem, Virginia.

Thursday’s appearance will be the Falcons’ second NCAA Tournament appearance in the last three years. During the 2009-10 season, Albertus earned its first tournament berth under head coach Mitch Oliver after winning the GNAC title. In their opening round game at William Paterson, the Falcons used a buzzer-beater by Bryon Reaves ’11 to edge the No. 7 Pioneers 57-55 for the Falcons’ first-ever NCAA Tournament victory.

Tickets are priced/day at $6 for adults, $3 for students and will go on sale at 10:00 a.m. on Tuesday, February 28. All games played at Middlebury College will have live statistics as well as live video online.