Box Score

BIDDEFORD, Maine -- Senior Johnnie Jefferson (Dallas, Texas) and first-year guard Quentin Thompson (Austin, Texas) combined for 28 second-half points to propel the top-seeded University of New England Nor'easters to their first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance with a 90-79 win over second-seeded Colby-Sawyer College in The Commonwealth Coast Conference Championship before a record crowd of 1,093 at the Campus Center.

The win provides UNE with its first The Commonwealth Coast Conference championship in any male sport.  In the process, the Nor'easters picked up their 24th win to tie a school record.  Colby-Sawyer stands at 20-7 and awaits a possible ECAC Tournament bid.

Trailing by one (49-48) at the half, the Nor'easters started the second frame with a 16-5 run over the opening 6:12 to establish a 65-55  lead.  After scoring just two points in the first half, Jefferson scored half of UNE's 16 points during the spurt.

The two teams went back-and-forth over the next eight minutes, and the Nor'easters still held a double-digit advantage (74-64) with 6:11 left.

Colby-Sawyer chipped away and was able to cut its deficit to five on three separate occasions - the last coming on two free throws by senior Andrew Cousins (South Portland, Maine) with 2:56 remaining.

On the Nor'easters' next possession, junior guard Marchale Robinson (Baton Rouge, La.) buried a three from the right corner just before the shot clock expired to push the lead to eight (81-73).  

Junior Jon Chaloux (Barre, Vt.) made 1 of 2 at the line for Colby-Sawyer before senior Jaykyri Simpson (East Cleburne, Texas) knocked down a pair at the line for an 83-74 cushion.  

A long 3-pointer by Chaloux got the Chargers back within six (83-77) at the 1:15 mark.  

After a timeout, Jefferson threw a long in-bounds pass to Simpson streaking down the right side, which Simpson collected and layed-in while being fouled.  He subsequently missed the free throw, but the layup with 1:10 remaining gave UNE an 85-77 lead and effectively put the game out of reach.

The Nor'easters made 5 of 6 at the charity stripe in the final 55 seconds to seal the win.

Thompson finished with a game-high 20 points to go with seven rebounds for UNE.  Jefferson had 16 of his 18 points after halftime, including four 3-pointers.  The first team all-conference selection made a pair of critical shots to beat the shot clock in the second half.

Senior Steve Belmonte (Levittown, N.Y.) also played a strong game for the winners, knocking down four treys to finish with 16 points along with seven assists.  Simpson contributed 15 points, nine rebounds, four assists and three blocked shots.

Senior Duncan Szeliga (Newmarket, N.H.) led five Colby-Sawyer players in double figures with 18 points.  He also collared a game-best 10 boards and dished out six assists.  Chaloux scored 15 points and first-year Will Bardaglio (Wayne, Maine) added 14 -- all in the first half.

Senior point guard Matt Lemieux (Manchester, N.H.) chipped in 13 points and six assists for the Chargers, while Cousins added 10 points.

The Nor'easters shot 52.6 percent (30 of 57) for the game and made half (13 of 26) of their shots from beyond the arc.  

Colby-Sawyer built a slim one-point halftime lead by shooting a solid 55.2 percent (16 of 29) from the floor.  Bardaglio buried four 3-pointers, and Szeliga was strong inside with 10 points.  Belmonte answered for UNE with 13 points, including three shots from outside the arc.

The entire field for the 2009 NCAA Division III National Championship will be made public Sunday (March 1) evening, but host sites and pairings for first and second-round games will be released Monday morning at 11:00 am ET.