Senior forward Jason Hickenbottom (Philadelphia, Pa./Simon Gratz; pictured right) registered 23 points, nine assists, five rebounds and four steals, leading Philadelphia University to an 88-74 win over Bloomfield College in the semifinals of the 2008 Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) Tournament on Wednesday night at the Gallagher Center.  The Rams, who will meet city rival Holy Family University in the conference championship game on Saturday, March 8th at home, improve to 21-11 overall with their ninth consecutive win.

In addition to Hickenbottom, sophomore center Mike Yocum (Dresher, Pa./Episcopal Academy; pictured below) set a CACC tournament record by going a perfect 9-for-9 from the floor, finishing with a career-high 20 points while sophomore point guard Russell Frederick (Joppa, Md./Calvert Hall) added 18 points and six assists.  The Deacons, who fall to 16-16 overall with the loss, were led by junior forward Omari Knox (Brooklyn, N.Y./New Utrecht) with 30 points including six three-point field goals.

The Rams quickly established control of tonight's contest, opening up a 10-point lead just under six minutes into the game when sophomore forward Malcolm Ingram (Philadelphia, Pa./Solebury Prep) tipped in a ball that was knocked away from Yocum, who had just rebounded an Ingram miss.  The scrambling basket made the score 16-6 in favor of Philadelphia University.

The Rams' advantage extended to 14 midway through the opening period when junior guard Mike Dunn (Harrisburg, Pa./Central Dauphin) knocked down his only field-goal of the night, a three-pointer that put the home team ahead 28-14.  Philadelphia University went on to maintain their double-figure edge throughout the rest of the first stanza as the score was 48-35 at the half.  The 48 points collected by the Rams represented the most they have scored in the first half of any game in the 2007-'08 season.

Philadelphia commenced the second half on an 11-3 run, stretching out to their largest lead of the night after a Yocum jumper with 14:35 left in the game made the score 59-38.  However, both Ingram and Yocum woud pick up their fourth personal fouls minutes later, and Head Coach Herb Magee was forced to call on his bench specialists, sophomore swingman Marcus Lemon (Alexandria, Va./T.C. Williams) and senior center and team captain Mo Martin (Baltimore, Md./Calvert Hall).  Martin answered the call and guarded the paint for the home team, while Lemon again flourished as the sixth man for the Rams, scoring 11 points and pulling down five boards in just 17 minutes of action.

Knox knocked down big shots for the Deacons throughout the second half, but they were unable to get closer than 13 points, as the Rams continued to shoot well above their season average from the field, from three-point land and from the foul line, en route to the 14-point victory.

For the game, Philadelphia University posted a .617 overall field-goal percentage on 29-47 shooting including .615 (8-13) from beyond-the-arc.  From the charity stripe, the Rams were a splendid 22-27 (.815).

Looking ahead to the CACC final against Holy Family, the Rams face the always-difficult chore of defeating a team three times in the same season.  Philadelphia University cleared that same hurdle with last Saturday's quarterfinal win over University of the Sciences, but the Devils were the fourth seed out of the CACC South Division.  The Tigers are the second-seeded team and are ranked just below the Rams in the NCAA Division II Northeast Region (Philadelphia is sixth while Holy Family is seventh).

Holy Family clipped Caldwell College 55-53 tonight in the other CACC Semifinal, at Caldwell.  Earlier this season, Philadelphia University took a 52-47 decision at Holy Family on December 3, 2007 and then the Rams downed the Tigers 64-59 on February 9, 2008 in a nationally-televised rematch at the Gallagher Center.

The winner of Saturday night's league championship game will earn the CACC's automatic berth in the 52nd Annual NCAA Division II Men's Basketball Tournament, set to begin on Saturday, March 15, 2008.