Sophomore swingman Marcus Lemon (Alexandria, Va./T.C. Williams) knocked down two clutch three-pointers in the second overtime session, as Philadelphia University defeated Holy Family University 73-67 in a sensational Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) tournament championship game in front of a raucous standing-room only crowd at The Gallagher Center.

With the win, Philadelphia University has garnered the CACC's automatic bid into the 52nd Annual NCAA Division II Men's Basketball Championship.  The Rams will be a part of the tournament's Northeast Region, and the pairings for the entire 64-team field will be announced tomorrow night between approximately 10:30 and 11:30 p.m. EDT, live online via NCAA Productions.  Please click the NCAA Productions link and check the "features" section in the lower right area for details on tomorrow's live streaming webcast of the selection show.

The Rams' third hard-fought victory over the Tigers this season was truly worthy of being a championship encounter, as the contest featured no less than 17 lead changes and 10 ties; moreover, at no time in the game did either team lead by more than nine points.

That nine-point lead was quickly established by the visitors, as Holy Family grabbed early command of tonight's title game, connecting on four of their first five field-goal attempts while the Rams missed their first five shots, resulting in an 8-0 Tiger run to open the first half.  Then a layup from senior guard Ryan Lancaster (Egg Harbor Township, N.J./Egg Harbor Township) at the 16:27 mark put the Tigers up 10-1 for their largest lead of the night.

Head Coach Herb Magee's squad regrouped during the middle portion of the opening period, and with 6:51 remaining in the half, sophomore forward Malcolm Ingram (Philadelphia, Pa./Solebury Prep) scored on a fast-break layup to knot the game for the first time, at 22 apiece, and the tug-of-war was officially underway.   The Rams took their first lead of the night moments later when another Ingram layup put Philadelphia ahead 25-23 with 4:18 left in the first stanza.  The score was again tied at 27-27 with 2:16 to go before the break and then the Rams scored the final four points of the half, taking a 31-27 lead into the locker room.

The tooth-and-nail flow of the game continued and became even more prominent in the second half, when neither team would lead by more than four points at any time in the final 20 minutes of regulation.  Philadelphia held a 48-47 lead when the eighth tie of the game took place, with :58 seconds remaining.  Senior forward Jason Hickenbottom (Philadelphia, Pa./Simon Gratz) picked up his fourth personal foul, sending the CACC Player of the Year, senior swingman Michael Sturns (Fort Worth, Texas/North Texas) to the line.  Sturns knocked down the first free throw to tie the game and the back end of the one-and-one put the Tigers ahead 49-48.  Hickenbottom, who finished tonight's game with 14 points and nine rebounds, then fouled out of the game with :37 seconds left, and again Sturns hit both of his free throws, and Holy Family was suddenly ahead 51-48 and on the brink of winning both the CACC women's and men's crowns on the same day in the same city.

Coach Magee called timeout with :27 seconds left to set up a play for the Rams.  Sophomore point guard Russell Frederick (Joppa, Md./Calvert Hall) inbounded the ball to Lemon, who passed to junior guard Mike Dunn (Harrisburg, Pa/Central Dauphin) on the left wing.  Dunn squared to the basket but his normally silky-smooth shot was fired awkwardly.  However, the ball caromed perfectly off the backboard and into the net for an improbable bank-shot game-tying three-pointer with :22 ticks left on the clock.

The Tigers called a timeout of their own to set up a game-winning play.  With four seconds left in regulation, senior forward London Houston (Philadelphia, Pa./California [Pa.]) let go of a jumper that fell short and the teams were headed to overtime tied at 51; extra minutes were destined for this contest that was ever-so-close other than its very nascent stages.

Sturns opened the first overtime by canning a long-range jumper to put Holy Family up 54-51, but that was the largest lead for either team in the period.  Lancaster hit one of two foul shots with a minute left to put the vistors ahead 59-57, but Ingram calmly hit both of his free throws with, once again, :22 ticks left on the clock, and the Rams tied the game a tenth time.  As in regulation, the Tigers had a chance to end the game at the buzzer but Sturns missed a layup attempt with two seconds left, the ball was rebounded by Dunn, and the Rams wisely called a timeout with eight tenths of a second left.  Sophomore forward Mike Yocum (Dresher, Pa./Episcopal Academy) had a desperation chance of his own that fell short and a second overtime beckoned.

Junior guard Ceazer Johnson (Monroe, La./Southern) commenced scoring in the final session by hitting one of two from the charity stripe, after which the Rams finally got some control of the contest when Lemon drained his two huge three-point field goals to put the home team up five.  Frederick then connected on a jumper with 1:31 remaining to put Philadelphia ahead 67-60.  Seconds later, Sturns missed a three that was corralled by Frederick, and the Tigers allowed nearly :30 seconds to run off the clock before the Rams' point guard was fouled.  Moreover, Holy Family's Quincy Marshall (Philadelphia, Pa./Delaware State) already had four personals, so the senior playmaking guard fouled out of the game.  Frederick hit one of two to give the Rams an eight-point lead, their largest of the night, with under a minute to play in double overtime no less!

From there, it was just a matter of hitting their free throws for Coach Magee's squad, and Frederick and Ingram did just that as the Rams cut down the nets and raised the CACC Championship banner after their dramatic, come-from-behind double-overtime 73-67 win.

For the game, Sturns led all scorers with 29 points to go along with 10 rebounds and four steals (moreover, seven costly turnovers).  Also showing in double figures for Holy Family were Houston and Lancaster with 10 points each, while Johnson was just short of a double-double with nine points and nine boards.  For the Rams, in addition to Hickenbottom mentioned above, Ingram netted a team-high 19 points, while filling the rest of the stat sheet with 10 rebounds, a career-high six blocked shots and two assists.  Frederick finished with 13 points and four assists, Yocum collected 11 rebounds and nine points, with Lemon totaling 12 points and eight boards off the bench.

After the game, CACC Commissioner Dan Mara presented the Rams with their first-place medals and Philadelphia University will now proudly display the 2008 CACC Championship banner from the rafters of The Gallagher Center!

Russell Frederick was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player, and Marcus Lemon joined the point guard on the All-Tournament team. Several other Rams were honored after the game for their performance in the CACC Tournament and throughout the regular season, and all the details surrounding the accolades for the unblemished conference champions will be posted on http://www.philaurams.com/ when they are confirmed early next week.

Now it's on to the NCAA Tournament for Coach Magee and the Rams.  It's March Madness time at School House Lane and Henry Avenue in the City of Brotherly Love!