PHILADELPHIA – The Thomas Jefferson University men's basketball team (17-11) held off a Post rally in the second half and topped the Eagles (15-12), 86-73, in the CACC quarterfinals on Tuesday night.
The Rams, the South Division's top seed, advance to take on Bloomfield, the second seed from the North Division, in the semifinals on Saturday, March 4
th at 7 p.m. The remainder of the conference tournament will be played at the Gallagher Center.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The teams were even at five in the first half when Jefferson went on a 12-4 run to lead by eight (17-9) with 14:11 on the clock. The difference was seven (19-12) at the 11:37 mark when the Rams caught fire again, scoring 13 of the next 17 to double up Post, 32-16, with 8:01 left. The Eagles got the deficit down to eight (41-33) with 2:19 remaining but Jefferson closed the period with an 8-4 stretch to lead by 12 (49-37) at the break. The Rams shot an impressive 70.8% (17-of-24) during the period, missing just one shot inside the arc.
Jefferson began the second half with a 13-5 run to open a 20-point advantage (62-42) with 14:21 to go. However, Post did not go away, rallying with a 16-2 surge to get within six (64-58) with 9:28 on the clock. The Rams followed with five points to up the difference to 11.
The Eagles got the deficit back to six (74-68) with 2:41 to play and looked to have the momentum but
Erik Timko drained a three with 1:55 left, starting an 8-0 run that put the game away in favor of Jefferson.
INSIDE THE BOXSCORE
Ahmed Barba-Bey: 24 points on 7-of-10 shooting (3-4 3PT), 5 rebounds, 3 steals, 2 assists
Bismark Nsiah: 17 points on 4-of-8 shooting, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals, 1 block
Erik Timko: 12 points, 5 assists, 3 rebounds
Antonin Kemkeng: 11 points on 4-of-5 shooting, 4 rebounds, 1 assist
Hakim Byrd: 8 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists
JEFFERSON AS A TEAM
FG: 28-of-48 (58.3%)
3PT: 9-of-21 (42.9%)
FT: 21-of-26 (80.8%)
NOTES
-
Ahmed Barba-Bey's 24 points is a career high.
- The Rams shot over 50 percent for the fourth consecutive game.
- Jefferson advanced to the CACC semifinals for the 11
th straight season.