Men's Basketball | 3/2/2015 3:42:00 PM

Cobleskill, N.Y.: The SUNY Cobleskill men's basketball team will face host William Paterson University on Friday March 6 in the First Round of the 2015 NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Championship Tournament beginning at 7:30 p.m. in Wayne, N.J. at the campus Recreation Center.  The Fighting Tigers, who are 17-10 overall on the season, will enter the tournament for the first time in program history after winning he North Eastern Athletic Conference (NEAC) Tournament Championship over Lancaster Bible College in Lancaster, Pa. by a 49-46 margin on Sunday to earn the league's automatic bid.

William Patterson, who will serve as a bracket's host site for the first round, is the New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) runner-up and currently boasts a 20-7 overall record. The bracket's other game on Friday, beginning at 5:30 p.m., will be between Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) runners-up Virginia Wesleyan College, from Norfolk, Va., who are currently 23-5 overall on the season and John Carrol University, from University Heights, Ohio, the Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) runners-up who are currently 20-6 overall on the season.

The winners of Friday's first round games will then meet in the tournament's Second Round to be hosted by William Patterson at the college's Recreation Center on Saturday March 7 beginning at 7:00 p.m.  

As his team prepares to compete in their first NCAA Tournament; SUNY Cobleskill Head Coach Matt Allen sees his team's tournament bid as the culmination of a season long quest to get better on a consistent basis.

"We are excited about the opportunity to represent our university in this year's NCAA Tournament for the first time in program history, "said Coach Allen. "Our objective all season has been to improve each game win or lose with the ultimate goal of; playing our best basketball at this specific moment in time, as we head into the post-season."

For further tournament information regarding the tournament, interested parties can consult the: William Patterson University Athletic Website at: http://www.wpupioneers.com/ or the SUNY Cobleskill Athletic Website at http://fightingtigers.cobleskill.edu/.