2026 East Coast Conference Men's Basketball Championship Central
AMHERST, N.Y. – The championship game is set for the 2026 East Coast Conference Men’s Basketball Championship after the semifinal matchups on Saturday.
Top-seeded Daemen University, the host, and Roberts Wesleyan University will face off on Sunday at 3:30 p.m. for the conference title and the automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.
The Wildcats defeated crosstown rival and fifth-seeded D’Youville University 73-59 in the evening’s first semifinal, while sixth-seeded Roberts Wesleyan defeated second-seeded St. Thomas Aquinas 76-62 in the nightcap.
Daemen will be looking to win its second straight ECC title, now appearing in its sixth straight title game.
No. 1 Daemen 73, No. 5 D’Youville 59 - Box Score
The Wildcats (30-1) put four players in double figures, paced by 17 points from Benjamin Bill, and 14 points each from Zach Philipkoski and Justin Hemphil. Justin Glover added in 13 points as the Wildcats shot 56 percent in the second half.
For D’Youville (8-18), the Saints were led by 16 points from Maxence Massadila and 12 points from Sean Reynolds. Elisha Warren netted ten for the Saints, who were appearing in their first conference semifinal.
After Daemen took an early lead at 11-5 on a foul shot by Hemphill, the Saints went on a 10-0 run capped by a three-pointer from Justin Moore, which gave them a 15-11 lead with 10:46 left in the opening stanza.
The two teams would freely change leads before Daemen went up 32-28 with 54 seconds left in the first on a layup by Philipkoski.
Leading 33-31 at intermission, Daemen outscored the Saints 16-7 over the first 6:02 of the second half to go up 11 and would never be threatened the rest of the way.
No. 6 Roberts Wesleyan 76, No. 2. St. Thomas Aquinas 62 - Box Score
Roberts Wesleyan owned a 43-33 rebounding edge as the Redhawks (10-16) continued its hot streak by defeating the Spartans (17-12) to advance to the ECC Championship Game for the first time in school history.
Paced by 18 points from Collin Woods, the Redhawks shot 46.2 percent from the field and held STAC to just 31.7 percent shooting in the contest.
Keonjay Carter had 17 points, while Jordan Brown had 14 and Khalik Gardner added in 13 for Roberts.
For St. Thomas Aquinas, Starrell Hearns had 24 points and nine rebounds, with Derrick James getting 16 points.
The Redhawks went on a 14-2 run in a 4:54 span in the first half to take a 24-11 lead, going 6-for-7 from the field. A Carter jumper with 7:41 left in the first ended the run. The Spartans would only get within six the rest of the half before trailing 31-23 at intermission.
In the second half, STAC got within one basket at 33-31 with 17:47 left when Hearns made the first of two straight buckets. The Spartans finally pulled even at 42-all when Brennan Chatman drove the lane for the score.
The Redhawks, however, went on a quick 5-0 run to go up 47-42 when Gardner hit two buckets. The last, a three-pointer with 10:15 left, gave Roberts the five-point edge. A lead they would not relinquish.