CALDWELL, N.J. – Holding a 53-52 lead with 6:26 to go, the Thomas Jefferson University men's basketball team (22-8) went on a 17-6 run at the end of the game to propel the Rams to their second straight CACC Championship game with a 70-58 win over Post University (20-9) in afternoon action at the Newman Center.
 
WHAT HAPPENED
The first few possessions between both teams began with turnovers, both defenses looking to get their teams to the Championship Finals. Antonin Kemkeng scored the first basket of the game, but the Eagles were in control of the first eight minutes of the game. Post went on a 14-3 run after Kemkeng's score, forcing the Rams to go 2-of-8 on the floor early on. Justin Hawkins made a three-pointer and Bismark Nsiah hit a layup to have Jefferson trail by four points. The Eagles got a pair of layups and one made free throw to put them up 19-10 over Jefferson with 7:55 before the break.
 
Post kept their foot on the gas, scoring from in the paint and beyond the arc as they went ahead 24-14 by way of Deng Dean three. Hawkins responded with his own shot from three. Ashton Miller followed his teammate by making it from beyond the arc, making it 28-23. After media timeout, Miller got two straight rebounds, passing it to Nsiah who hit his shot and got the and-one play to have the Rams trail 28-26 with 1:52 before the half. Erik Timko gave Jefferson the first lead in nearly 16 minutes as he made a three, getting a one-point lead for the Rams. Post got back on top with a shot for three by Robert Sanders, but a shooting foul led Timko to the free throw line, hitting both attempts to even it out at 31-31 before the break.
 
The Rams shot 10-of-24 on the field, shooting 41.7 field goal percentage in the first half. Jefferson was 5-of-8 from three (62.5%), and 6-7 on the charity stripe. Post made 14-of-29 field goals, having a 48.3% on the floor. They went 2-for-5 (40.0%) from beyond the arc and 1-2 on the free throw line.
 
The Eagles got the first basket in the second half. Jefferson went to respond with Barba-Bey and Byrd making back-to-back three's for the Rams', starting a 14-2 run for the Rams as they went up 45-35. Post started to get their shots down, making a 8-2 run of their own as they cut the Rams' lead to four points. Post got a basket by Kyle Alcy and a fast break layup from  Bol Akot to make it a one point game with 9:07 to go. Kemkeng converted another and-one while Quest Harris' three kept the game within reach for both the Eagles and Rams.
 
Nsiah hit a dunk while another Timko three made it 58-52 with 5:26 in the semifinals. Neither team refused to go away, with the Eagles getting the game back within four points with less than four minutes to go. Timko drove down the baseline and made a layup with contact, drawing the foul to earn an and-one play that made it 63-57. A rebound that saw a fastbreak rebound and score by Nsiah put the Rams up by nine 1:20 to go. The Rams went onto earn rebounds, get to the line, and put the game away as they advanced to their second straight CACC Championship game.
 
INSIDE THE BOXSCORE
Erik Timko: 19 points on 4-of-10 shooting (2-2 3PT), 9-9 FT, 7 rebounds
Bismark Nsiah: 15 points on 7-of-10 shooting, 7 rebounds, blocks
Antonin Kemkeng: 10 points on 3-of-7 shooting, 4-6 FT, 6 rebounds, 2 blocks
Ashton Miller: 10 points on 3-of-7 shooting (2-3 3PT), 9 rebounds
 
UP NEXT
Jefferson advances to the CACC final for the 10^th time in program history, the second straight year the Rams will make an appearance in the title game. Jefferson is 5-4 all time in the conference finals. They will play at 12 p.m. on Sunday, March 10 between the winner of Dominican University of New York and Bloomfield College in the other CACC Championship Semifinal matchup.