Central Connecticut Gets Ticket Punched

Damian Battles tied his career high with 27 points to lead Central Connecticut to a 78-71 victory against Quinnipiac in the Northeast Conference championship game Wednesday night at New Britain, Conn.

Central Connecticut (27-4) will enter the NCAA tournament with a 19-game winning streak, the longest in the nation.

John Alexander scored 14 points and Ron Robinson added 13 points and 10 rebounds for the Blue Devils, who made the tournament for the second time in three years.

As the buzzer sounded, the capacity crowd of more than 3,200 erupted, and students swarmed the court.

“I don’t remember this place being like this ever,” Coach Howie Dickenman said. “This was an event tonight, an event that the whole city rallied around.”

Said Blue Devil center Corsley Edwards: “I was just trying to breathe. It was suffocating in there,”

Quinnipiac (14-16) was led by freshman Rob Monroe, who had 17 points.

OTHER TOURNAMENTS

Atlantic 10--Anthony Anderson had 16 points as Massachusetts (13-15) beat George Washington, 73-62, at Philadelphia. The Minutemen play Xavier today. The Colonials finished 12-16.

Dayton (19-9) advanced with a 90-71 victory against Rhode Island (8-20). The Flyers play Saint Joseph today.

Mike Cleaves had 27 points as LaSalle (14-16) defeated Fordham, 83-63. The Explorers will play Temple today. The Rams finished (8-20).

J.R. Bremer had 22 points as St. Bonaventure (17-11) defeated Duquesne, 81-66. The Bonnies play Richmond today. The Dukes finished 9-19.

Big East--St. John’s missed its first 18 shots of the second half and went scoreless for 9:23 before recovering for a 64-58 victory against Seton Hall (12-18) in a first-round game at New York. The Red Storm (20-10) will play Notre Dame tonight.

Boston College (20-10) rallied from a double-digit deficit and defeated Rutgers, 60-55. The Eagles play Pittsburgh today. Rutgers is 18-12.

Georgetown (19-10) needed Wesley Wilson’s dunk with 3.8 seconds remaining to defeat Providence, 68-67. The Hoyas play Miami today. The Friars finished 15-16.

Gary Buchanan scored 21 points to lead Villanova (17-11) past Syracuse, 78-64. The Wildcats play Connecticut today. Syracuse is 20-11.

Conference USA--Reece Gaines had 30 points as Louisville (18-11) cruised to a 110-86 victory against Texas Christian (16-15) at Cincinnati. The Cardinal will play Marquette today.

Houston (17-13) overcame a 13-point deficit in the first half and beat East Carolina, 58-49. The Cougars play Memphis today. The Pirates finished 12-18.

South Florida (19-11) scored a 65-62 victory against Alabama Birmingham (13-17) and will play Cincinnati tonight.

Tulane (14-14) survived a furious finish, including a television replay of a shot at the buzzer, and scored a 50-47 victory against Saint Louis (15-16). The Green Wave will play Charlotte tonight.

Southland--Raynell Brewer had 12 points to lift McNeese State (20-8) to 71-57 victory against Lamar (15-14) at Lake Charles, La.... Wojciech Myrda blocked three shots in the final 26 seconds as Louisiana Monroe (20-11) beat Texas San Antonio, 64-62, at Monroe, La. The Roadrunners are 19-10.

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Men’s NCAA Automatic Bids

* Cent. Connecticut (27-4), Northeast

* Creighton (22-8), Missouri Valley

* Davidson (21-9), Southern

* Florida Atlantic (19-11), Atlantic Sun

* Gonzaga (29-3), West Coast

* Illinois Chicago (20-13), Horizon

* Murray State (19-12), Ohio Valley

* N.C. Wilmington (22-9), Colonial Ath.

* Siena (16-18), Metro Atlantic

* Valparaiso (25-7), Mid-Continent

* Western Kentucky (28-3), Sun Belt

* Winthrop (19-11), Big South