Belmont Abbey, Emmanuel Advance to 2023 Atlantic Casualty Conference Carolinas Men’s Basketball Championship Final

3/4/2023 11:11:02 PM

SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Belmont Abbey, the four seed, and second-seeded Emmanuel will play in the 2023 Atlantic Casualty Conference Carolinas Men’s Basketball Championship final on Sunday, March 5 at 4 p.m. with the league’s automatic bid to the NCAA tournament on the line.

In the first matchup, Belmont Abbey upset the top-seeded and No. 7 nationally ranked UNC Pembroke Braves 77-67 to earn a sixth consecutive trip to the championship final. They are 3-2 in the previous five. The Crusaders improved to 8-1 inside Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium thanks to a stellar defensive performance in the second half. The Braves took control of the contest midway through the first half and led by as many as eight points, but Belmont Abbey closed the half on an 11-4 run to make it 42-40 at the break in the Braves’ favor. In the second half, the Crusaders held the Braves to 25 points and used a 10-2 run late in the second half to pull away en route to the upset victory. Mason Taylor led all scorers with 26 points for the Crusaders while Wade Jackson added 18, Mario Lacy, Jr. and KJ Garrett added 11 points and Lacy, Jr. grabbed a team-best seven rebounds. KJ Walker led three double-figure scorers coming off the bench for UNC Pembroke with 14 points. Bradlee Haskell added 11 and JaJuan Carr netted 10 in the loss.

The second semifinal was all Emmanuel as the second-seeded Lions trailed only once, 3-2, and held a double figure margin throughout the second half in an 86-69 victory over third-seeded Barton. In the first half, Marcus Boykin scored the first five points for Barton and tied the game at five before Jeremiah Francis drained a three and spared a 7-0 run for the Lions and they never looked back. The Bulldogs cut the lead to one point three different times, but Emmanuel closed the opening half on a 16-8 run to lead 45-35 at the break. Barton did not get any closer in the second half as the Lions punched their ticket to the championship game. KJ Jones II scored a game-high 26 points to lead the Lions while Francis added 15 points and Tavarus Webb scored 14 and tallied three blocks. Boykin finished with a team-high 20 points for the Bulldogs.

Belmont Abbey and Emmanuel will meet in the finals, the third such meeting since 2019, of the 2023 Atlantic Casualty Conference Carolinas Women’s Basketball Championship on Sunday, March 5 at 1 p.m. at Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium on the campus of Wofford in Spartanburg, South Carolina.

Fans can watch every game of the tournament live via the Conference Carolinas Digital Network and BlueFrame at conferencecarolinasdn.com. Information regarding the championship schedule, bracket and Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium are available here.

2023 Atlantic Casualty Conference Carolinas Men’s Basketball Championship
First Round – Sunday, February 26
#7 Francis Marion def. #10 King, 100-80, at Converse (Box Score)
#8 Mount Olive def. #9 Lees-McRae, 95-87, at Chowan (Box Score)

Second Round – Monday, February 27
#6 Converse def. #7 Francis Marion, 81-78 (Box Score)
#8 Mount Olive def. #5 Chowan, 97-90 (Box Score)

Quarterfinals – Friday, March 3 (Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium - Spartanburg, S.C.)
#4 Belmont Abbey def. #8 Mount Olive, 89-79 (Box Score)
#3 Barton def. #6 Converse, 80-79 (Box Score)

Semifinals – Saturday, March 4 (Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium - Spartanburg, S.C.)
#4 Belmont Abbey def. #1 UNC Pembroke, 77-67 (Box Score)
#2 Emmanuel def. #3 Barton, 86-69 (Box Score)

Final – Sunday, March 5 (Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium - Spartanburg, S.C.)
#2 Emmanuel vs. #4 Belmont Abbey, 4 p.m.