Release at will
February 28, 2004
PROVIDENCE, R.I. --The Johnson & Wales University men's basketball team earned the school’s first ever NCAA Championship bid with a 68-58 victory against Southern Vermont in the finals of the Great Northeast Athletic Conference Championship at the Harborside RAC on Saturday afternoon. Senior Rohan Russell (Providence, R.I.) was named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player after averaging 41.5 points per game, including 34 in the championship, to lead the Wildcats to the tournament crown.
Johnson & Wales junior Sam Tamargo (Los Angeles, Calif.) was also in double-figures with 10 points, three rebounds and four assists while junior Wascar Viscaino (Providence, R.I.) and senior Chris Anderson (Wentzville, Mo.) each had seven boards in the win for the Wildcats. Southern Vermont freshman Nick Harrington (Brooklyn, N.Y.) recorded a double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds while freshman Chris Matte (Hudson Falls, N.Y.) and senior Sean Ezell (Gary, Ind.) each had 13 points in the setback for the Mountaineers.
After trading baskets in the early going with the score tied at 5-5 JWU used a 7-1 run, capped by a three-pointer from Russell, to take a 12-6 lead with 11:52 left in the first half. Southern Vermont responded, however and tied the score again on a jumper from Harrington, knotting the game at 16-16 with 5:59 left in the first half. The host Wildcats then used a 10-1 run with all 10 points coming from Russell to take their largest lead of the first half, 26-17 with 3:30 left in the stanza. The visiting Mountaineers cut the lead to just two points before JWU took the 29-24 lead into the locker room at halftime.
Southern Vermont came out strong in the second half and used a 13-1 run to open the half, taking a 37-30 lead on a layup from Ezell with 15:59 left in the game. The two teams continued to trade leads for the next 10 minutes with the game tied at 51-51 with 5:19 left on the clock. Johnson & Wales then used a 13-3 run, capped by a pair of free throws from Viscaino to take a 64-54 lead with under a minute left on the clock. Tamargo hit four free throws in the final minute to secure the 68-58 win and the school’s first GNAC tournament championship.
Joining Russell on the GNAC All-Tournament team was Sam Tamargo (Johnson & Wales), Wascar Viscaino (Johnson & Wales), Sean Key (Southern Vermont), Sean Ezell (Southern Vermont), Geoff Hensley (Norwich) and Sean Hennigan (Emerson).
Johnson & Wales improves to 21-7 while Southern Vermont falls to 18-10 for the season. The Wildcats will learn their seed and destination for the NCAA Championship on Sunday, February 29th at 10:30 p.m. You can follow the selection show by logging on to www.ncaasports.com, clicking on “Basketball” on the left side of the page which will take you to an option to access the show.