Bears capture Eastern Atlantic Conference Championship!

After finishing the regular season 5-1 in conference play, the Bears entered this weekend’s tournament as the #1 seed. However, that one loss was at Williamson Free Trade School, the site of the EAC Tournament, and if the Bears were to win their first-ever conference championship, they would have to go through the host Mechanics. Saturday’s semi-final match up pitted the Bears against Christendom College who they defeated by 14 points in Virginia, and 8 points at Bishop Loughlin. This game would not be close however, as the Bears implored a stingy 2-3 zone, and limited the Crusaders to just 47 points, winning 80-47 to advance to Sunday’s final. In the contest, the Bears were led by the all-around play of Lukasz Cygan who scored 18 points while also grabbing 11 rebounds. Not to be outdone on the boards, Chris Olaskiewicz grabbed 11 rebounds as well, while also pouring in 12 points. With 11 Bears hitting the scoring column, Mike Dziewit would be the only other player to register double-digits with 11 points.

In Saturday’s second semi-final, Williamson Trade blew open a 5-point half time lead to defeat Briarcliffe College of Long Island 70-50, setting the stage for Sunday’s final. After a back and forth first half, the Bears went on a late run to take a 31-26 lead to the break. In the second half, the Bears opened up a 12-point lead at 48-36, but Williamson fought back to within 52-46. After two scores put the Bears back up at 56-46 with under 3 minutes to play, it looked as if the Bears were on their way to a championship. However, three consecutive 3-point field goals by the Mechanics closed the gap to 56-55 with 24 seconds to play. On the ensuing possession, the Mechanics fouled Ervin Maddox, and the Bears sophomore calmly sank two free throws for a 58-55 lead. After a defensive stop, the Bears misfired on the front-end of a one-and-one giving the Mechanics one last opportunity to tie the game, but Joey Soto’s leaner would sail long with Chris Olaskiewicz securing the rebound as the final buzzer sounded. With the win, the Bears captured their first-ever conference championship. Lukasz Cygan led the way with 18 points and 13 rebounds, while low-post partner, Olaskiewicz added 7 points and a game-high 14 rebounds. Ervin Maddox added 13 points and 3 assists, with Mike Donnelly adding 11 points and 5 assists. Cygan was named tournament MVP scoring 36 points and grabbing 24 rebounds in the two contests, while Donnelly and Olaskiewicz were named to the All-Tournament team.