The Tribune

By RENALDO DORSETT

Tribune Sports Reporter

rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

CHARLES Bain and the Robert Morris Colonials will have an opportunity to earn an automatic bid in the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament with a win in the Northeast Conference final tonight.

The Colonials will face the St Francis Red Flash at 7pm tonight at the UMPC Events Center in Moon Township Pennsylvania.

RMU advanced with a dominant 86-66 win over the LIU Sharks in last Saturday’s semi-final to improve to 19-14 on the season. Bain finished with just three points.

This marks the first time Robert Morris and Saint Francis U will square off with an NCAA Tournament berth on the line.

The teams have split the regular season matchups this season.

Bain scored a season high 17 with six rebounds but the Colonials suffered an 86-71 loss on February 18.

The Red Flash evened the series with a 78-68 win on February 29. Bain scored seven and grabbed five rebounds.

In the Sun Belt Conference, Radshad Davis and the Texas-Arlington Mavericks were eliminated from the conference tournament as their season came to an end in heartbreaking fashion.

Tyrell Gumbs-Frater hit an off-balance jumper from just inside the 3-point line with one second remaining Saturday afternoon, and 10th-seeded Coastal Carolina upset UT Arlington’s 63-62 in the opening round Saturday at the College Park Center in New Orleans, Louisiana.

Davis finished with seven points and five rebounds in 17 minutes.

Fellow Bahamian Ahmard Harvey did not see playing time for Coastal Carolina.

“It’s certainly a tough way to lose a game and a disappointing way to end a season. I’m proud of our guys – we were playing the right way and playing good basketball at the right time of year,” Mavericks head coach Chris Ogden said.

“But Coastal just made one more shot, and credit goes to them. I’m excited about our future and the offseason.”

Davis posted two double doubles this season highlighted by a season-high 19 points, a career high 14 rebounds to lead UTA to a 78-58 win over the Louisiana Monroe Warhawks.

The redshirt junior wing highlighted his stellar performance by reaching 1,000 career points. He averaged 8.6 points and 6.2 rebounds per game this season.

Harvey has played sparingly in his freshman season with the Chanticleers.

The former St George’s Jaguars product averaged 1.5 points and 1.5 rebounds per game in 17 appearances. He posted a season high seven points in a November 30 matchup against Delaware State.

In the West Coast Conference tournament, Shaquillo Fritz and the Pacific Tigers were eliminated after a 72-54 loss to the San Francisco Dons in the quarter-final Saturday at the Orleans Arena. Fritz finished with six rebounds and two points.

The Tigers fell to 23-10 and now await their possibility of reaching postseason play.

A graduate transfer to the Tigers, Fritz averaged 2.7 points and 3.3 rebounds per game.