Overview
The Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference Champions Caldwell University men's basketball team as the #8 seed in the 2023 NCAA Division II Championship East Region faces the #4 seed University of New Haven in the East Region Semifinals on Sunday, March 12 at 7:30 pm. The 2023 NCAA D2 Men's Basketball East Region will be hosted by Saint Anselm College at the Stoutenburgh Gymnasium on the campus of Saint Anselm.
 
Multimedia
Live stats and video will be available for Sunday's game. All links will be available on the Tournament Central page at https://saintanselmhawks.com/sports/2023/3/6/2023-ncaa-division-ii-basketball-east-region-tournament-central.aspx
Live stats: https://saintanselmhawks.com/sidearmstats/mbball/summary
Video: https://ne10now.tv/saintanselmhawks/
 
Spectator Information
Individual game tickets will be sold at the door: adults will be charged $10 while students, senior citizens, and attendees under the age of 18 earn admittance for $5. Session passes can be purchased for $25 each and will only be sold in advance using the following link: https://saintanselmhawks.com/tickets
 
How We Got Here
The eighth seeded Cougars defeated top seed and host Saint Anselm last night 80-71 in the East Region Quarterfinals. Freshman Darnell Evans (Deer Park, N.Y.) led the way with 22 points, five rebounds, six assists and four steals. Sophomore Mark Heber (Paterson, N.J.) tallied 19 points and eight boards, while sophomore Derrick Bueno (Palisades Park, N.J.) delivered 17 points, three rebounds and two steals. The fourth seeded Chargers defeated fifth seed Pace University 83-57 in the region quarterfinals last night. Ty Perry led the Chargers with 30 points, while Quashawn Lane added 12 points, six rebounds and seven assists. Davontrey Thomas finished with 12 points and four rebounds.
 
Scouting the Cougars (22-9, 14-4 CACC)
The Cougars enter Sunday's matchup with a 22-9 overall record. This is the Cougars third trip to the NCAA D2 Tournament after earning bids in 2007 and 2021 and second trip to the region semifinals after winning their opening game in 2021. Evans leads the Cougars with 19.1 points, 5.1 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 1.9 steals per game with 36 three-pointers. Heber is posting 14.7 points, 5.0 rebounds and 1.2 steals per contest, while connecting on a team-best 60 three-pointers. Bueno is averaging 10.7 points and 5.2 boards per game, while sophomore Jarnel Rancy (Middle Island, N.Y.) is contributing 6.1 points, 5.9 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 1.5 steals and 4.2 blocks per game.
 
Scouting the Chargers (21-10, 13-7 NE-10)
The Chargers enters Sunday's game with a 21-10 overall record after their regional quarterfinal win last night. Perry leads the Chargers with 15.4 points and 3.8 rebounds per game, while draining 43 three-pointers this season. Lane is posting 14.9 points, 3.6 boards, 3.9 assists and 1.5 steals per contest. Thomas is contributing 12.8 points and 4.1 rebounds per game, while connecting on a team-best 79 trifectas this season. Majur Majak leads the team with 11.6 rebounds and 3.0 blocks per game, while averaging 6.9 points per contest.
 
Postseason Awards
The Cougars took home several postseason awards as Evans was named the CACC Rookie of the Year and was a CACC First Team All-Conference selection. Rancy was selected as the CACC Defensive Player of the Year and earned CACC Third Team honors. Heber earned CACC Third Team recognition.
 
Johnson Coaching File
Caldwell's head coach Dean Johnson is currently in his first season leading the Cougars. Johnson has led the Cougars to 22 victories this season, the most wins in program history in the NCAA era. The Cougars were the top overall seed in the CACC, earning CACC Coach of the Year honors. He guided the Cougars to its first North Division title in the NCAA era (2002-present) and second CACC Tournament Title.
 
Next Up
The winner of this semifinal match up will advance to the NCAA D2 East Region championship game against the winner of the #2 Bentley University and #3 Southern New Hampshire University contest on Tuesday, March 14 at 7 pm.
 
Caldwell Cougars Online
For more information regarding Caldwell Athletics log on to CaldwellAthletics.com or follow Caldwell Athletics on Twitter @CaldwellCougars, on Instagram @CaldwellAthletics and Like Caldwell University Athletics on Facebook. For updates on the Caldwell Men's Basketball team, follow @CaldwellUMBB on Twitter and @CaldwellCougars_mbb on Instagram.