CALDWELL, N.J. – The Thomas Jefferson University men's basketball team (21-6) suffered a heartbreaking 87-84 overtime loss to Dominican (N.Y.) in the semifinals of the CACC Tournament on Saturday, bringing an end to Coach Herb Magee's 55-year Hall of Fame tenure at the helm of the Rams.
 
GAMEPLAY
The teams were even at four when the Chargers tallied six straight to go ahead 10-4. However, Jefferson answered with a 15-2 run to take a 19-12 lead with 11:09 on the clock. Ahmed Barba-Bey led the way with eight points. The Rams remained in front for the next 10 minutes until a 6-0 Dominican surge gave the Chargers a one-point advantage (42-41) with 43 seconds to go. Deondre Bourne then made a layup for Jefferson to give his team a 43-42 edge at halftime.
 
After a Rams free throw to begin the second half, the Chargers hit a three-pointer for a 45-44 lead. Jefferson came back with the next six to go in front by five (50-45). Dominican was within three (54-51) with 10:43 to play when the Rams posted five in a row to up the margin to eight (59-51). Jefferson held a seven-point advantage (70-63) with 4:18 remaining. The Chargers recorded four straight to cut the deficit to three (70-67). After a pair of foul shots, the Rams' lead was five (72-67) with 3:05 left.
 
Both teams came up empty on their next three possessions before Dominican finally scored a layup to get within three (72-69) at 1:09. Jefferson was off the mark on a jumper then the Chargers sank a pair of free throws to make it a one-point game (72-71) with 37 seconds to go. The Rams then went to the line and converted one shot to make it 73-71 at 0:31. Dominican then came down the court and missed a three-pointer but grabbed the rebound. A driving layup was off the mark but the Chargers got the put-back to go just before the buzzer and forced overtime.
 
Darius Kinnel got Jefferson going with a three-pointer in the extra session. After both teams went 2-for-2 at the stripe, Bourne made a layup to give the Rams an 80-75 lead with 3:05 left. Jefferson was still ahead by five (82-77) when Dominican put in back-to-back layups to close the gap to one (82-81) with 1:50 remaining. Each team converted two foul shots before the Chargers stole the ball and laid it in for an 85-84 edge with 28 seconds to play. The Rams missed a three-pointer and Dominican added a pair of free throws for a three-point advantage (87-84) with five seconds to go. Jefferson's final shot from beyond the arc was off the mark.
 
INSIDE THE BOXSCORE
- Deondre Bourne: 25 points, 4 assists, 2 rebounds, 2 steals
- Bismark Nsiah: 20 points on 6-of-11 shooting, 8 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 block, 1 steal
- Ahmed Barba-Bey: 16 points, 4 rebounds, 1 block
- Antonin Kemkeng: 12 points on 6-of-9 shooting, 11 rebounds, 3 assists
 
JEFFERSON AS A TEAM
FG: 29-of-67 (43.3%)
3PT: 7-of-22 (31.8%)
FT: 19-of-24 (79.2%)
 
NOTES
- Darius Kinnel was named the winner of the CACC Top XVI Award at Friday night's championship banquet. The award is presented to the student-athlete with the highest cumulative GPA participating at the finals site for each of the CACC championships.
- Bismark Nsiah was selected to the CACC All-Tournament Team for his outstanding play during the conference tournament.
- The Rams posted a .700-plus winning percentage for the third season in a row. Jefferson finished the year 21-6 for a .778 percentage.
- It is the third straight season that the Rams have been eliminated by Dominican in the CACC Tournament. The two squads have met in each of the last five conference tournaments that Jefferson has competed in.
 
FAREWELL TO A LEGEND
Coach Herb Magee finishes his Hall of Fame career with a 1,144-450 record for a .718 winning percentage. He leaves the game as the all-time wins leader in NCAA Division II and second across all divisions. Magee led his teams to 31 NCAA Tournament appearances, including three regional championships and one national title, and 13 conference championships. He posted a winning record in an outstanding 50 of his 54 seasons at the helm, including the last 24 of his tenure. The Rams reached the 20-win plateau 38 times with a school-record 30 victories in 1992-93. Magee was enshrined in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2011.