Orangeburg, NY (11/3/10)  The Dominican College men's basketball team has been picked to finish third in the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) North Division Preseason Poll as was released by the CACC office today.  Bloomfield College was picked to finish first in the North Division, while Philadelphia University earned the top spot in the South Division.  The 13 CACC head coaches conducted the voting.  

The Deacons, who received 83 points in the poll, will be returning seven players from a team that reached the semi-finals of the CACC Tournament in 2009-2010.  Returning for his senior season is All-American guard Gage Daye, the reigning CACC Player of the Year.  Daye led the conference in points per-game last season (26.0), which ranked second in the nation. A second team Daktronics All-America selection, Daye will look to lead the Deacons to their first CACC title since 2006.  Also returning for Bloomfield are guards Ahmad Harris, Andre Green and Ryan Rodrigues, along with forwards Matt Wafula, Robert Young and Woody Eliezer.  The Deacons notched 20-plus victories (21-8) for the fourth time in head coach Gerald Holmes' eight seasons at the helm, and will look to continue a home winning streak that has reached 22-straight contests.

Felician was chosen second in the North with 82 points and seven first place nods, finishing just one point behind Bloomfield. FC returns four starters from a team that broke the school record for victories (24-7) and made the program's first NCAA Tournament appearance. The Golden Falcons took home the 2009-10 CACC Championship with an 84-79 triumph over Goldey-Beacom. Among the returnees are all-conference selections Devon Young and junior guard Antoine Obery. Young was named the 2009-10 CACC Tournament MVP.

Dominican College was picked third in the North, followed by Post University, Nyack College, Caldwell College and Concordia College.

With the loss of four senior multi-year starters, Philadelphia will have a new look this season. Despite the turnover, the Rams collected all but one of the 13 first place votes and finished with 77 points, well ahead of Goldey-Beacom. The leading returnees are sophomore guard Jimmy Connolly and junior forwards JJ Gundry and Corey Francisco. Connolly was selected to the All-Tournament team at last year's NCAA East Region Tournament, as he helped the Rams advance to the championship game. It marked the furthest any CACC men's team has advanced in a Division II Regional. The team will count on help from some newcomers, particularly 7-foot center Temi Abedayo, who transferred from St. Joseph's University. Back to patrol the sidelines will be the NCAA's all-time leader in victories, Herb Magee, who will be starting his 44th season at the helm.

Goldey-Beacom finished second in the voting in the South with 65 points and one first-place vote. GBC includes returnees such as All-CACC second team pick, senior forward Terrence Parkes (8.2 rpg) and All-CACC honorable mention guard/forward Sam McDuffie (14.2 points per-game). Last year, GBC was just one win shy of the school's first-ever NCAA Tournament bid and set a team record with 19 victories. The Lightning fell just short of their first CACC Championship, losing to Felician in the title game.

Chestnut Hill College was tabbed third in the South and is followed by the University of the Sciences, Wilmington University and Holy Family University.

The 2010-11 season gets underway on Nov. 12, as Bloomfield, Concordia, Caldwell and Nyack are in action. Both Bloomfield and Concordia will be participating in the Bentley University Tip-Off Classic.

The 2010-11 CACC Men's Basketball Preseason Coaches' Poll is listed below.