CSJ pulls away in the second half for win over Unity

AUBURN, Maine - The first-seeded College of Saint Joseph's (Vermont) went on an 11-3 run mid-way through the second half to pull away for a 92-70 victory over number eight seed Unity College in the first round of the Yankee Small College Conference Elite Eight Tournament hosted by Central Maine Community College Friday afternoon.

Unity played the top ranked Saints tough throughout the first half, and went to the locker room trailing by six. Unity's Eddie Kopacz nailed a jumped shot to bring his team to within four at the start of the second half, but CSJ rattled off five quick points to extend the lead to nine points. The Rams trailed by ten points with 9:26 remaining in regulation, but that's when the Saints rattled off the 11-3 run to extend the lead to 72-54 with a little over six minutes remaining.

CSJ was led by Antonio Gordon (Memphis, Tenn.) who scored a team-high 26 points including six three-pointers on 50% shooting from behind the arc. Gordon also registered five steals, six rebounds and dished out three assists for the Saints. Kareem Brown (Troy, N.Y.) was 7-13 from the field for 16 points and a team-high 14 rebounds while Joshua McAfee (Lodi, Calif.) and Travis Threewitts (Queens, N.Y.) were also in double-digits with 13 and 12 points, respectively.

USCAA National Scoring Champion Eddie Kopacz (Thompson, Conn.) who finished the regular season averaging 30.8 points per game, led the Rams with 37 points and 14 rebounds to go along with four assists. Hunter Engel (Cooperstown, N.D.) and Sean Tocci (Bangor, Maine) each scored 11 points for Unity.

CSJ advances to play the winner of the 9:00 game between the University of Maine at Augusta and the University of Maine at Machias.