April 22, 2016
Four winter teams rash NCAA party
THE 2015-16 WINTER SPORTS SEASON was three-peat time for the Friars’ men’s basketball and men’s ice hockey teams. For the men’s and women’s indoor track teams, it was business as usual.
The men’s basketball and men’s hockey teams qualified for the NCAA Tournament for the third consecutive season, with each roaring past the 20-victory mark. And the men’s and women’s indoor track teams, which perennially send student-athletes to the NCAA championships, came away with another All-America performer each.
Basketball earns NCAA victory
Driven all season by the one-two punch of First-Team All-BIG EAST Conference picks Kris Dunn ’16 (New London, Conn.) and Ben Bentil ’18 (Wilmington, Del.), the men’s basketball team won its first NCAA Tournament game in 19 years. Rallying late in the game, PC edged the University of Southern California, 70-69, on a layup by Rodney Bullock ’17 (Hampton, Va.) with 1.5 seconds left.
The victory advanced PC to the Second Round, where it fell to No. 1 seed North Carolina, 85-66. Coach Ed Cooley’s Friars finished with a 24-11 record, including 10-8 in the BIG EAST.
Dunn, who is expected to be a first-round NBA Draft choice in June, polished his reputation as one of the country’s best point guards. Named the BIG EAST Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year for the second consecutive season, he ranked fourth in the BIG EAST in scoring (16.4 points per game), second in assists (6.2), and first in steals (2.5). Dunn was a consensus Second-Team All-American.
Bentil had a breakout season, being named the BIG EAST Most Improved Player and an Associated Press Honorable Mention All-American. The 6-9 forward, who declared for the NBA Draft but has the option of withdrawing, led the BIG EAST in scoring with a 21.2-point average and ranked fourth in rebounding with 7.7 per game.
Hockey collects 27 wins
Coming off the 2015 national championship season, the men’s hockey team advanced to the First Round of the NCAA Tournament and posted 27 wins overall, the second-most in program history. Ranked in the top 10 all season, including No. 1 for six weeks, the Friars suffered a 2-1 double-overtime defeat to the University of Minnesota Duluth in their thrilling NCAA battle. PC finished at 27-7-4.
Consistency was the mark of the Friars in 2015-16. With nine seniors, they started off the season with a 12-0-3 record and notched a school-record 16 victories in Hockey East Association play, going 16-3-3 and tying for their first regular-season Hockey East title ever. They defeated Merrimack in two games in a best-of-three tournament quarterfinal series before falling to the University of Massachusetts Lowell, 2-1, in triple overtime in the semifinals.
Four Friars, including Head Coach Nate Leaman, earned Hockey East honors at season’s end. Forward Mark Jankowski ’16 (Dundas, Ontario) and defenseman Jake Walman ’18 (Toronto, Ontario) received First-Team All-Hockey East recognition, while goaltender Nick Ellis ’17 (Millersville, Md.) was named an Honorable Mention All-Star. Leaman, who has compiled a 106-65-23 record in five seasons at PC, was chosen Hockey East Coach of the Year.
All-America honors for track duo
No strangers to the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships, PC’s men’s and women’s teams were represented by distance runners Julian Oakley ’16 (Tauranga, New Zealand) and Sarah Collins ’16 (Basel, Switzerland) at the NCAA meet in March in Birmingham, Ala. Each turned in All-America performances.
Oakley captured First-Team All-America honors by placing seventh in the mile run in a time of 4:07.75. He was in a pack of nine runners who finished within 1.49 seconds of each other. It was his second career All-America accolade.
Collins, meanwhile, finished 12th in the 5,000-meter run in 16:33.96 to capture a berth on the All-America Second-Team. It was the fifth time in her career that she has achieved All-America status.
