CHAMPIONSHIP PREVIEW: No. 1 Seed Men’s Basketball Faces No. 2 Seed Mitchell in NECC Title Game Saturday

QUINCY, Mass.- The No. 1 seed Eastern Nazarene College men's basketball team meets second-seeded Mitchell in the New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) Tournament championship showdown Saturday afternoon.

BASICS:       
Date: 02/26/22
Location: Lahue Athletic Center | Quincy, Mass.
Time: 2:00 pm
Follow: Live Stats | Live Video

HOW THEY GOT HERE:
Eastern Nazarene boasts a 14-11 overall record while Mitchell heads into the weekend sporting a 16-10 record on the year. Both squads posted a 4-2 league mark during the regular-season but the Lions edged the Mariners for the No. 1 seed in the NECC Tournament.

Top-seeded Eastern Nazarene rolled past Lesley 91-66 in the NECC semifinals while No. 2 seed Mitchell escaped with a narrow 95-94 win over third-seeded New England College.

POSTSEASON HISTORY:
Eastern Nazarene is making its eighth playoff appearance in the last 10 years and its first-ever trip to the NECC Tournament championship game. The Lions boast an all-time postseason record of 18-16.

ENC vs. MITCHELL – ALL-TIME SERIES:
Eastern Nazarene and Mitchell have met 14 times on the hardwood with the Lions owning a 7-7 all-time record versus the Mariners. Eastern Nazarene earned an overtime victory at Mitchell and dropped a pair of decisions to the Mariners this season.

NECC AWARDS:
Sophomore Bernie McGuinness (Cumming, Ga.) was tabbed the NECC Co-Player of the Year and earned All-NECC honors. First-year head coach Logan Sharp was voted NECC Co-Coach of the Year while graduate student Ozzy Traill III (Valley Stream, N.Y.) was selected to the NECC Del Malloy Sportsmanship Team.

LONG-DISTANCE CALLING:
The Lions pace the NECC with a collective three-point shooting percentage of 35.7%. Bernie McGuinness (Cumming, Ga.) ranks second in the league with a 44.8% clip from beyond the arc while Nick Manso (Brick, N.J.) ranks tied for sixth with a shooting percentage of 35.1% from downtown.