Diethorn, Bluford Lead Assumption to 74-66 OT Win over Holy Family

WALTHAM, Mass. – Senior Corey Diethorn (Pittsburgh) and sophomore Courtland Bluford (Fort Washington, Md.) combined for 43 points to lead Assumption to a 74-66 overtime win over Holy Family in the first round of the NCAA Division II Men’s Basketball Northeast Regionals on Saturday afternoon at the Dana Center.

The second-seeded Greyhounds improved to 23-10 and will face third-seeded Saint Rose in tomorrow’s regional semifinals. The seventh-seeded Tigers concluded their season with a 21-10 mark.

Diethorn had a double-double for Assumption, grabbing 13 rebounds to go with his 22 points, while Bluford tallied 21 points and junior Patrick Shea (Salem) matched Diethorn with 13 rebounds. Senior Greg Twomey (Groton) also reached double figures with 11 points in the Greyhounds’ winning effort.

Senior Michael Sturns (Fort Worth, Texas) tallied a double-double in defeat for Holy Family, scoring a game-high 28 points and pulling down 11 rebounds to match junior Tom McKeown (Philadelphia) for the team lead in rebounding. Senior Ryan Lancaster (Egg Harbor Township, N.J.) poured in 22 points for the Tigers.

After the game was tied at 62-62 following regulation, Assumption closed the game on a 10-2 run to advance in the tournament. A pair of free throws by Twomey and a three-pointer from Shea gave the Greyhounds a five-point lead with three minutes to go. Bluford added a layup and another free throw from Twomey made it eight unanswered points before junior Quincy Marshall (Philadelphia) knocked down a jumper for Holy Family to cut the lead to six with 42 seconds to go. The Tigers were held scoreless the rest of the way, though, with another layup from Bluford providing the final eight-point cushion.

Holy Family opened the game strong, pulling out to an 18-point lead with 6:32 to go in the first half after Lancaster hit a jumper to cap a string of eight unanswered points. Assumption closed the half on a 17-4 run, but the Tigers never trailed before halftime and took a 36-31 lead into the locker room.

Diethorn threw down a dunk to open the second half and after Holy Family pushed the lead back to seven, the Greyhounds went on a 14-0 run, tying the game with a three-pointer from Shea and taking their first lead of the day on a trey from freshman Mike Baldarelli (Sutton) with 13:32 to go. With Assumption out to a seven-point lead with 11:37 to go, the Tigers went on a 10-2 spurt to reclaim a one-point edge with 6:02 on the clock when senior David Kellstrom (LaPlata, Md.) hit one of two free throws.

The Greyhounds came back to grab a modest lead down the stretch and were up by five with 37 seconds to go before Sturns hit a pair of free throws with 25 seconds left. Twomey missed a free throw at the other end and Sturns grabbed the defensive rebound and ran the length of the floor, hitting a three with two seconds left to send the game to overtime.

Assumption only shot 37.8 percent from the field and were just 1-for-7 from beyond the arc compared to Holy Family’s 43.2 percent clip and 4-for-9 three-point shooting, but the Greyhounds held a 57-48 advantage on the boards.

at Waltham, Mass. (Dana Center)

ASSUMPTION 74, HOLY FAMILY 66

HOLY FAMILY (21-10)--Michael Sturns 10-29 4-5 28; Ryan Lancaster 9-21 2-2 22; Tom McKeown 3-4 0-0 6; David Kellstrom 1-2 2-4 4; London Houston 1-7 0-0 2; Quincy Marshall 1-4 0-0 2; Ceazer Johnson 1-8 0-2 2; Jason Brogsdale 0-0 0-0 0; Brian McDonnell 0-0 0-0 0; Mike Mackley 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 26-75 8-13 66.

ASSUMPTION (23-10)--Corey Diethorn 8-18 6-10 22; Courtland Bluford 10-16 1-1 21; Greg Twomey 4-6 3-5 11; Pat Shea 3-11 0-2 8; Mike Foti 2-12 0-1 5; Dominique Price 2-5 0-1 4; Mike Baldarelli 1-6 0-0 3; Alex Popp 0-1 0-0 0.  Totals 30-75 10-20 74.

Halftime: HF 36-31; Regulation: 62-62; 3-point goals--HF 6-19 (Sturns 4-10; Lancaster 2-5; Marshall 0-2; Johnson 0-2), A 4-18 (Shea 2-3; Foti 1-6; Baldarelli 1-3; Price 0-1; Bluford 0-3; Diethorn 0-2). Fouled out--None. Rebounds--HF 48 (Sturns, McKeown 11), A 57 (Shea 13, Diethorn 13). Assists--HF 9 (Michael Sturns 5), A 16 (Courtland Bluford 5). Total fouls--HF 18, A 15. Technical fouls-- None.