Washington, D.C. (Mar. 6, 2010) - Junior guard Seth Cornell (Millersville, Pa./Penn Manor) hit 5-of-7 3s and scored a career-high 26 points to lead fifth-seeded Alvernia University (17-10) to an 81-75 win over #1 Catholic University (18-8) Saturday afternoon in semifinal action of the Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference (ECAC) South Region Championships at the DuFour Center.
"Great win," said Alvernia University head coach Mike Miller. "Big win for the program -- two big wins on the road. Now we've come this far we gotta win a championship tomorrow."
The Crusaders face #3 seed PSU-Behrend in Sunday's final. It will be the second ECAC finals appearance for Alvernia which won the title in 1995. Behrend took home the title in 1999, and advanced to Sunday's showdown with a 67-65 win over #2 Bethany in the nightcap Saturday at Catholic.
Stefan Thompson's (Philadelphia, Pa./G.A.M.P.) opening 3 on Saturday was a sign of things to come for the Crusaders who shot a blistering 53 percent from the floor including 9-of-18 from behind the 3-point arc.
Catholic took its largest lead of the first half, 27-21, but Cornell hit a pair of 3s during an 8-2 spurt that forged a tie at 29-all. He tied the score later in the first half at 36-36 with another 3 and Alvernia held Catholic off the scoreboard for the final 4:39 of the half while it built a lead to four points, 40-36 at the break.
Catholic took the lead back early in the second half and held a 47-46 lead before Nick Rivera (Reading, Pa./Holy Name) and Ryan Ludwig (Sunbury, Pa./Shikellamy) scored four each in an 8-0 run that put Alvernia up seven, 54-47 with 14:04 to play.
Catholic trimmed that gap to four points over the next minute, but Cornell knocked down another 3 off an offensive rebound.
Cornell hit another 3 after Catholic had cut the Alvernia lead to six, then stole the inbounds pass and laid it in for a lightning quick 5-0 run that put the Crusaders up 11 points, 65-54 with 10:54 to play.
"He was unbelievable tonight," said Miller of Cornell. "The 3 then the steal -- that was a turning point for us."
Catholic pulled back within four points with 6:27 to play, but this time it was the other 40-minute guard, Tad Gillis (Upper Darby, Pa./Upper Darby) who hit a free throw, then a 3 to push the lead back to eight. This time the Cardinals got within five points on four different occasions over the last three minutes, but got no closer.
"The program is where we want it right now," Miller said, a year removed from a disappointing 10-15 finish. "We only lose [Rivera] this year and each game this group can play together the better for us. We'd like to send Nick out with a championship tomorrow."