Men's Basketball Team Earns ECAC Postseason Bid

Tartans to host Gettysburg at 7 p.m, March 2

Clayton Barlow-Wilcox is the Tartans' top scorer with an average of 18.5 points per game.

After finishing second in the University Athletic Association (UAA) with an 18-6 overall record and a 10-4 conference slate, Carnegie Mellon's men's basketball team has earned the second seed in this week's Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference (ECAC) South Region Basketball Tournament.

This marks only the second postseason appearance for a Carnegie Mellon men's basketball team. The only other time the Tartans advanced to postseason play was during the 1976-77 season, when they lost to Wittenberg University, 82-68, in the first round of the NCAA Division III tournament.

The Tartans will play host to seventh seed Gettysburg College (16-10) in a first-round match-up at 7 p.m., Wednesday, March 2, in Skibo Gymnasium. In other first-round ECAC South games, top seed Franklin & Marshall (20-7) will host eighth seed Lincoln (21-6), third seed DeSales (20-7) will host sixth seed Catholic (18-9) and fourth seed Scranton (19-6) will host fifth seed Alvernia (17-10).

The first-round winners will advance to the semifinals on Friday, March 4. The highest seed remaining after first-round action will host the semifinals and finals. The winner of the Franklin & Marshall/Lincoln game will face the winner of Scranton/Alvernia, while the winner of DeSales/Catholic will face the winner of Carnegie Mellon/Gettysburg in the other semifinal. The semifinal winners will meet Saturday, March 5, for the ECAC South Championship.

The Tartans, who tied a school record for most wins in a season, are led by junior forwards Clayton Barlow-Wilcox (18.5 ppg, 8.1 rpg) and Nate Maurer (17.0 ppg, 7.0 rpg), and senior guard Michael Divens (14.2 ppg, 7.3 rpg). Barlow-Wilcox and Maurer were first-team All-UAA selections and Divens was a second-team pick. Carnegie Mellon Head Coach Tony Wingen was voted UAA Coach-of-the-Year.

Below are the ECAC South pairings:

First Round - Wednesday, March 2

No. 8 Lincoln (Pa.) at No. 1 Franklin and Marshall,
No. 7 Gettysburg at No. 2 Carnegie Mellon, 7 p.m.
No. 6 Catholic at No. 3 DeSales
No. 5 Alvernia at No. 4 Scranton

Semifinals - Friday, March 4 (at highest remaining seed)

No. 1 Franklin and Marshall/No. 8 Lincoln (Pa.) vs. No. 4 Scranton/No. 5 Alvernia, TBA
No. 2 Carnegie Mellon/No. 7 Gettysburg vs. No. 3 DeSales/No. 6 Catholic, TBA

Championship Game - Saturday, March 5

Mark Fisher, Sports Information Director