MILTON, Mass. - Gordon College has earned the top seed for The Commonwealth Coast Conference (TCCC) men’s basketball championship, which begins with quarterfinal matchups on campus sites Tuesday.

The Fighting Scots (21-4 overall) captured the top seed in the conference tournament after compiling a league-best 12-1 record in TCCC play. On Tuesday, Gordon will host #8 seed Endicott (12-12, 7-6), while #2 seed Wentworth (14-10, 10-3) will host #7 seed Western New England (12-13, 7-6), #3 seed Curry (13-12, 10-3) will host #6 seed University of New England (11-13, 7-6), and #4 seed Colby-Sawyer (14-11, 7-6) will host #5 seed Nichols (14-10, 7-6).

TCCC tiebreaking procedures were utilized to seed the two teams with identical 10-3 records -- Wentworth and Curry -- and the five teams with 7-6 conference records -- Colby-Sawyer, Nichols, University of New England (UNE),Western New England (WNEC) and Endicott.

In the lone conference matchup between the two 10-3 teams, Wentworth posted a victory, thus earning the #2 seed and giving Curry the #3 seed. In conference games played among the five 7-6 teams, Colby-Sawyer compiled a 3-1 record, compared to a 2-2 mark for Nichols, UNE and Endicott, and a 1-3 record for WNEC. Colby-Sawyer earned the #4 seed, while the remaining four teams returned to step one. Of the four remaining teams, Nichols and UNE both posted 2-1 records in games played among that quartet, compared to 1-2 for WNEC and Endicott. Nichols and UNE returned to step one, with Nichols earning the #5 seed as a result of a win over UNE in the teams’ lone conference matchup. UNE, WNEC and Endicott returned to step one.

Of the three remaining teams, UNE posted a 2-0 record, while WNEC went 1-1 and Endicott was 0-2. This earned UNE the #6 seed. Remaining teams WNEC and Endicott went back to step one, with WNEC claiming the #7 seed by virtue of a victory over Endicott in the teams’ lone conference game. Endicott received the #8 seed.

All four quarterfinal games are scheduled to begin at 7:00 p.m. Quarterfinal winners will advance to the semifinal round which will be played on Thursday, February 25 at the sites of the higher seed. Games are scheduled to begin at 7:00 p.m., but may be altered in the event that one institution hosts both a men’s and a women’s contest.

Semifinal winners will square off for the conference championship on Saturday, February 27 at 7:00 p.m. at the site of the higher seed.

2010 TCCC MEN’S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE
Quarterfinals • Tuesday, February 23
#8 Endicott (12-12, 7-6) at #1 Gordon (21-4, 12-1), 7:00 p.m.
#7 Western New England (12-13, 7-6) at #2 Wentworth (14-10, 10-3), 7:00 p.m.
#6 University of New England (11-13, 7-6) at #3 Curry (13-12, 10-3), 7:00 p.m.
#5 Nichols (14-10, 7-6) at #4 Colby-Sawyer (14-11, 7-6), 7:00 p.m.

Semifinals • Thursday, February 25
#1/8 winner vs. #4/5 winner, 7:00 p.m. (at higher seed)
#2/7 winner vs. #3/6 winner, 7:00 p.m. (at higher seed)
Times subject to change in the event of a men’s/women’s doubleheader

Championship Game • Saturday, February 27
Semifinal Winners, 7:00 p.m. (at higher seed)