Center Valley, PA (March 2, 2010) – The fields have been announced, the game times have been set, the coaches are watching film, and the players are anxiously awaiting tip-off on Friday. For the second straight year both the men's and women's basketball teams at DeSales University are competing in the NCAA Division III Tournament which begins Friday evening for both teams.

Both teams earned the Freedom Conference's automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament as the women went on the road and won its third straight conference title with a 63-59 win over Manhattanville College, while the men won its second straight title, defeating Misericordia University, 69-61, in Billera Hall last Saturday.

The women will be playing their first and second round games at Ithaca College. On Friday the Bulldogs open NCAA Tournament play vs. the host Bombers with the game time set for 8:00 pm. For those unable to attend there will be several ways to follow the game's progress online via LIVE Stats, LIVE Audio, and LIVE Video.

The men will be playing their first and second round games at William Paterson University. On Friday, DSU opens NCAA Tournament play vs. Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) with the game time set for 6:00 pm. For those unable to attend LIVE Stats and LIVE Video will be available to follow along.

The DSU (18-9 overall) women will be making its 10th appearance in the NCAA Tournament and eighth under head coach Fred Richter. The Bulldogs are the in the “Big Dance” for the third straight year. Last season, DSU fell to The College of New Jersey in the opening round, TCNJ later advanced all the way to the Final Four, while two seasons ago, the Bulldogs advanced to the “Sweet 16” where they fell to the eventual national champion, Howard Payne University. DeSales has a 4-9 overall record in the NCAA Tournament.

The DeSales (22-5 overall) men will be making its third appearance in the NCAA Tournament with all three coming while head coach Scott Coval has roamed the sidelines. Last year, the Bulldogs won three games in the tournament and advanced to the “Elite Eight” round where they fell to Franklin & Marshall College. The other appearance came in 1995-96. All-time DSU is 3-2 in NCAA Tournament play.

The Bulldog women will be led by junior Lori Lidlow (Toms River, NJ/Toms River North). Lidlow, an All-Freedom Conference First-Team selection this season, leads the team in scoring at 18.1 points per game. She also has a team-high 64 steals and is second on the team with 71 assists.

Senior Kelly Magrann (Sinking Spring, PA/Holy Name) also earned All-Conference honors being named to the Second-Team. She averages 11.0 points per game and has a team-high 58 made three-pointers and is shooting 42.3 percent from outside the arc. Sophomore Cherelle Simmons (Lancaster, PA/JP McCaskey) and freshman Colleen Gavin (Quakertown, PA/Quakertown) combine to average 16.4 points and 14.7 rebounds per game in the paint, while sophomore point guard Hannah Smith (New Cumberland, PA/Cedar Cliff) has a team-high 136 assists and is ranked fourth in the country in assists-to-turnover ratio (2.39-to-1).

The Bulldog men are led by two-time Freedom Conference Player of the Year, senior Darnell Braswell (Allentown, PA/William Allen). The NABC First-Team All-American and Mid-Atlantic Regional Player of the Year last year earned his second straight Conference Player of the Year award on Tuesday. He leads the team in scoring at 21.0 points per game and rebounding at 8.3 rebounds per game. He has nine double-doubles on the season and already owns the school-record for points in a game (41), points in a season, and points in a career at DeSales.

Joining Braswell on the All-Freedom Conference Team is junior Brian Hunter (Allentown, PA/Emmaus), who earned Second-Team honors for the first time in his career. He also averages double digits at 10.6 points per game and has a team-high 102 assists on the season. Senior Rob Schubach (Center Valley, PA/Southern Lehigh) and sophomore Bob Zanneo (Philadelphia, PA/Father Judge) combine to average 14.5 points and have made a total of 98 three's on the season as DSU features four players who have made at least 34 treys on the year.