Box Score WILLIMANTIC, Conn. -- The Eastern Connecticut State University women's and men's basketball teams claimed Eastern Tip-Off Tournament championships in the same season for the first time in 11 years Sunday with double-digit victories at Francis E. Geissler Gymnasium.
The women got double-digit points from five players and ten or more rebounds from three in a 74-47 victory over Framingham State University to capture their 18th title in 35 years, while the men were led by four double-digit scorers and sophomore tournament MVP Hugh Lindo's (Enfield) 17 rebounds to rout Colby College, 74-53 for their ninth tournament title in 34 years -- first since defeating Bowdoin College for the 2009 championship.
The men's championship game victory made 13th-year head coach Bill Geitner (190-143) the winningest coach in the 74-year history of the program. Geitner moved ahead of E-Club Hall of Fame coach Dan Switchenko, who compiled a 189-149 record in 13 seasons between 1981 and 1994.
It marked the fifth time that both Eastern teams won titles in the same season, first since 2003 when the men downed Western New England and the women triumphed over the College of New Jersey in the championship tilts.
Wesleyan defeated Newbury College, 72-35, in the women's consolation game and Newbury College outlasted 2013 champion Purchase College, 72-68, in the men's third-place game.
The 6-foot-4 inch Lindo grabbed 17 rebounds in each game (two shy of the tournament game record) to break the 25-year tournament record of 33 rebounds, set by Philip McManus of CREA (Portugal) in 1989. Lindo's record 34th rebound came on a follow-up dunk with 5:16 left that gave Eastern a 67-44 lead.
The Eastern men closed out the first half on a 13-2 run that gave them a 16-point, 37-21 lead at the half. Freshman all-tournament selection Tarchee Brown (Manchester) contributed seven points in that run, junior all-tournament pick Trachone Preston (Enfield) two and Lindo two.
Lindo had six points and 17 rebounds in each game, with 16 of his boards coming on the offensive glass. He also had five assists, two blocks and two steals. Brown submitted two-game totals of 35 points and ten rebounds and Preston 36 points, seven rebounds and seven assists. He was 14-of-30 from the floor, with five three-pointers.
Junior 6-foot-8 inch center Chris Hudnut represented Colby on the all-tournament team. He had 30 points and 14 rebounds and eight assists in two games. In the title game, he led the Mules with 16 points, eight rebounds, and six assists.
In the men's consolation, Purchase couldn't hold a seven-point lead with seven minutes left and couldn't capitalize on a 62-36 rebounding advantage. Newbury nailed 11 three-pointers. All-tournament pick Milciades Carrasco led the Nighthawks with 23 points and Purchase all-tournament selection Taylor Foster had 24 points and 15 rebounds, Kendall Felix adding 19 points and 16 rebounds. Kenny Ramos had 12 points and 13 rebounds for the winners.
The Eastern women outrebounded Framingham, 63-31 and were never headed in the title game.
Tournament MVP Shannon McCourt (New Fairfield) – a senior forward – posted her second tournament double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds. McCourt had game-highs of 21 points and 16 rebounds in a first-round win over Newbury and finished the tournament with 33 points, 27 rebounds and six assists.
Senior all-tournament pick Kristina Forsman (Newington) of Eastern led all players with 21 points against Framingham, with sophomore all-tournament pick Julia DePoi (Brookfield) adding 12 points and six rebounds. Forsman had 27 points and six rebounds in the tournament, DePoi 29 points and 13 rebounds. DePoi totaled eight three-points in two games.
Margo McCarthy and Monta Connolly represented Framingham on the all-tournament team and Brenna Diggins was named from Wesleyan. McCarthy had six points and four rebounds in the final (20 points and 11 rebounds in the tournament), Connolly a team-high ten points and six rebounds in the title game (15 points and 12 rebounds in two games).
Diggins had a game-high 15 points and game-high 15 rebounds against Newbury Sunday, finishing with 27 points and 23 rebounds in the tournament. She was 9-for-17 from the floor and nine of 11 from the stripe.
Eastern Connecticut State University
Tip-Off Basketball Tournament
Saturday, Nov. 15-Sunday, Nov. 16, 2014
at Francis E. Geissler Gymnasium
Women's Tournament
Saturday's Results
Framingham State U. 55, Wesleyan U. 37
Eastern Conn. 96, Newbury College 20
Sunday's Results
Third-place Game
Wesleyan U. 72, Newbury College 35
Championship Game
Eastern Conn. 74, Framingham State U. 47
ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
SHANNON McCOURT* Sr. 5-11 Eastern Conn. New Fairfield, CT
Julia DePoi So. 5-9 Eastern Conn. Brookfield, CT
Kristina Forsman Sr. 5-4 Eastern Conn. Newington, CT
Monta Connolly So. 5-7 Framingham State Lynn, MA
Margo McCarthy Sr. 5-10 Framingham State Southampton, MA
Brenna Diggins So. 6-2 Wesleyan U. Norwell, MA
*-Most Outstanding Player
