BUFFALO, NY - For the second consecutive season, Villa Maria captured a conference championship, this year, defeating Bryant & Stratton Buffalo 107-97 on Saturday afternoon inside the Villa Athletic Center.  Junior Daniel Thompson came off the bench to score 24 for Villa while senior Dominic Douglas also netted 24 as the Vikings improved to 24-3 on the season, heading into the United States Collegiate Athletic Association (USCAA) National Tournament, set to commence on Sunday, March 3rd on the campus of Penn State Fayette in Uniontown, PA.

The Vikings (24-3) scored 59 points in the second half and shot nearly 54 percent from the floor for the game, outscoring the Bobcats (16-11) by nine over the final 20 minutes.  Thompson was 6-of-10 from the floor, 3-of-6 from beyond the arc and 9-of-10 from the free throw line, en route to a team-high off the bench.  He added six assists and two steals in 24 minutes as well.  Douglas scored 24 as well and was 9-of-14 from the floor.

The Vikings and four New York Bryant & Stratton Schools - all of which started athletics in the spring of 2018 - came to form a small conference for the 2018-19 season and after a successful first season, they will look to continue the success when all BSC schools add women's basketball in the coming year as well.  The Vikings took home the Northeastern Intercollegiate Athletics Conference (NIAC) regular season and tournament crown last year.

Villa opened the game on a 10-4 run thanks to two triples from senior DeJaun Owens.  BSC fought back to tie the game at 24 with 9:20 left in the half, but sophomore Gerald Bibbs put Villa back on top with a three from the right wing.  Villa led for nearly 18 minutes of the first half and took a one-point, 48-47 lead into the break.  

BSC was able to open the second half, strong opening up a six-point lead less than five minutes in, but Villa quickly killed the Bobcats' momentum, tying the game at 64 less than 90 seconds later.  They used an 11-4 run, capped by and-one by Douglas to take a 75-68 lead with 11:08 left.  With 7:29 left, Trayvon Holt pushed the lead to double-figured when he scored two of his six points off a beautiful dish from Thompson.  From there, Villa was able to ice the game down the stretch with secure ball-handling and free throw shooting.

Villa's point guards combined to dish out 15 assists and commit just four turnovers.  Junior Jabari Hibbert, who averages more than five helpers per game, led all players with seven dimes while Thompson had six, and senior Jonathan Pozo had two.  The Vikings were 8-of-19 (42.1%) from beyond the arc as Thompson had three makes and Owens and Bibbs each had two.  Owens scored 12 while Bibbs had 16 off the bench.  Villa's bench out-scored BSC's 46-29.

WHAT'S NEXT
Villa has now won five straight heading into the National Tournament.  They enter the tournament as the second seed, the Association announced earlier Saturday afternoon.  They will open play on Monday, March 4th against an opponent yet to be determined.  The final spots are contingent upon the results of the USCAA affiliated tournaments which are set to conclude Monday.

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