NSIC: AUGIE SLAYS DRAGONS TO CAPTURE TITLE … AGAIN

Tuesday's action in D2 men's basketball tournament action had its share of drama, surprises and all around chaos. Let's take a quick look at some of the highlights and a quick look ahead at Wednesday's action.

NSIC: AUGIE SLAYS DRAGONS TO CAPTURE TITLE ... AGAIN

For the second straight season, BR-10 Augustana (S.D) knocked off BR-26 Minnesota State-Moorhead to capture the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference championship with an 89-76 win inside the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, S.D.

Augustana (28-2) becomes the second team in D2 men's basketball to punch their ticket to the NCAA tournament; BR-x Virginia State won the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association crown in Charlotte, N.C. on Saturday.

Augie held a 42-41 halftime lead, but didn't surrender the lead in the second half. MSU-Moorhead (30-5) cut the lead to two points, 72-70, after a Tyler Vaughan jumper with six and a half minutes left, but the Vikings responded with a 17-6 run to close out the game.

All five Augie starters scored at least 10 points, led by Casey Schilling with 26. Moorhead's Aaron Lein led all scorers with 31.

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PSAC: MASSALEY BEATS CLOCK AS SHIP SINKS KUTZTOWN

An intense rivalry between PSAC East rivals BR-131 Shippensburg and BR-75 Kutztown which saw 12 ties and seven lead changes in front of a crowd of 2,187 inside Kutztown's Keystone Arena came to a dramatic conclusion, courtesy of Abe Massaley’s jumper with 1.5 seconds left to give the Red Raiders the 74-72 win over the PSAC East regular season champions:

Abe called game. AGAIN. pic.twitter.com/uQBiHOs5Ii

— SHIP Sports Info (@ShipURaiders) March 2, 2016

Side note: you can see the dramatic final 1:15 via this Periscope link (which, unfortunately, it doesn’t allow for embedding).

“I don't know, for some reason I just don't feel pressure,” Massaley told ShipRaiders.com after the game. “Any time I shoot, I think it's going in. My guys and (head coach Chris) Fite trust me all the way, so they just put the ball in my hands and let me go.”

Shippensburg will play BR-49 Mercyhurst , an 84-68 winner over BR-162 Clarion , in the PSAC semifinals, which will be played at Hollinger Field House in West Chester, Pa. on Saturday.

BR-74 West Chester flipped an 11 point halftime second half deficit to BR-41 East Stroudsburg into a 10 point lead thanks to a 35-14 run to knock the Warriors out of the tournament with an 83-71 win to earn hosting rights for the PSAC final four. The Golden Rams will face BR-53 Indiana (Pa.) , who knocked out BR-113 Pitt-Johnstown 77-66.

Many in attendance (including this reporter) for the past PSAC playoff contest between the Golden Rams and Crimson Hawks inside Hollinger Field House back in the 2012 PSAC semifinals won’t forget one of the most dramatic finishes in PSAC postseason history:

Meanwhile, the Golden Bears will await to see if their bubble bursts as far as NCAA playoff considerations after the stunning home loss to a rising Red Raiders team.

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GLIAC: ROAD WARRIORS RULE AS THREE TOP SEEDS FALL

Of all the conference tournaments underway, few have provided as many surprises as the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. With three of the top four seeds falling, BR-30 Ashland , the second seed, will host both the men's and women's GLIAC final four this weekend inside Kates Gymnasium in Ashland, Ohio.

Michael Hundley says blocking shots comes easy to him. He had a SCHOOL RECORD 10 blocks against Grand Valley State! pic.twitter.com/JA77UMGQ0M

— Ashland Athletics (@goashlandeagles) March 2, 2016

The second-seeded Eagles were the only home team to win in Tuesday's GLIAC quarterfinals , extended their win streak to 12 games as they defeated BR-62 Grand Valley State 67-58 at Kates thanks to Michael Hundley's school-record 10 blocked shots.

RISE UP!

Wendell Davis knocks down a 3-pointer!

Ashland 53, Grand Valley State 35. 7:57, 2nd pic.twitter.com/O78CPZqX7L

— Ashland Athletics (@goashlandeagles) March 2, 2016

Wendell Davis chipped in a double-double, 12 points and 10 rebounds, while Adrian Cook led all scorers with 20 points to pace the Eagles, who will face defending GLIAC champion BR-39 Ferris State in Saturday's semifinals.

The sixth-seeded Bulldogs snapped a five game losing streak as they knocked off BR-48 Findlay on the road 62-61 thanks to a Drew Cushingberry floater in the paint with .7 seconds left . The loss marked the first time Findlay had lost at home in the GLIAC tournament.

Ashland earned hosting rights after BR-109 Walsh , the eighth seed in the GLIAC tourney, stunned top seed BR-45 Saginaw Valley State 91-85. Walsh will face fifth-seed BR-70 Hillsdale , a 97-73 winner over BR-32 Lake Superior State .

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CCAA: CHICO STATE STUNNED BY CAL STATE-LA

It's no coincidence that the California Collegiate Athletic Association began the week as BennettRank's top conference, with BR-5 Chico State leading the way.

Unfortunately for Chico State, the CCAA's top seed won't be making the trip to the Stockton (Calif.) Arena this weekend for the conference semifinals as BR-85 Cal State-Los Angeles stunned the Wildcats 54-37 in quarterfinal action .

The eighth-seeded Golden Eagles held Chico to their lowest point total in 32 years while holding the Wildcats to 15-of-57 (26.3 percent) shooting from the field. Cal State LA defeated Chico for the second time in four days, edging the Wildcats 65-64 in Los Angeles on Saturday , to close out the regular season with wins in seven of their last eight games to snag that eighth seed.

MBB| HUGE BUCKET! Rattler gives HSU the lead, 63-61, with under 10 seconds to play at Lumberjack Arena! #Humbuildt pic.twitter.com/Zl39TtBsaT

— Humboldt State Jacks (@HSUJacks) March 2, 2016

Cal State LA will face BR-25 Humboldt State in Friday's CCAA semifinals in Stockton. The Lumberjacks advanced with a 64-61 win over BR-27 Cal State Monte rey Bay thanks in part to Tryas Butler's jumper from just inside the arc with 10.1 seconds left.

On the other side of the bracket, BR-2 California-San Diego got a buzzer-beating three from Drew Dyer at the end of regulation to force overtime and held off upset-minded BR-46 Sonoma State 71-66. The second seeded Tritons will face BR-11 Cal Poly Pomona in Friday's other semifinal after the Broncos defeated BR-37 San Francisco State 57-50.

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STARTING FIVE: WEDNESDAY'S KEY GAMES

NOTE: As of 2:45 p.m. EST, the NCAA Regional Rankings had not been released. Key games to watch may be updated depending on how the rankings play out.

The East Coast, Lone Star, South Atlantic and Sunshine State conference tournaments begin today with quartefinal action in both leagues. Meanwhile, the Northeast-10 Conference semifnals take place tonight. Here are the key games to watch:

NORTHEAST-10 CONFERENCE

[caption id="attachment_2913" align="aligncenter" width="660"] Graphic Courtesy: Southern New Hampshire Athletics[/caption]

It's an all Northeast Division semifinal round headlined by a cross-town rivalry in New Hampshire as round Three of the "Battle of Manchester" tips off at 7:00 p.m. when BR-51 Southern New Hampshire , the fifth seed from the Northeast Division, crosses the Merrimack River to face BR-17 St. Anselm in a semifinal showdown inside Stoutenburgh Gymnasium.

Despite being long-time conference rivals, the two teams have never faced in the Northeast-10 Tournament; St. Anslem joined the NE-10 (when the league was known as the Northeast-8) in 1983-1984 while Southern New Hampshire joined the league in 2000-2001 from the disbanded New England Collegiate Conference. St. Anslem won the first meeting this season, 76-58, at Stoutenburgh Gym on Nov. 17 while the Penmen outlasted the Hawks 70-68 in a double-overtime thriller at the SNHU Fieldhouse last Tuesday.

The winner of this cross-town rivalry will face either BR-33 Stonehill or BR-35 Bentley in Saturday's championship game. Top-seeded Bentley, who hosts the Skyhawks tonight, would host the title tilt with a win regardless of the outcome of the SNHU-St. Anselm game. Third-seed Stonehill would host the game if fourth-seeded Southern New Hampshire wins, but second-seed St. Anslem would host if the Hawks beat the Penmen and Stonehill defeats the Falcons.

SUNSHINE STATE CONFERENCE

We could be on the verge of crowning a new king of D2 men's basketball in Frisco, Texas later this month as BR-194 Florida Southern , the defending national champions, sit as the eighth seed in the SSC with their only way of returning to the NCAA tournament being a SSC tournament title win. The task is rather daunting as the Mocs travel to top-seed BR-29 Barry in Miami Shores tonight at 7:30 p.m. EST . The Mocs defeated Barry 74-72 on Nov. 18 in Lakeland while the Bucs avenged that loss with a 101-63 win on Jan. 27 in Miami Shores.

SOUTH ATLANTIC CONFERENCE

BR-76 Lenoir-Rhyne current sits in seventh in the NCAA's Southeast Regional Rankings, so it's safe to say that the Bears are on the bubble. L-R faces a BR-118 Newberry team with whom they split the season series with during the regular season in a 7:00 p.m. EST tipoff . The Wolves defeated L-R 133-122 in overtime back on Jan. 6 in Newberry, S.C. while the Bears returned the favor on Feb. 17 in Hickory, N.C. with an 86-83 win.

LONE STAR CONFERENCE

The first half of the LSC quarterfinals take place today at the Allen (Texas) Event Center with second seed BR-38 Angelo State facing BR-152 Texas A&M Kingsville in the afternoon session at 2:30 p.m. CST ; top seed BR-13 Midwestern State faces BR-241 Eastern New Mexico at 8:30 p.m. CST tonight . Midwestern and Angelo also hold the top spots in the South Central Regional Rankings.

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