SYRACUSE, N.Y. – In what seemed like deja-vu, the Bloomfield College men's basketball team returned for a consecutive year to Ted Grant Court on the campus of Le Moyne College for the opening round of the NCAA Division II championships but this year had different results as they downed Saint Thomas Aquinas College (STAC), 91-78 Saturday afternoon.


The Bears now move on in the single-elimination tournament to the semifinal round on Sunday at 5:00 pm. They will square off with Merrimack College who won their opening round battle over Bridgeport University, 85-70 played at 12:00 pm Saturday.
 
Bloomfield extends their season as Head Coach Gerald Holmes recorded his 300^th career coaching victory, all at the helm of the Bears who made their 8^th NCAA Tournament appearance under their coach's guidance.
 
Junior guard, Keith Washington (Philadelphia, PA) went for 23 points on 8-of-14 shooting, including 5-of-7 from long range and dished out 5 assists. Bloomfield saw their senior co-captain, Nick Davidson (Lumberton, NJ) emerge with 17 points on an efficient 7-for-14 afternoon from the floor while classmate, Ignacio Diez (Madrid, Spain) provided a spark off the bench with 17 points of his own, a team-high 9 boards and 7 helpers. Coach Holmes enjoyed his 300^th win on a day where every player he put into the game, yielded dividends on the scoring sheet with eight out-of nine Bears shooting over 50.0 percent for the contest.


The #7 seeded Bears pulled off the second upset of the tournament after the Warriors (#6 seed) defeated the #3 seeded Purple Knights to open the men's basketball championship games at Le Moyne College.
 
"Last year I failed to get them ready," Coach Holmes mentioned. "This year we were locked in as a group and we were prepared for the task at hand. We still have work to do and although reaching a coaching milestone is nice, as a team we are focused on achieving a higher goal."
 
Tournament action for Bloomfield now continues:
 
2018 NCAA Division II Men's Basketball East Regional
1. Le Moyne College (24-6) [NE10 automatic berth]
2. St. Thomas Aquinas (26-6) [ECC automatic berth]
3. University of Bridgeport (25-5)
4. Saint Anselm College (22-8)
5. The College of Saint Rose (20-9)
6. Merrimack College (19-11)
7. Bloomfield College (22-7)
8. Jefferson (21-13) [CACC automatic berth]
 
Regional Schedule (all played at Henninger Athletic Center's Ted Grant Court, Syracuse, N.Y.)
March 10 – First Round games
12 p.m.            Game No. 1. – Merrimack vs. Bridgeport (Warriors advance)
2:30 p.m.         Game No. 2 – Bloomfield vs. St. Thomas Aquinas (Bears advance)
5 p.m.              Game No. 3 – Jefferson vs. Le Moyne
7:30 p.m.         Game No. 4 – Saint Rose vs. Saint Anselm
 
March 11 – Regional Semifinals
5 p.m.              Game No. 5. (Merrimack vs. Bloomfield)
7:30 p.m.         Game No. 6. (Winner Game No. 3 vs. Winner Game No. 4)
 
March 13 – Regional Championship Game
7 p.m.              Game No. 7. (Winner Game No. 5 vs. Winner Game No. 6)
 
National Schedule (all played at Sanford Pentagon, Sioux Falls, S.D.)
March 21 – National Quarterfinals
March 22 – National Semifinals
March 24 – National Championship Game
 
Live Stats available HERE and Live Video available HERE
 
Order your commemorative 'Home with Holmes – 300 Career Wins' T-Shirt now.
 
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