GANSEVOORT, N.Y. – While the opponents were the same from last year’s North Eastern Athletic Conference (NEAC) Men’s Basketball Championship game, the outcome was a different one as the Morrisville State Mustangs defeated the Lancaster Bible Chargers, 70-63, to win their fourth NEAC title in program history.

Boxscore / Recap (Courtesy of Morrisville State)

With the win, the Mustangs (22-6) earned the automatic qualifier to the NCAA Division III Men’s Basketball Tournament. Morrisville State will be making its fourth appearance in the NCAA Tournament and first since a run to the Elite Eight in 2013-14.

Morrisville State led by as much as 10 and never trailed in the first half, but Lancaster Bible was able to close the gap and finish the half trailing by four points, 35-31. The Chargers were able to take the lead on a three-pointer by Luke Beers (Lancaster, Pa.) at the 11:27 mark of the second half, but the Mustangs quickly responded with a layup from Kenny Bonaparte (Soundview, N.Y.) to regain a lead they would not relinquish the rest of the way.

Mustangs’ rookie Kevin Dennis (Bronx, N.Y.) had an impressive afternoon, leading the NEAC champions with 23 points and 19 rebounds to earn Tournament Most Valuable Player honors. Dennis finished the weekend with 40 points and 23 rebounds. Bonaparte came off the bench to add 19 points in the win while Morrisville State shot 48.1 percent from the field.

Lancaster Bible’s Herbie Brown (Wilmington, Del.) scored a game-high 24 points, while Bill Livezey (Sherman, Maine) recorded 11 points and 11 rebounds for the double-double. The Chargers end their season with a 14-13 overall record.

The Mustangs will now prepare for their next opponent in the NCAA Tournament, which will be announced Monday, Feb. 27 at 12:30 p.m. on the NCAA Division III Men’s Basketball Selection Show available at www.ncaa.com.

***********************************************************************************************************************************************
The North Eastern Athletic Conference has fourteen NCAA Division III member institutions which include: Bryn Athyn College, Cazenovia College, College of St. Elizabeth, Gallaudet University, Keuka College, Lancaster Bible College, Pennsylvania College of Technology, Pennsylvania State University - Abington, Pennsylvania State University - Berks, SUNY Cobleskill, SUNY Morrisville State College, SUNY Polytechnic Institute, Wells College, and Wilson College.  Associate members are: Cedar Crest College (W Swimming), D’Youville College (M Volleyball), Hilbert College (M Lacrosse & M Volleyball), Medaille College (M&W Lacrosse & M Volleyball), Penn State Altoona (M Volleyball) and Rutgers University - Camden (M Golf).  The North Eastern Athletic Conference has partnered with the North Atlantic Conference in the sports of field hockey and men’s and women’s tennis.