CAA Men’s Tournament Had A Great Weekend In Baltimore

Mar 9, 2015; Baltimore, MD, USA; Northeastern Huskies guard T.J. Williams (10), forward Kwesi Abakah (34) and forward Scott Eatherton (43) celebrate after beating the William & Mary Tribe 72-61 during the finals of the Colonial Conference Tournament at Royal Farms Arena. Mandatory Credit: Evan Habeeb-USA TODAY Sports

Monday’s Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) basketball final wrapped up a great weekend of basketball in Baltimore. Now in it’s second year at the Royal Farms Arena after 24 years in Richmond, the CAA men’s tournament offered some great hoops action at the venerable downtown Baltimore arena.

The action started on Friday night with a pair of games. Elon triumphed over Towson University and the College of Charleston beat Drexel.

But the weekend really heated up on Saturday as four games were played.

William & Mary senior Marcus Thornton had 17 points as they beat eighth-seeded Elon, 72-59. Sophomore Omar Prewitt had 16 points and Daniel Dixon scored 12 points for the Tribe. The Phoenix were led by freshman Elijah Bryant with 15 points.

Senior forward Moussa Kone scored 18 points as Hofstra cruised to a 74-57 victory over James Madison. Ron Curry had 18 points in the loss for the Dukes.

UNCW had seniors Freddie Jackson and Cedrick Williams each score 19 points as the Seahawks easily dominated College of Charleston. The Cougars only had sophomore guard Joe Chealey get up to 12 points.

Northeastern guard David Walker scored 17 points as the Huskies beat Delaware 67-64. Walker sealed the win with four free throws made in the closing seconds of the game.

Sunday is where it got really good, as William and Mary and Northeastern won a fun couple of games.

First up was a true instant classic. The Tribe’s Thornton had a CAA Championship single-game record with 37 points in a double overtime one-point win (92-91). Daniel Dixon hit the game-winning three-pointer with 0.8 seconds remaining to beat the Hofstra Pride.

Northeastern’s 78-71 victory over UNCW was a very good game that unfortunately came after that amazing double overtime classic. Forward Scott Eatherton scored a game-high 21 points in the victory.

So it was Northeastern versus William and Mary in the final game. The Huskies haven’t been to the big dance since 1991. And the Tribe have never been to the NCAA tournament. So it was going to be a historic night.

Quincy Ford scored 22 points as Northeastern beat top-seeded William & Mary in a 72-61 victory and capture its first Colonial Athletic Association Men’s Basketball Championship. The Huskies are dancing again as the Tribe stays on the never-made-it list.