Worcester, MA (March 5, 2011) – For the second time in three years the MassBay Community College men’s basketball team has captured the NJCAA New England Region XXI Championship. Saturday at Quinsigamond Community College in the Region XXI final MassBay Buccaneers (27-4) beat Roxbury Tigers (18-8) by a score of 73-69. By winning the New England regional tournament, they’ve earned a spot in the 2011 NJCAA Division III Men’s Basketball National Championship being held this Thursday, March 10 – 12 in Loch Sheldrake, NY. The winner of that tournament will be crowned National Champions.
In the title game of the New England Regional Tournament, the Tigers jumped out on the Buccaneers and took an early 18-8 lead in the first half. But the resolve of the MassBay defense proved too much to handle for the RCC. Full-court pressure defense and converting turnovers into layups had been the winning formula all season long. The championship game was no different, as the MassBay defense played a major role. All-New England guard Mikhail Rubin (Boston, MA) led all scorers in the game with 22 points.
It was clear that the Buccaneers were in control of this one when they battled back from the early ten-point deficit. MassBay went into the half with a seven point lead. They came out of halftime with the same vigor that helped them close the first half and were able to stretch the lead to twelve. The Tigers began to close the gap as the second half was coming to a close, but it was too little too late.
This win is another notch in Hall of Fame Coach Bill Raynor’s belt. Raynor amassed his 100th win on Saturday January 15th at the University of Connecticut at Avery Point. He is now 113-46 in six years at the helm of the MassBay men’s basketball team. That record includes two Region XXI titles, two State Titles, one shared the second not shared. He has also produced a host of All-New England players and one NABC State Farm All-American.
MassBay will depart for the National Tournament on the campus of SUNY- Sullivan on Tuesday March 8th and will play the opening game of the Tournament on Thursday March 10th at 1:00 pm vs. Ocean County College (Toms River, NJ).
Prior to winning the Region XXI Title, MassBay battled a very tough Gateway Community College (CT) team in the semi-final round 66-50. All-New England forward Robert Hunter (St. Louis, MO) led all scorers in the game with 22 points. All-New England guard Mikhail Rubin chipped in 15 points, second year guard Joshua Epps scored 14 points in the win.
Massachusetts Bay Community College (MassBay) is an open-access, accredited two-year public educational institution. The College grants associate degrees and certificates in a range of disciplines through its five divisions of academics: the Division of Health Sciences; the Division of Humanities; the Division of Science, Technology, Engineering & Math (S.T.E.M.); the Division of Social Sciences & Professional Studies; and the Division of Transportation & Energy. Offering over 60 academic programs, MassBay serves Boston and the Metro West communities with locations in Wellesley Hills, Framingham and Ashland (Automotive Technology Center).