EVANSVILLE, Ind. – The Assumption University men's basketball team's March Madness run came to a close, as the No. 8 seeded Greyhounds fell to the top-seeded Nova Southeastern University 102-93 in the Elite Eight Tuesday evening inside Ford Center in Evansville, Indiana
THE BASICS:
Scores: No. 1 Nova Southeastern University 103, No. 8 Assumption University 93
Records: Greyhounds (22-10, 14-6 NE10), Sharks (34-1, 19-1 SSC)
HOW IT HAPPENED:
Assumption started with a pair of layups by
Daouda Dembele in the opening two minutes of the contest. Nova Southeastern responded with a pair of three-pointers to go up 6-4. Following a
Jamal Barnes trey, the Sharks went on an 8-0 run to go up 14-7. The Greyhounds recorded seven of the next ten points, with
Zee McCown draining a triple and
Baril Mawo and Dembele with layups to draw within three (17-14). NSU closed out the first half on a 39-22 run to head into halftime up 56-36.
Njavan Stewart led the Hounds with 10 points, while
Jamal Barnes added eight.
Coming out of the break, the Sharks pushed their lead to 25 points (61-36) following a few quick buckets. Assumption responded with an 8-2 run of their own, with
Tayeshawn Cunningham-Pemberton and Barnes picking up three-point plays. With the Hounds trailing by 22 points (71-49) with 15:19 to go, the Blue and White went on a 16-2 run, powered by
Zee McCown, who poured in nine points in the four-minute run, cutting the deficit to eight points (73-65). The Sharks proved why they were the No. 1 seed in the Elite Eight, as they stretched their lead back to 15 points (92-77) with 4:17 left in regulation. The pesky Hounds' would refuse to go away, as
Kyle Hicks led a 16-8 charge, cutting the deficit to seven points, but NSU would convert 12-of-18 free throws in the second half to come away with a 102-93 final score.
BY THE NUMBERS:
- Zee McCown led five Greyhounds in double-digits in scoring, as the freshman point guard poured in 21 points while adding three rebounds, three assists, and two steals.
- With 19 points, Njavan Stewart finished his collegiate career with 1,207 points, slotting him at 29th all-time in Assumption basketball history.
- Nova outrebounded Assumption 44-36, while the Greyhounds bested the Sharks in second-chance points (17-12).
- After finishing tenth in the Northeast-10 Conference preseason coaches poll, the Hounds were one of the final eight teams in all of Division II.
- Assumption only turned the ball over eight times, which is the first time since March 1, 2022 (112 games), that a Nova opponent did not have 10+ turnovers.
- The Greyhounds are now 38-31 all-time in the NCAA Tournament.
- Nova Southeastern leads the all-time series 1-0.
--
For continuing coverage of Assumption University Athletics, visit assumptiongreyhounds.com and follow the Greyhounds on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.
