# 2024 Northeast Conference men's basketball tournament

The 2024 Northeast Conference Men's Basketball Tournament was the postseason men's basketball tournament for the Northeast Conference for the 2023–24 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The tournament took place on three dates between March 6 and 12, 2024, and all tournament games were played in the home arenas of the higher-seeded school. The winner, Wagner, received the conference's automatic bid to the 2024 NCAA tournament.
Merrimack was the defending champion. Due to Merrimack's ineligibility as a team transitioning from Division II, Fairleigh Dickinson represented the conference in the 2023 NCAA tournament and advanced to the second round.

## Seeds

The top eight teams in the conference regular-season standings qualified. Effective for the 2023–24 academic year, NEC teams transitioning from Division II are eligible for the NEC tournament during the entirety of their transition periods. If a reclassifying institution wins the NEC tournament championship, the tournament runner-up will be awarded the NEC's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. If two reclassifying teams reach the final of the NEC tournament, the conference will stage an automatic qualifier game between the two non-advancing semifinalists. Previously, transitioning NEC teams were eligible for the conference tournament only during their third and fourth transition years. The rule change results in Stonehill and Le Moyne being eligible for the 2024 NEC tournament, since Stonehill is in its second transition year, and Le Moyne is in its first.
Teams were seeded by record within the conference, with a tiebreaker system to seed teams with identical conference records.
| Seed | School | Conf. | Tiebreaker |
| 1 | Central Connecticut | 13–3 | 2–0 vs. Sacred Heart |
| 2 | Merrimack | 13–3 | 1–1 vs. Sacred Heart |
| 3 | Sacred Heart | 10–6 | |
| 4 | Le Moyne | 9–7 | 2–2 vs. Central Connecticut/Merrimack |
| 5 | Fairleigh Dickinson | 9–7 | 0–4 vs. Central Connecticut/Merrimack |
| 6 | Wagner | 7–9 | |
| 7 | LIU | 6–10 | |
| 8 | Saint Francis | 3–13 | |
| DNQ | Stonehill | 2–14 | |

## Schedule

| Game | Time* | Matchup | Score | Television | Attendance |
| Quarterfinals – Wednesday, March 6 ||||||
| 1 | 7:00 pm | No. 8 Saint Francis at No. 1 Central Connecticut | 62–71 | NEC Front Row | 2,412 |
| 2 | 7:00 pm | No. 7 LIU at No. 2 Merrimack | 66–72 | NEC Front Row | 1,076 |
| 3 | 7:00 pm | No. 6 Wagner at No. 3 Sacred Heart | 60–57 | NEC Front Row | 361 |
| 4 | 7:00 pm | No. 5 Fairleigh Dickinson at No. 4 Le Moyne | 61–82 | NEC Front Row | 861 |
| Semifinals – Saturday, March 9 ||||||
| 5 | 12:00 pm | No. 4 Le Moyne at No. 2 Merrimack | 51–61 | YES, ESPN+ | 1,565 |
| 6 | 2:00 pm | No. 6 Wagner at No. 1 Central Connecticut | 66–56 | YES, ESPN+ | 2,469 |
| Championship – Tuesday, March 12 ||||||
| 7 | 7:00 pm | No. 6 Wagner at No. 2 Merrimack | 54–47 | ESPN2 | 2,827 |
| *Game times in ET. Rankings denote tournament seed ||||||

## Tournament notes
### Quarterfinals

Top-seeded Central Connecticut found themselves trailing Saint Francis by as many as eight points at 57–49, before going on an 8–0 run to tie the score at 57. Moments later, a three-pointer by Jordan Jones, who finished with 18 points, gave the Blue Devils a 60–59 lead. After several lead changes, a jump shot by Jones gave Central Connecticut the lead for good with 3:29 to play. Allan Jeanne-Rose had a career-high 28 points and added five rebounds for the Blue Devils. Eli Wilborn scored 19 points and had six rebounds for the Red Flash.
Merrimack survived a difficult test from LIU in the NEC quarterfinals, securing a 72–66 victory to advance. The game remained close throughout, until the Warriors went on a 9–0 run to take a 10-point lead with less than four minutes to play and seemingly put the game away. However, the Sharks battled back and got within a point of the lead in the final minute. Merrimack iced the game at the free-throw line and by clamping down on defense in the closing minute. For the game, the Warriors forced 18 turnovers, leading to 27 points. Jordan Derkack had his third double-double of the season for Merrimack with 23 points, 10 rebounds, five assists and three steals. Adam "Budd" Clark added 18 points for the Warriors. Tai Strickland and Andre Washington each had 18 points and two steals for LIU.
Tahron Allen's go-ahead layup with 46 seconds remaining fueled Wagner to a 60–57 upset victory at Sacred Heart. The game was close throughout, and neither team led by more than three points during the final 11:13. After a pair of free throws by Melvin Council Jr. gave the Seahawks a three-point lead in the closing seconds, and the Pioneers' three-point attempt at the buzzer was off the mark. Wagner held the lead for 35:03. Allen led Wagner with 22 points and added six rebounds. Alex Sobel had 15 points, 11 rebounds and two blocked shots for Sacred Heart. The Seahawks were the first road team to win an NEC quarterfinal game since 2019.
Powered by Luke Sutherland's 22 points, Le Moyne cruised to an 82–61 wire-to-wire victory over Fairleigh Dickinson. The Dolphins opened the game with three three-pointers to take a 9–0 lead just 1:45 into the contest. The Knights settled down, and Le Moyne was up, 42–34, at intermission. Leading 46–40 in the second half, the Dolphins went on an 11–0 run over 2:09 to take a 57–40 lead with 15:42 remaining. Fairleigh Dickinson got no closer than 12 points behind the rest of the way. Darrick Jones Jr. scored 17 points for Le Moyne. Sean Moore scored 16 points and added eight rebounds and two steals for the Knights.

### Semifinals

After Le Moyne jumped out to an early 13–4 lead, Merrimack's defense got the Warriors back into the game, and a 19–3 run in the later part of the first half helped them build a 28–20 lead at intermission. The Dolphins cut the deficit to three with 14:47 to play on a put-back by Kaiyem Cleary. The teams traded three-pointers over the next three minutes, until Samba Diallo's layups on consecutive possessions extended Merrimack's lead to seven points. The Dolphins responded with a 6–2 run to get within three points at 40–37 with 8:14 to play. An 8–2 Warriors run gave them a nine-point lead with 6:45 on the clock, but Le Moyne responded with a pair of three-pointers by Luke Sutherland to pull within three again with 5:42 to play. After each team had two empty possessions over the next two minutes, Bryan Etumnu was fouled on a layup and completed the three-point play, sparking a 9–2 Merrimack run that put the game away. The Warriors' 61–51 victory put them in the NEC tournament final for the second straight year. Adam "Budd" Clark scored 24 points to lead Merrimack. Sutherland had 23 points and eight rebounds for Le Moyne.
Julian Brown scored 20 points to lead Wagner past top-seeded Central Connecticut, 66–56. After the Seahawks took a 28–23 halftime lead, the Blue Devils battled back and tied the game at 39 with 9:06 remaining, but Central Connecticut was never able to pull in front. After the Blue Devils got within 48–45, Melvin Council Jr., who finished with 12 points, scored the next two baskets to extend Wagner's lead to seven points with 2:57 on the clock. Javier Ezquerra scored to give the Seahawks a 54–48 lead with 2:23 to play. After a Jordan Jones three-pointer got the Blue Devils within five points at 61–56, the Seahawks, who were down to five dressed players after Council and Keyontae Lewis fouled out, went 5 for 6 from the free-throw line in the final 30 seconds to ice the game. Lewis scored 12 points and added nine rebounds for Wagner. Jones had 15 points for Central Connecticut.

### Final

Wagner became the first team to win three road games and take the NEC tournament title and, as the no. 6 seed, matched the lowest seeded team to ever capture the NEC crown with a 54–47 victory at Merrimack. Tournament MVP Tahron Allen scored 22 points for the Seahawks and gave them an 11-point lead at 41–30 with his three-pointer with 12:38 to play. The Warriors responded with a 13–0 run, keyed by two Jordan McCoy three-pointers and capped by Bryan Etumnu's three-pointer, to take a 43–41 lead with 8:07 to play. With the sellout crowd in a frenzy, Wagner answered by holding Merrimack scoreless over the next six minutes while scoring eight points to take a 49–43 lead with 2:18 to play. After Allen's free throws put the Seahawks up, 51–45, with 1:10 on the clock, the Warriors' three-point attempts were all off the mark. McCoy hit a pair of free throws with 25 seconds to go to bring Merrimack within four points, but Javier Ezquerra sank a pair of charity tosses four seconds later to ice the game. Melvin Council Jr. had 12 points, and Keyontae Lewis scored eight points and pulled down 12 rebounds for the Seahawks. Devon Savage had 16 points and six rebounds for the Warriors, and McCoy added 11 points. NEC Player of the Year, Jordan Derkack, played through an injury he suffered in Merrimack's semifinal game but was held to only four points. Merrimack was held to just one field goal over the final 8:07 and shot 30% from the floor, including 16% (10 for 38) from beyond the arc.

## Bracket

Teams were reseeded after each round with highest remaining seeds receiving home-court advantage.
| Quarterfinals Wednesday, March 6 NEC Front Row | Quarterfinals Wednesday, March 6 NEC Front Row | Quarterfinals Wednesday, March 6 NEC Front Row | | | Semifinals Saturday, March 9 YES/ESPN+ | Semifinals Saturday, March 9 YES/ESPN+ | Semifinals Saturday, March 9 YES/ESPN+ | Championship Tuesday, March 12 ESPN2 | Championship Tuesday, March 12 ESPN2 | Championship Tuesday, March 12 ESPN2 |
| 1 | Central Connecticut | 71 | | | | | | | | |
| 8 | Saint Francis | 62 | | | | | | | | |
| 8 | Saint Francis | 62 | | | 1 | Central Connecticut | 56 | | | |
| | | | | | 6 | Wagner | 66 | | | |
| 4 | Le Moyne | 82 | | | 6 | Wagner | 66 | | | |
| 5 | Fairleigh Dickinson | 61 | | | | | | | | |
| 5 | Fairleigh Dickinson | 61 | | | | | | 6 | Wagner | 54 |
| (Pairings are reseeded after the first round) | (Pairings are reseeded after the first round) | (Pairings are reseeded after the first round) | (Pairings are reseeded after the first round) | (Pairings are reseeded after the first round) | (Pairings are reseeded after the first round) | (Pairings are reseeded after the first round) | (Pairings are reseeded after the first round) | 6 | Wagner | 54 |
| (Pairings are reseeded after the first round) | (Pairings are reseeded after the first round) | (Pairings are reseeded after the first round) | (Pairings are reseeded after the first round) | (Pairings are reseeded after the first round) | (Pairings are reseeded after the first round) | (Pairings are reseeded after the first round) | (Pairings are reseeded after the first round) | 2 | Merrimack | 47 |
| 2 | Merrimack | 72 | | | | | | | | | 2 | Merrimack | 47 |
| 7 | LIU | 66 | | | | | | | | |
| 7 | LIU | 66 | | | 2 | Merrimack | 61 | | | |
| | | | | | 4 | Le Moyne | 51 | | | |
| 3 | Sacred Heart | 57 | | | 4 | Le Moyne | 51 | | | |
| 6 | Wagner | 60 | | | | | | | | |

## Game summaries

    All times are in Eastern Time (UTC−5 on March 6 and 9 and UTC-4 on March 12)

### Quarterfinals

* NEC Front Row
* March 6 7:00 p.m.
* Box
No. 8 Saint Francis 62, No. 1 Central Connecticut 71 :
| Scoring by half: 32–34, 30–37 |||
| Pts: Wilborn 19 Rebs: Wilborn 6 Asts: Rosenberger 4 | Pts: Jeanne-Rose 28 Rebs: Amos, Breland, Jeanne-Rose, Momoh 5 Asts: Ostrowsky, Sweatman 2 |
| Central Connecticut advances to NEC semifinals |||
* William H. Detrick Gymnasium New Britain, Connecticut Attendance: 2,412 Referees: Craig Lastres, Jason Stallworth, Guy Pagano
* NEC Front Row
* March 6 7:00 p.m.
* Box
No. 7 LIU 66, No. 2 Merrimack 72 :
| Scoring by half: 39–43, 27–29 |||
| Pts: Tai Strickland, Washington 18 Rebs: Greene 16 Asts: Greene, Tai Strickland 3 | Pts: Derkack 23 Rebs: Derkack 10 Asts: Derkack 5 |
| Merrimack advances to NEC semifinals |||
* Lawler Arena North Andover, Massachusetts Attendance: 1,076
* NEC Front Row
* March 6 7:00 p.m.
* Box
No. 6 Wagner 60, No. 3 Sacred Heart 57 :
| Scoring by half: 35–31, 25–26 |||
| Pts: Allen 22 Rebs: Council 9 Asts: Ezquerra 5 | Pts: Sobel 15 Rebs: Sobel 11 Asts: Carpenter, Galette, McGee, Reilly, Sixsmith 2 |
| Wagner advances to NEC semifinals |||
* William H. Pitt Center Fairfield, Connecticut Attendance: 361 Referees: Dave Fernandez, Phil Sallustio, Mile Palau
* NEC Front Row
* March 6 7:00 p.m.
* Box
No. 5 Fairleigh Dickinson 61, No. 4 Le Moyne 82 :
| Scoring by half: 34–42, 27–40 |||
| Pts: Moore 16 Rebs: Moore 8 Asts: Almonor, Brown, Emanuel, Munden 2 | Pts: Sutherland 22 Rebs: Owens 8 Asts: DePersia 8 |
| Le Moyne advances to NEC semifinals |||
* Ted Grant Court DeWitt, New York Attendance: 861 Referees: Jack Loughran, Vasili Mallios, Edward Corbett Jr.

### Semifinals

* YES, ESPN+
* March 9 12:00 noon
* Box
No. 4 Le Moyne 51, No. 2 Merrimack 61 :
| Scoring by half: 20–28, 31–33 |||
| Pts: Sutherland 23 Rebs: Sutherland 8 Asts: DePersia, Jones, McClure, Sutherland 2 | Pts: Clark 24 Rebs: Derkack, Etumnu 6 Asts: Derkack 7 |
| Merrimack advances to NEC final |||
* Lawler Arena North Andover, Massachusetts Attendance: 1,565
* YES, ESPN+
* March 9 2:00 p.m.
* Box
No. 6 Wagner 66, No. 1 Central Connecticut 56 :
| Scoring by half: 28–23, 38–33 |||
| Pts: Brown 20 Rebs: Lewis 9 Asts: Ezquerra 5 | Pts: Jones 15 Rebs: Ostrowsky 7 Asts: Amos, Jones 3 |
| Wagner advances to NEC final |||
* William H. Detrick Gymnasium New Britain, Connecticut Attendance: 2,449 Referees: Riley McGraw, Raymond Downs, Greg Moyer

### Final

* ESPN2
* March 12 7:00 p.m.
* Box
No. 6 Wagner 54, No. 2 Merrimack 47 :
| Scoring by half: 29–25, 25–22 |||
| Pts: Allen 22 Rebs: Lewis 12 Asts: Allen, Brown 3 | Pts: Savage 16 Rebs: Savage 6 Asts: Clark 7 |
| Wagner wins NEC championship |||
* Lawler Arena North Andover, Massachusetts Attendance: 2,847

## Awards and honors

Source:
Tournament MVP: Tahron Allen, Wagner

### NEC All-Tournament Team

   * Tahron Allen, Wagner
   * Melvin Council Jr., Wagner
   * Adam "Budd" Clark, Merrimack
   * Devon Savage, Merrimack
   * Luke Sutherland, Le Moyne

## Statistics

    Source:
Individual scoring :
| Rk | Player | School | G | Pts | PPG |
| 1 | Luke Sutherland | Le Moyne | 2 | 45 | 22.5 |
| 2 | Allan Jeanne-Rose | Central Connecticut | 2 | 38 | 19.0 |
| 2 | Eli Wilborn | Saint Francis | 1 | 19 | 19.0 |
| 4 | Tahron Allen | Wagner | 3 | 55 | 18.3 |
| 5 | Tai Strickland | LIU | 1 | 18 | 18.0 |
| 5 | Andre Washington | LIU | 1 | 18 | 18.0 |
| 7 | Adam "Budd" Clark | Merrimack | 3 | 50 | 16.7 |
| 8 | Jordan Jones | Central Connecticut | 2 | 33 | 16.5 |
| 9 | Sean Moore | Fairleigh Dickinson | 1 | 16 | 16.0 |
| 10 | Alex Sobel | Sacred Heart | 1 | 15 | 15.0 |
Individual field-goal percentage :
| Rk | Player | Team | G | FGM | FGA | FG% |
| 1 | Aidan Harris | Saint Francis | 1 | 4 | 5 | 80.0% |
| 2 | Eli Wilborn | Saint Francis | 1 | 7 | 9 | 77.8% |
| 3 | Gestin Liberis | Saint Francis | 1 | 5 | 7 | 71.4% |
| 4 | Andre Washington | LIU | 1 | 6 | 9 | 66.7% |
| 5 | Allan Jeanne-Rose | Central Connecticut | 2 | 13 | 20 | 65.0% |
| 6 | Keyontae Lewis | Wagner | 3 | 12 | 19 | 63.2% |
| 7 | Joey Reilly | Sacred Heart | 1 | 3 | 5 | 60.0% |
| 8 | Darrick Jones Jr. | Le Moyne | 2 | 8 | 15 | 53.3% |
| 9 | Jayden Brown | Central Connecticut | 2 | 6 | 12 | 50.0% |
| 9 | Sean Moore | Fairleigh Dickinson | 1 | 6 | 12 | 50.0% |
| 9 | Aidan Carpenter | Sacred Heart | 1 | 3 | 6 | 50.0% |
Individual three-point field-goal percentage :
| Rk | Player | Team | G | 3FGM | 3FGA | 3FG% |
| 1 | Aidan Harris | Saint Francis | 1 | 2 | 2 | 100.0% |
| 1 | Eric Acker | LIU | 1 | 1 | 1 | 100.0% |
| 1 | Davin Francis | Fairleigh Dickinson | 1 | 1 | 1 | 100.0% |
| 1 | Mike Sixsmith | Sacred Heart | 1 | 1 | 1 | 100.0% |
| 1 | Andre Washington | LIU | 1 | 1 | 1 | 100.0% |
| 1 | Eli Wilborn | Saint Francis | 1 | 1 | 1 | 100.0% |
| 7 | Jacob O'Connell | Merrimack | 3 | 5 | 7 | 71.4% |
| 8 | Luke Sutherland | Le Moyne | 2 | 7 | 12 | 58.3% |
| 9 | Allan Jeanne-Rose | Central Connecticut | 2 | 4 | 7 | 57.1% |
| 9 | Darrick Jones Jr. | Le Moyne | 2 | 4 | 7 | 57.1% |
Individual free-throw percentage :
| Rk | Player | Team | G | FTM | FTA | FT% |
| 1 | Luke Sutherland | Le Moyne | 2 | 8 | 8 | 100.0% |
| 1 | Andre Washington | LIU | 1 | 5 | 5 | 100.0% |
| 1 | Tai Strickland | LIU | 1 | 4 | 4 | 100.0% |
| 1 | Terrence Brown | Fairleigh Dickinson | 1 | 2 | 2 | 100.0% |
| 1 | Joey Reilly | Sacred Heart | 1 | 2 | 2 | 100.0% |
| 6 | Darrick Jones Jr. | Le Moyne | 2 | 8 | 9 | 88.9% |
| 7 | Adam "Budd" Clark | Merrimack | 3 | 14 | 16 | 87.5% |
| 8 | Joe Munden Jr. | Fairleigh Dickinson | 1 | 10 | 12 | 83.3% |
| 9 | Jordan Derkack | Merrimack | 3 | 9 | 11 | 81.8% |
| 10 | Julian Brown | Wagner | 3 | 8 | 10 | 80.0% |
| 10 | Allan Jeanne-Rose | Central Connecticut | 2 | 8 | 10 | 80.0% |
Individual rebounding :
| Rk | Player | Team | G | ORB | DRB | Tot | RPG |
| 1 | RJ Greene | LIU | 1 | 6 | 10 | 16 | 16.0 |
| 2 | Alex Sobel | Sacred Heart | 1 | 3 | 8 | 11 | 11.0 |
| 3 | Keyontae Lewis | Wagner | 3 | 4 | 22 | 26 | 8.7 |
| 4 | Sean Moore | Fairleigh Dickinson | 1 | 1 | 7 | 8 | 8.0 |
| 4 | Nico Galette | Sacred Heart | 1 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 8.0 |
| 6 | Nikola Djapa | LIU | 1 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 7.0 |
| 6 | Gestin Liberis | Saint Francis | 1 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 7.0 |
| 8 | Jordan Derkack | Merrimack | 3 | 2 | 18 | 20 | 6.7 |
| 9 | Kaiyem Cleary | Le Moyne | 2 | 2 | 11 | 13 | 6.5 |
| 10 | Tahron Allen | Wagner | 3 | 7 | 11 | 18 | 6.0 |
| 10 | Luke Sutherland | Le Moyne | 2 | 0 | 12 | 12 | 6.0 |
| 10 | Jo'el Emanuel | Fairleigh Dickinson | 1 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 6.0 |
| 10 | Eli Wilborn | Saint Francis | 1 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 6.0 |
Individual assists :
| Rk | Player | Team | G | A | APG |
| 1 | Mike DePersia | Le Moyne | 2 | 10 | 5.0 |
| 2 | Adam "Budd" Clark | Merrimack | 3 | 14 | 4.7 |
| 2 | Jordan Derkack | Merrimack | 3 | 14 | 4.7 |
| 4 | Bobby Rosenberger | Saint Francis | 1 | 4 | 4.0 |
| 5 | Javier Ezquerra | Wagner | 3 | 11 | 3.7 |
| 6 | RJ Greene | LIU | 1 | 3 | 3.0 |
| 6 | Carlos Lopez Jr. | Saint Francis | 1 | 3 | 3.0 |
| 6 | Tai Strickland | LIU | 1 | 3 | 3.0 |
| 6 | Aaron Talbert | Saint Francis | 1 | 3 | 3.0 |
| 10 | Julian Brown | Wagner | 3 | 7 | 2.3 |
Individual blocks :
| Rk | Player | Team | G | Blk | BPG |
| 1 | Bryan Etumnu | Merrimack | 3 | 8 | 2.7 |
| 2 | Jayden Brown | Central Connecticut | 2 | 5 | 2.5 |
| 3 | Alex Sobel | Sacred Heart | 1 | 2 | 2.0 |
| 4 | Keyontae Lewis | Wagner | 3 | 3 | 1.0 |
| 4 | Allan Jeanne-Rose | Central Connecticut | 2 | 2 | 1.0 |
| 4 | Ocypher Owens | Le Moyne | 2 | 2 | 1.0 |
| 4 | Ansley Almonor | Fairleigh Dickinson | 1 | 1 | 1.0 |
| 4 | CJ Delancy | LIU | 1 | 1 | 1.0 |
| 4 | Jo'el Emanuel | Fairleigh Dickinson | 1 | 1 | 1.0 |
| 4 | Nico Galette | Sacred Heart | 1 | 1 | 1.0 |
| 4 | Kyle McGee | Sacred Heart | 1 | 1 | 1.0 |
| 4 | Miles Webb | Saint Francis | 1 | 1 | 1.0 |
Individual steals :
| Rk | Player | Team | G | Stl | SPG |
| 1 | RJ Greene | LIU | 1 | 3 | 3.0 |
| 1 | Kyle McGee | Sacred Heart | 1 | 3 | 3.0 |
| 1 | Jason Steele | LIU | 1 | 3 | 3.0 |
| 4 | Adam "Budd" Clark | Merrimack | 3 | 7 | 2.3 |
| 5 | Jordan Derkack | Merrimack | 3 | 6 | 2.0 |
| 5 | Kaiyem Cleary | Le Moyne | 2 | 4 | 2.0 |
| 5 | Mike DePersia | Le Moyne | 2 | 4 | 2.0 |
| 5 | Nate McClure | Le Moyne | 2 | 4 | 2.0 |
| 5 | Aidan Harris | Saint Francis | 1 | 2 | 2.0 |
| 5 | Sean Moore | Fairleigh Dickinson | 1 | 2 | 2.0 |
| 5 | Brayden Reynolds | Fairleigh Dickinson | 1 | 2 | 2.0 |
| 5 | Tai Strickland | LIU | 1 | 2 | 2.0 |
| 5 | Andre Washington | LIU | 1 | 2 | 2.0 |