The men’s basketball team continued its postseason run by upsetting second-seeded Nazareth College (18—9) in the finals of the Empire 8 Conference Tournament 70-55 yesterday in Ben Light Gymnasium.
The victory earned the program its first conference title and an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
The Blue and Gold employed a balanced scoring attack, with five players scoring in double figures to defeat the Golden Flyers. Junior guard Jordan Healey, who started only one game this season before yesterday’s contest, led the South Hill squad with a game and career high 15 points. Senior guard Jordan Marcus added 14, junior forward Andrei Oztemel scored 12 and junior guard Sean Rossi sank 11.
Junior forward Chris Young came off the bench and did not miss a shot, going 5-for-5 from the field.
The three ball was a deciding factor in the game. Nazareth only made six of 22 shots compared to the Blue and Gold’s 50 percent shooting from behind the arc.
For their efforts in bringing the Empire 8 Championship back to South Hill, Rossi was named tournament MVP and Marcus was named to the all-tournament team.
The Bombers are currently awaiting for the NCAA to announce their opponent for the 2012 NCAA Division III Tournament.