In summing up Union's season...They started OK going 3-1 in their first 4 then lost 4 in a row including their first 3 in Liberty League play. They grew up in a close loss at then #1 Emory which catapulted them into a stretch of 11-4 in league play. That put them at 11-7 in conference and the 4th seed in the LL tournament where they beat Hobart to get a shot at top seed RPI. Another close loss ended their season at 16-11. A very successful 2024-25.

Along the way the Garnet Chargers led the nation in Free Throw percentage shooting 80.8%
They had their first First Team All LL player in 7 years. Point guard Tanner Tedesco and a Second Team selection in forward Jack Plesser, both sophomores.

And did I mention everyone is back. There are no seniors on the squad. The future looks bright. 

Thanks for the heads-up on schedules Bartman. I just checked and Union's 2025 is up too on their football homepage https://unionathletics.com/sports/football/schedule

As I mentioned last fall, it's true...Union opens at Susquehanna on Sept 6th and follows that up at Cortland on Sept 13th.   It can't get much tougher than that. Unfortunately with the addition of Hilbert to the Liberty League and the reciprocal 2 game LL/E8 agreement, Springfield is not on the 2025 schedule. The Garnet host Morrisville in Week #3.

Quote from: hopefan on February 26, 2025, 06:18:10 AMOld old RPI guy here.... Went to internet and turned on Hobart at Union last night..... GREAT GAME...
It doesn't get any better!!! And the Tanner Tedesco name... yes, I remember trying to keep up with Jim Tedesco...

Jim Tedisco ,Union'72 all time hoops great, and Tanner Tedesco, current Union point guard, are NOT related but it sure is sweet to hear that name once again on the Garnet PA.

BTW Jim Tedisco, who's a New York State Senator, was in the bleachers rooting for the boys Saturday.   

Yet another incredibly close, exciting game for the Garnet Chargers. It was remarkably similarly to Saturday's game. Hobart got off to a strong start while Union struggled with it's shooting.The Statesmen were up 35=30 at the half. Quickly after halftime the Garnet took the lead but from there it was lead change after lead change to the end of regulation.Fittingly the game went into overtime tied at 72. Again each team had the lead in OT right to the last seconds when the impossible happened as Union's Matthew Garside hit a buzzer beating 3 for the win! The third time he's done that this season.

Bartman your Statesmen played great but this seems like destiny.

It was senior day for Union at the Viniar Center today. Well at least for the four graduating seniors in the Garnet Chargers women's program. They celebrated with a resounding 77-44 victory over William Smith. The men took to the court later and orchestrated yet another close game victory over Hobart, 76-69, to wrap up 4th place in the LL and a home game Tuesday...against Hobart. The Statesmen opened the game strong and built a 7 point halftime lead while Union struggled with their shooting hitting only 33.3% and even missing 3 of 6 free throws. 

The second half was another story as Union caught fire shooting 58.6%, 5 of 9 from the arc and all 9 of their free throws. Hobart kept up and had their last lead 53-51 with 8:32 left before the Garnet slowly forged ahead. It was still a 3 point game at the 23 second mark until a spectacular putback tip in and four of those FTs sealed the deal.  No senior celebration ensued...because this sophomore dominated Union squad that's so fun to watch, has NO seniors.     

RIT shot an incredible 19/38 from behind the arc, with nine different guys hitting a three , 37/70, 52.9 % overall and lost the game 100-98 to Union. How? the Garnet Chargers lit it up at an even better rate shooting 36/63, 57.1 % and 10/22 from 3. Again Union won the game with their nation leading free throw shooting 16/18 to RIT's 5/7. There were 12 ties and 24 lead changes in this back and forth contest. It was the two free throw misses after making their first 16 in a row at the end that once again gave Union's opposition a chance to win or tie but a Tiger jumper at the buzzer clanked off the rim. Union improves to 10-7 in the Liberty League to sew up a playoff spot. 

This afternoon the St. Lawrence Saints celebrated their final home game of the 2024-25 season as it was senior night for their 6 graduating players. The Union Garnet Chargers, with no seniors on their roster obliged their elders by making it a memorable game for the Saints squad. St. Lawrence forced 11 first half turnovers and Union did little right in falling behind 37-18 at the midpoint. The Garnet didn't fare much better in the second half and St. Lawrence won 74-50. Union, who is tough when they shoot well, had an off night going 19/59 and only 3/22 from the arc. They did hit 9/10 free throws to keep their national #1 ranking in that category. St. Lawrence dominated defensively with 13 steals among Union's 18 turnovers. In a season that's been disappointing for the Saints veteran squad it was evident they came motivated today.   

The Union College men's basketball team leads the nation in Free Throw %, shooting 272/340 (80.0%) after last nights 18/21 effort in a one point win over Clarkson 71-70. Clarkson was only 7/18. They needed every made point after ironically two missed 2 FTs with 25 seconds left allowed the Golden Knights one last opportunity. A contested 3 for the tie fell off the rim and a put back layup only made the final score closer. The Garnet Chargers have made a late push to the top half of the Liberty League standings by winning their last 5 games by a total of 12 points! 

A significant weekend for Union proves fruitful as the Garnet get close road wins against Skidmore and Ithaca.Tenacious hustle and good shooting make this Union team a problem for Liberty League opponents. Next up a key home opportunity to knock off league leading RPI.

Great win for Union over St. Lawrence tonight with the Garnet playing like they need to to win. St. Lawrence dominated inside, outscoring Union 40-19 in the paint and 14-3 on the fast break but the difference was the Garnet made their free throws 8/8 and hit their 3's shooting 10/22 from behind the arc. Including a buzzer beater 3 to win 60-59. That thrusts Union back into the LL playoff hunt.

After last night's 63-62 win over Bard the Union men's basketball team is 5-0 at home and 0-5 away. They did win a game at a neutral site by 2 pts. Without a center on the roster the Garnet Chargers are forced to shoot well to win. Here's the interesting thing. Going into last night's game Union was ranked 1st in all of the NCAA D3's 407 teams in Free Throw % at 81.5%, 123/151. Their 6/10 last night sank them to 80.1% still 3rd. That's great shooting right?...But their overall FT's attempted is only 14.6/g and ranks 372/407, way down at the bottom. So they're a great FT shooting team IF they can get to the line. Sometimes you win games at the FT line.

How about 3's? Probably good from the arc too right? NO, while they do shoot a lot of 3's by necessity 26.1/g 78th, they only make 8.9/g or 34.1% which ranks 148th and with a very limited inside game their overall shooting is just 42.9%, ranked 259 out of 407 teams. More often you lose games with poor shooting.

Against Bard the Garnet Chargers came out hot. Scoring the first 12 points of the game, making 7/15 3's and led 40-26 at the half. In the second half they shot 0/12 from behind the arc and barely survived a last second shot for the win by the Raptors.   

Why do I tell you all this? Well Union is and always has been a dangerous team. They can win any game if they shoot well and look dismal when they don't. Example...in a recent game at #1 Emory the Garnet lit it up in the first half and led 47-36 at halftime. Then the basket shrunk. Emory took the lead with 9:37 left and from there Union only hit three shots from the field. They were 8/33; 1/8 in the second half. Huge opportunity lost.

Union is also a young team as they do not have a senior on the roster. On a good shooting night they'll be a factor in the Liberty League. Especially at home.     

Great effort by John's Hopkins today against Mt. Union. They just couldn't get enough stops...Meanwhile Sasquatch is taking a total monkey stomping.

Cortland H/C Curt Fitzpatrick is reportedly leaving for Colgate.

Quote from: tony/troy on December 08, 2024, 10:30:16 PM

Quote from: UfanBill on December 07, 2024, 08:09:40 PMGreat to see eastern teams continue to prove themselves against national competition. Things have surely shifted. I was not surprised that Springfield came to play today since their ground game has been rolling and Cortland isn't the 2023 Dragons. Susquehanna knocking off St. John's was gold and JHU and Salibury showed Maryland strong. Nice...All great programs.  

BTW as a Union fan I'm trying hard to forget the disappointment of this past season. It started with only having 4 scheduled home games and the struggle became apparent quickly in a scrimmage against lowly Hartwick. The Garnet never got it right and 3-7 was exactly where they deserved to be. My sources tell me Union's OOC schedule for next season should include the two agreed upon E8 vs LL opponents(I heard Cortland and Utica?) and Susquehanna. Not sure about Springfield since with Hilbert joining the LL there's now room for only 3 OOC games. 2025 looms just as formidable and forgettable. I hope coach Drach brings in some studs. 

So should Union really be playing Cortland and Utica in 2025 and we also already know Cortland will be playing Ithaca every year, Cortland is "off the board" as far as the 2025 LL/E8 interlock goes.

Should anyone find out anything else besides the above about the eastern side of the 2025 interlock post it.

If and when "enough precincts report their results" then everyone in the east can "project their interlock pairings" for 2025 by process of elimination.

Some of the eastern LL websites sometimes take forever to post upcoming schedules. Would be nice to know before forever.

 

Unless the plan has changed the original press release concerning the Liberty League vs Empire 8 scheduling agreement(https://empire8.com/news/2024/6/19/empire-8-and-liberty-league-announce-football-non-conference-scheduling-agreement.aspx) states..."This agreement will see members of both conferences fill vacancies within their respective schedules with nonconference opponents, with each institution playing two contests (one home, one away) against opponents from the other conference.

Great to see eastern teams continue to prove themselves against national competition. Things have surely shifted. I was not surprised that Springfield came to play today since their ground game has been rolling and Cortland isn't the 2023 Dragons. Susquehanna knocking off St. John's was gold and JHU and Salibury showed Maryland strong. Nice...All great programs.  

BTW as a Union fan I'm trying hard to forget the disappointment of this past season. It started with only having 4 scheduled home games and the struggle became apparent quickly in a scrimmage against lowly Hartwick. The Garnet never got it right and 3-7 was exactly where they deserved to be. My sources tell me Union's OOC schedule for next season should include the two agreed upon E8 vs LL opponents(I heard Cortland and Utica?) and Susquehanna. Not sure about Springfield since with Hilbert joining the LL there's now room for only 3 OOC games. 2025 looms just as formidable and forgettable. I hope coach Drach brings in some studs.   

Happy Thanksgiving to all you "Board Members" and your families.

The Bob Butterfield coaching tree includes Utica coach Blaise Faggiano. He is a 1993 Ithaca College graduate. He played on Butterfield's 1991 championship team. Interestingly the article Unionpalozza referred to, and a great read, (https://www.utica.edu/college-community/utica-stories/longtime-coach-blaise-faggianos-coaching-tree-growing) gives credit to former UAlbany head coach Bob Ford as Faggiano's mentor not Butterfield. Ford hired Faggiano as a graduate assistant following his playing days for the Bombers. He coached at Albany 1993-94, back on Butterfield's staff as DC in '95-'96 and at St. John Fisher as DC from '99-2007 before taking the Utica H/C job in 2008. Here's a PDF file listing Faggiano's coaching tree. https://uticapioneers.com/documents/2024/7/9/Coaching_Tree__1_.pdf  I'd say it's a pretty impressive list.