NORTH DARTMOUTH, Mass. – The NCAA Division III Men’s Basketball Selection Committee invited a pair of Little East Conference teams to the 2009 NCAA Division III Men’s Basketball Championship Tournament. The University of Massachusetts Dartmouth earned the automatic qualifier into the 60-team field, while Rhode Island College earned an at-large berth. Since the inception of the Little East Conference in 1987, the conference has received multiple invitations 11 times.

The Corsairs (25-3) are making the program’s 12th appearance in the national tournament after capturing the Little East Conference Tournament Championship on Saturday evening. Head Coach Brian Baptiste has guided his team to victories in 20 of its past 22 games and the No. 18 ranking in the latest edition of the D3Hoops.com Top-25. UMass Dartmouth is ranked among the national team leaders in turnover margin (third, 10.2), steals per game (sixth, 12.4), assists per game (11th, 17.5), scoring margin (11th, 14.2 ppg), assist turnover ratio (12th, 1.27), and scoring offense (19th, 82.9).

Junior forward Brandon Shelton (Dorchester, Mass.) paces four Corsair student-athletes averaging in double figures with 17.9 points per game, while senior guard Reece Freeman (Cambridge, Mass.) sits atop the national rankings in assist-to-turnover ratio (3.8), while ranking 18th in assists (6.2 apg).

UMass Dartmouth will travel to Worcester, Mass. for the first and second round games, hosted by WPI. The Corsairs will face Baruch (23-5) on Friday night at 6 p.m., while Husson (16-11) will square off against the hosts approximately two hours later. The second round game is tentatively scheduled for 7 p.m. the following evening.

The No. 17 Anchormen (23-5) are making their third consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance and sixth overall. Rhode Island College earned an at-large berth into the 60-team field after losing to UMass Dartmouth in the Little East Conference Championship. Head Coach Bob Walsh and his charges had their school-record 14-game losing streak snapped on Saturday. The Anchormen led the conference circuit in scoring defense (64.9 ppg), field goal percentage defense (40.8), and blocked shots (4.1 bpg), while ranking second in scoring margin (+8.8), offensive rebounding (38.1 rpg), and defensive rebounding (35.7 rpg).

Rhode Island College features a well-balanced offensive attack with seven student-athletes averaging at least eight points per game, led by senior guard Bobby Bailey’s (Fall River, Mass.) 11.9. Classmate forward Kaseem Johnson (New Haven, Conn.) has pulled in a team-best 6.9 rebounds per game, while sophomore guard Antone Gray (Providence, R.I.) has handed out 112 assists.

The Anchormen will host a four-team site on Friday and Saturday night. Rhode Island College also hosted first and second round games in 2007 en route to reaching the sectional finals at Amherst College. The Anchormen and MIT (20-8) will open the festivities at The Murray Center at 6 p.m. on Friday night, while the University of New England (24-4) will battle Farmingdale State (24-3) in the nightcap approximately two hours laters. The second round contest is scheduled for 7 p.m. the following evening.