# 2015 Northeast Conference men's basketball tournament

The 2015 Northeast Conference men's basketball tournament was held on March 4, 7, and 10. The tournament featured the league's top eight seeds, with higher seed hosting all games. The tourney opened on Wednesday, March 4 with the quarterfinals, followed by the semifinals on Saturday, March 7 and the finals on Tuesday, March 10. Robert Morris earned the conference's automatic bid to the 2015 NCAA tournament.

## Format

For the eleventh straight year, the NEC Men's Basketball Tournament consisted of an eight-team playoff format with all games played at the home of the higher seed. After the quarterfinals, the teams were shuffled so the highest remaining seed plays the lowest remaining seed in the semifinals.

## Seeds

Teams were seeded based on the final regular season standings, with ties broken under NEC policy.
| Seed | School | Conference | Overall | Tiebreaker |
| 1 | St. Francis Brooklyn‡ | 15–3 | 21–10 | |
| 2 | Robert Morris | 12–6 | 16–14 | 1–1 vs. SFBK, 1–1 vs. Bryant, 2–0 vs. MSM |
| 3 | Bryant | 12–6 | 15–14 | 1–1 vs. SFBK, 1–1 vs. RM, 1–1 vs. MSM |
| 4 | Mount St. Mary's | 11–7 | 15–14 | |
| 5 | Saint Francis (PA) | 9–9 | 15–14 | 2–0 vs. SH |
| 6 | Sacred Heart | 9–9 | 15–16 | 0–2 vs. SFPA |
| 7 | Wagner | 8–10 | 10–19 | 2–0 vs. LIU |
| 8 | LIU Brooklyn | 8–10 | 12–17 | 0–2 vs. Wagner |
| ‡ – NEC regular season champions. Overall records are as of the end of the regular season. |||||

## Bracket

| Quarterfinals Wednesday, March 4 NEC Front Row, MSG+2, FCS and Cox Sports | Quarterfinals Wednesday, March 4 NEC Front Row, MSG+2, FCS and Cox Sports | Quarterfinals Wednesday, March 4 NEC Front Row, MSG+2, FCS and Cox Sports | | | Semifinals Saturday, March 7 (reseeded) NEC Front Row, MSG+, FCS | Semifinals Saturday, March 7 (reseeded) NEC Front Row, MSG+, FCS | Semifinals Saturday, March 7 (reseeded) NEC Front Row, MSG+, FCS | Championship Tuesday, March 10 ESPN2 | Championship Tuesday, March 10 ESPN2 | Championship Tuesday, March 10 ESPN2 |
| 1 | St. Francis Brooklyn | 79 | | | | | | | | |
| 8 | LIU Brooklyn | 70 | | | | | | | | |
| 8 | LIU Brooklyn | 70 | | | 1 | St. Francis Brooklyn | 62 | | | |
| | | | | | 5 | Saint Francis (PA) | 48 | | | |
| 4 | Mount St. Mary's | 58 | | | 5 | Saint Francis (PA) | 48 | | | |
| 5 | Saint Francis (PA) | 73 | | | | | | | | |
| 5 | Saint Francis (PA) | 73 | | | | | | 1 | St. Francis Brooklyn | 63 |
| (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) | 1 | St. Francis Brooklyn | 63 |
| (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 | Robert Morris | 66 |
| 2 | Robert Morris | 91 | | | | | | | | | 2 | Robert Morris | 66 |
| 7 | Wagner | 68 | | | | | | | | |
| 7 | Wagner | 68 | | | 2 | Robert Morris | 66 | | | |
| | | | | | 3 | Bryant | 53 | | | |
| 3 | Bryant | 91** | | | 3 | Bryant | 53 | | | |
| 6 | Sacred Heart | 85 | | | | | | | | |
All games will be played at the venue of the higher seed * Overtime

## Game summaries
### Quarterfinals: St. Francis Brooklyn vs. LIU Brooklyn

Series History: LIU leads 63-40
* Mar 4 7:00 pm EST
* Recap
St. Francis Brooklyn Terriers 79, LIU Brooklyn Blackbirds 70 :
| Scoring by half: 35-22, 44-48 |||
| Pts: Brent Jones 31 Rebs: Jalen Cannon 15 Asts: Brent Jones 5 | Pts: Landon Atterberry 18 Rebs: Nura Zanna 7 Asts: Elvar Fridriksson 7 |
* Generoso Pope Athletic Complex Brooklyn, NY Attendance: 972 Referees: Wally Rutecki, Dennis Allocco and Brandon Cruz

### Quarterfinals: Mount St. Mary's vs. Saint Francis (PA)

Series History: MSM leads 42-30
* Mar 4 7:00 pm EST
* Recap
Mount St. Mary's Mountaineers 58, Saint Francis Red Flash 73 :
| Scoring by half: 24-29, 34-44 |||
| Pts: Will Miller 14 Rebs: Taylor Danaher 5 Asts: Khalid Nwandu 3 | Pts: Earl Brown 20 Rebs: Earl Brown 14 Asts: Malik Harmon & Ollie Jackson 3 |
* Knott Arena Emmitsburg, MD Attendance: 1,068 Referees: Doug Aprahamian, Robert Testa and Brandon Williams

### Quarterfinals: Robert Morris vs. Wagner

Series History: RMU leads 41-25
* Mar 4 7:00 pm EST
* Recap
Robert Morris Colonials 91, Wagner Seahawks 68 :
| Scoring by half: 39-28, 52-40 |||
| Pts: Lucky Jones 27 Rebs: Elijah Minnie 7 Asts: Rodney Pryor 7 | Pts: Mike Aaman & Marcus Burton 19 Rebs: Mike Aaman 8 Asts: JoJo Cooper 5 |
* Charles L. Sewall Center Moon Township, PA Attendance: 857 Referees: Steve Ruppenthal, Josh White and Dave Fernandez

### Quarterfinals: Bryant vs. Sacred Heart

Series History: SHU leads 18-13 Announcers: Paul Dottino, Joe DeSantis and John Schmeelk
* MSG+, FCS and Cox Sports
* Mar 4 7:00 pm EST
* Recap
Bryant Bulldogs 91, Sacred Heart Pioneers 85 (OT) :
| Scoring by half: 30-38, 33-25 Overtime: 14-14, 14-8 |||
| Pts: Joe O'Shea 21 Rebs: Dan Garvin & Bosko Kostur 9 Asts: Shane McLaughlin 5 | Pts: Cane Broome 21 Rebs: Jordan Allen 6 Asts: Phil Gaetano 9 |
* Chace Athletic Center Smithfield, RI Attendance: 1,188 Referees: Gary Pucino, Rod Mrakovich and Mike Pearson

### Semifinal: Robert Morris vs. Bryant

Series History: RMU leads 10–2
Announcers: John Schmeelk and Tim Capstraw
* MSG & FCS
* Mar 7 12:00 pm EST
* Recap
Robert Morris Colonials 66, Bryant Bulldogs 53 :
| Scoring by half: 30-25, 36-28 |||
| Pts: Kavon Stewart 19 Rebs: Elijah Minnie 9 Asts: Kavon Stewart 8 | Pts: Dyami Starks 19 Rebs: Dan Garvin and Shane McLaughlin 8 Asts: Shane McLaughlin 7 |
* Charles L. Sewall Center Moon Township, PA Attendance: 839 Referees: Jim Bruno, Lionel Butler and James Ostwalt

### Semifinal: St. Francis Brooklyn vs. Saint Francis (PA)

Series History: SFU leads 36–38 Announcers: Paul Dottino, Joe DeSantis and Matt Harmon
* MSG & FCS
* Mar 7 2:00 pm EST
* Recap
St. Francis Brooklyn Terriers 62, Saint Francis Red Flash 48 :
| Scoring by half: 30-27, 32-21 |||
| Pts: Jalen Cannon 20 Rebs: Jalen Cannon 11 Asts: Brent Jones 8 | Pts: Malik Harmon 18 Rebs: Earl Brown 12 Asts: Greg Brown 3 |
* Generoso Pope Athletic Complex Brooklyn, NY Attendance: 954 Referees: Guy Pagano, Douglas Grant and Tom Regan

### Championship: St. Francis Brooklyn vs. Robert Morris

Series History: 43–27
Announcers: John Brickley and Craig Robinson
* ESPN2
* Mar 10 7:00 pm EST
* Recap
St. Francis Brooklyn Terriers 63, Robert Morris Colonials 66 :
| Scoring by half: 35-29, 28-37 |||
| Pts: Tyreek Jewell 19 Rebs: Jalen Cannon 12 Asts: Brent Jones 5 | Pts: Rodney Pryor 17 Rebs: Elijah Minnie 9 Asts: Kavon Stewart 6 |
* Generoso Pope Athletic Complex Brooklyn, NY Attendance: 1,013 Referees: Paul Faia, Robert Riley and Donnie Eppley

## All-tournament team

Tournament MVP in bold.
| Name | School | Pos. | Year | Ht. | Hometown |
| Rodney Prior | Robert Morris | Guard | Junior | 6-5 | Evanston, Illinois |
| Brent Jones | St. Francis Brooklyn | Guard | Senior | 6-2 | Bronx, New York |
| Earl Brown | Saint Francis (PA) | Forward | Senior | 6-6 | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| Lucky Jones | Robert Morris | Forward | Senior | 6-5 | Newark, New Jersey |
| Jalen Cannon | St. Francis Brooklyn | Forward | Senior | 6-6 | Allentown, Pennsylvania |