Local teams seeded last in USCAA Tournament
The basketball teams from Penn State Fayette, The Eberly Campus face a big challenge next week when the local campus hosts the USCAA National Championship basketball tournaments.
The men’s and women’s teams were both seeded last in their respective brackets of the event, which will crown four national champions a week from Saturday.
As the host campus, both Fayette teams drew an automatic berth into the field. Fayette teams play at the USCAA Division II level, which means they do not offer athletic scholarships.
The USCAA (United States Collegiate Athletic Association) is a small college equivalent of the NCAA. The four divisions are men’s and women’s Division I and men’s and women’s Division II. Thirty-four teams will participate in the tournament, which will host a skills competition Tuesday afternoon.
The Penn State Fayette men were seeded 10th in the 10-team Division II bracket. The Roaring Lions will play seventh-seeded Maine-Machias at 6 p.m. Wednesday, March 4, in the Main Arena at the Community Center on the local campus.
Penn State Fayette had worked its way up the USCAA rankings, only to self-report the use of an ineligible player that resulted in multiple forfeits.
The winner of that game moves on to meet second-seeded Berkeley College of New York at 2 p.m. Thursday, March 5, also in the Main Arena. The loser drops into a consolation game at 1:15 Thursday, March 5, in the Maltho gymnasium, also on the local campus.
The rest of the Men’s Division II field includes top-seed Southern Maine Community College, No. 3 seed Central Penn College, No. 4 Johnson and Wales (from North Carolina), No. 5 Penn State York, No. 6 St. Joseph’s of Vermont, No. 8 Warren Wilson and No. 9, either Penn State Beaver or Penn State Mont Alto.
Thursday’s quarterfinals show top-seed Southern Maine Community College playing the Warren Wilson-Penn State Beaver/Mont Alto winner at 5:30 p.m. in the Maltho, followed by No. 4 Johnson and Wales vs. No. 5 Penn State York.
In the Main Arena, it will be No. 3 Central Penn College vs. No. 6 St. Joseph’s of Vermont at noon, followed by No. 2 Berkeley College playing the PS Fayette/Maine-Machias winner.
The eight-team Women’s Division II bracket shows No. 8 Penn State Fayette taking on top-seed St. Joseph’s of Vermont at 6 p.m. Thursday in the Main Arena, just after No. 2 Penn State Beaver takes on No. 7 Berkeley (N.Y.) College (4 p.m. start in Main Arena).
Other quarterfinal women’s Division II match-ups show No. 4 Albany College of Pharmacy taking on No. 5 Penn State Hazelton at 9:30 p.m. Thursday in the Maltho after No. 3 Penn State Lehigh Valley takes on No. 6 Southern Maine Community College, also in the Maltho at 7:30 p.m.
A win by Fayette over the top seed would get the women back to the Main Arena for a 9 p.m. Friday match-up against the winner of Albany-PS Hazelton. A loss by Fayette would match the Lady Roaring Lions against the loser of that same game at 4 p.m. Friday in a consolation game at the Maltho.
The Men’s Division I bracket kicks off the tournament on Wednesday afternoon when with a pair of games in the Main Arena and two more in the Maltho.
Top-seeded Daemen College takes on No. 8 seed Indiana-South Bend at 2 p.m. in the Main Arena, before No. 4 Concordia College of Alabama meets No. 5 Florida National University.
In the Maltho, No. 3 Rochester College will battle St. Joseph’s College of Brooklyn at 3 p.m., with No. 7 Iowa Wesleyan taking on Berea College roughly at 5 p.m.
The Women’s Division I bracket opens play on Thursday with two games in the Main Arena and two in the Maltho. The eight-team field leads off with top-seed Concordia College of Alabama taking on No. 8 Indiana-South Bend at 10 a.m. in the Main Arena, to be followed by No. 4 The Apprentice School battling Daemen College.
In the Maltho, it will be No. 3 Berea College battling St. Mary of the Woods College at 11 a.m., followed by No. 7 Alfred State College taking on Iowa Wesleyan College.
All championship games will be played in the Main Arena on Saturday, March 7. Championship game times are 12:30 p.m., 3:15 p.m., 6 p.m. and 8:45 p.m. The order of championship games will be announced on Thursday, March 5.
Ticket prices are as follows: Day passes (good for all games on a specific day) are $5 for local fans with proper ID and $8 for fans from outside the area; Tournament Passes (good for any game any day) are $24 on-site or $20 if purchased in advance through TicketLeap at uscaa.ticketleap.com.