No. 9 CUA hosts Staten Island Saturday in NCAA Tournament

WASHINGTON - For the 14th time in school history, CUA will play in the NCAA Tournament, beginning Saturday evening when the Cardinals host the College of Staten Island in a 1st Round contest. CUA won its first Landmark Conference championship on February 23, thanks to a Shawn Holmes jumper with three seconds remaining to lift the Cards past Juniata 63-62. CUA is making its first tournament appearance since 2007.

The Cardinals are a perfect 14-0 inside the DuFour Center this season. CUA is holding opponents to 56.4 points on 35.7% shooting from the field and 29.7% from three at home.

CUA leads the country in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.68) and ranks 2nd in fewest turnovers per game (9.4). The Cardinals have committed single-digit TOs 16 times this season, including 10 of their last 11 games.

Three Cardinals were named to the All-Landmark Conference Teams on Tuesday, including Chris Kearney, who became the first player to be named the Player and Defensive Player of the Year in the same season. Joining Kearney on the First Team was classmate Shawn Holmes, while sophomore Steve Limberiou received Second Team honors. Head Coach Steve Howes and his staff were named the Coaching Staff of the Year for the first time.

Freshman Kevin Phanord has given CUA a boost off the bench of late. The Florida native is averaging 12.7 minutes in his last three, hitting all nine of his free throws during that time. Phanord scored a season-high five points in last weekend’s Landmark Conference championship against Juniata.

CUA is one of 15 Division III schools with its men’s and women’s teams in this year’s NCAA Tournament. The 14 other schools are Calvin, Wisconsin-Stevens Point, Wheaton, Christopher Newport, Williams, Trinity (Texas), Whitworth, Emory, Amherst, Cabrini, Washington University, Wisconsin-Whitewater, Ithaca, and Rochester.

Riding a seven-game win streak, Staten Island arrives in Washington following an 80-74 victory over John Jay College in the CUNYAC/Con Edison championship on February 23. It marked the second straight conference title for the Dolphins.

Four CSI players average double figures, led by Bloochy Magloire (21.7) and Jon Chadwick-Myers (17.7). Javon Cox is the top rebounder at 9.2 per game, while Chadwick-Myers leads in assists (3.7). The Dolphins are playing only their 10th true road game this season, having posted a 6-3 record in the first nine.

CUA and Staten Island are meeting for only the third time ever Saturday evening, with the Cardinals having won both contests (1980, 1986).

Check out the CUA game notes for more information on Saturday’s NCAA Tournament contest.

Click here to view the NCAA Tournament page.

The Cardinals and Dolphins will tip things off at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday evening. 

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