The 2022 Conference Carolinas Men’s Basketball Championship Final saw four ties and 11 lead changes between the eighth-ranked and top seeded UNC Pembroke Braves and the third-seeded Crusaders of Belmont Abbey and for the second straight season, the Crusaders cut down the nets at the final buzzer.
Belmont Abbey had lost to both Emmanual and UNC Pembrook during the regular season, when Head coach Dan Ficke was asked what was different between the regular season and the Conference Carolina tournament he said, “Both Emmanuel and Pembroke are phenomenal programs, we have tremendous respect for their coaches, staffs and players. I think the major difference in our games this past weekend and during the regular season was the belief our players had in themselves, each other, and our game plan. The regular season is long, and our goal is always to be the best version of ourselves in February and March. We were not very good early on when we played them, we dealt with a ton of adversity on and off the court. We started to play better in January and I believe those loses to Emmanuel and Pembroke as we were starting to figure things out allowed our team to develop the necessary resolve and toughness to be ready to win the way did this past weekend.”
It was a back-and-forth first half featuring numerous runs by both teams that resulted in a 37-36 halftime lead for the Crusaders. Conference Carolinas Player of the Year, Spencer Levi, got the scoring started with a dunk for the Braves and LJ McCoy followed with a 3-pointer for The Abbey. UNCP’s 9-4 run gave them an 11-7 lead before BAC went on a 14-5 run over 5:37 to take a 21-16 lead with 9:49 left in the opening half. After a Sean Halloran 3-pointer put the Crusaders ahead 26-22, UNCP went on a 10-1 run, capped by a pair of Nate Dunlop 3-pointers for a 32-27 advantage. Not to be outdone, Belmont Abbey closed the half on a 10-4 run over the final 3:19 for the one-point halftime lead.
The Braves took the lead quickly as they scored the first five points of the final 20 minutes and used a 10-5 run to take a 46-42 lead. Belmont Abbey scored 12 of the next 14 points for a 54-48 lead with 12:28 to play. The Crusaders maintained the advantage until an 8-0 UNCP run gave the Braves a 61-58 advantage. A Jordan Ratliffe layup pushed the lead to five, 66-61, but the Crusaders responded with an 11-1 run to take a 72-67 lead with 1:24 to play. Ratliffe hit a three to cut the deficit to two, but Mario Lacy, Jr. followed with a put-back layup for a 74-70 lead with 38 seconds left. Quest Aldridge, who was named Conference Carolinas Tournament Most Outstanding player, went 4-for-4 from the free throw line in the final 30 seconds to secure the 79-73 win and a trip to the NCAA Southeast Regional.
Pembroke finished the contest 29-for-66 (43.9 percent) from the field, 4-of-17 (23.5 percent) from the 3-point arc and 11-of-22 (50 percent) from the free throw line while the Crusaders shot 35.4 percent (23-of-65) from the field, 27.8 percent (5-of-18) from long range and 82.4 percent (28-of-34).
Aldridge finished with a game-high 23 points while Halloran added 14 and Garrett finished with 13. Levi paced the Braves with a double-double of 20 points and 13 rebounds to go with five blocks while Javonte Waverly added 13 points and Ratliffe tallied 10.
The Crusaders earned Conference Carolinas’ automatic bid and will play Augusta on March 12 at 5:00pm at Augusta. Coach Ficke was asked what the keys would be to win against Augusta, he said, “Augusta is a tremendous program with a great coach and talented players. It’s always daunting being the 8 seed going against the number 1, but I also believe that we are a team that is peaking at the right time. We’ve won 17 of our last 20 including 7 in a row on the way to the tournament title. It won’t be easy to get the upset but in order to do so our team’s belief and toughness have to be even stronger than they were this past weekend. We have to continue to play with tremendous effort and communication on the defensive end, combined with great pace and unselfishness on the offensive end. And last and most importantly we have to live in and enjoy the moment. If we do those things, we believe we can compete with anyone in the country.”
2022 Conference Carolinas Men’s Basketball All-Tournament Team
Quest Aldrige, Belmont Abbey – Most Outstanding Player
Chandler Baker, Belmont Abbey
Sean Halloran, Belmont Abbey
Spencer Levi, UNC Pembroke
Deon Berrien, UNC Pembroke
KJ Jones II, Emmanuel
Demarcus Addie, Southern Wesleyan
2022 Conference Carolinas Men’s Basketball Championship
First Round – Sunday, February 27
#7 Lees-McRae def. #10 Chowan at Barton, 80-73
#9 Francis Marion def. #8 King at Mount Olive, 90-83
Second Round – Monday, February 28
#6 Barton def. #7 Lees-McRae, 94-75
#5 Mount Olive def. #9 Francis Marion, 95-83
Quarterfinals – Friday, March 4 (Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium – Spartanburg, S.C.)
#4 Southern Wesleyan def. #5 Mount Olive, 72-55
#3 Belmont Abbey def. #6 Barton, 108-73
Semifinals – Saturday, March 5 (Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium – Spartanburg, S.C.)
#1 UNC Pembroke def. #4 Southern Wesleyan, 67-66
#3 Belmont Abbey def. #2 Emmanuel, 93-70
Final – Sunday, March 6 (Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium – Spartanburg, S.C.)
#3 Belmont Abbey def. #1 UNC Pembroke, 79-73
Stats and results courtesy of Conference Carolina
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