MBB: Liberty League

[with age came?]

I agree Clarkson & SLU should be in the mix, though a new coach at Clarkson is a concern.  You never know if new "systems" can mesh with "old"players.  Certainly talent wise both of those teams are strong for the LL.  My early thoughts are that Hobart will enter into the fray also.  Very strong returnees in Estep & Lllwellyn.  Also mark my words oh ye of little faith Skidmore will compete this year.  I have said this before that I thought that Skidmore had the best total recruiting class last year.  RPI will have to replace about half of its offense (Simmons is gone) and may struggle.  Vassar lost key players also as did Hamilton (especially Harlee Wood).  Union has lost a couple of strong players also Demaris & someone else which escapes me right now but will be competitive.  This league has the potential again to be a real "barnburner" with 5 or 6 teams having real playoff shots.  And if someone has managed to recruit an impact freshman all of the above could change. So flying blind here goes the first predictions on this board:   1) SLU 2) Hobart 3) Clarkson 4) Hamilton 5) Skidmore 6) Union 7) RPI 8 ) Vassar. Honestly I think 2-8 could play out just about any way once the season unfolds. The only "sure thing" is that SLU should be the early favorite.  Also I am shocked about the RIT & Bard news.  I always expected Hamilton to bolt they truly only seemed to participate in hoops anyway, but I did not see the RIT move from the e-8 ( the league that couldn't count since it has 9 members).

[nybball]

Word from the SUNYIT vs. St. Lawrence scrimmage on Saturday is that SUNYIT beat SLU pretty easily and by a large margin.  SLU is very young and inexperienced.  The starters for each team only played in the 1st and 2nd halves, and SUNYIT won each by over 20 points a piece.

[bmull]

Hamilton roster??

[OldDanny]

Hobart opens up tomorrow against Ithaca.  I actually agree that they will make a splash for two reasons.  First, they return everyone.  The recruiting classes of the past few years are ready to take a big step.  According to their team page, Estep transferred out, but that will free up some guard space for a few athletes who gained experience last year.  Second, Skidmore did have an overall nice recruiting class.  The Statesmen brought in two impact Freshmen this season, however.  CBA's Stefan Thompson will start and a scorer from PA named Davis will get a lot of time.  Those two should make their presence felt for a while.  The LL is wide open.  I expect the Statesmen to push for the top spot.

[magicman]

Clarkson opens season with a 76-62 win over Cazenovia. Elson Pickering had a double-double with 14 pts and 10 boards, while Keith Murray led all scorers with 19 points going 6 for 6 from the field in the 2nd half. Murray also had 5 steals. Brandon Linton had 13 pts and 6 rebounds and Jonathan Hood added 11 pts and 6 rebounds. Knights next game is Tuesday against SUNY Canton.

In other action today RPI topped Sage 82-62. Ricky Philatre had 16 pts and 16 rebounds to lead RPI. The Red Hawks host Cooper Union College this Friday in the Rensselaer Tip-off Tournament.

Brockport traveled to St. Lawrence and in a mild upset edged the Saints 75-72. Saints missed a 3 at the buzzer that would have forced OT. SLU's Garrett Sharlow was the game's high scorer with 19 pts. Josh Sharlow and Andy Hoercher both added 12 pts. Brockport had 5 guards score in double figures. The Saints next travel to Franklin & Marshall to take on Gwnnedd-Mercy in the 1st round of the Rotary Tipoff tournament.

Vassar opens with a 78-66 win over Endicott. Soph Caleb McGraw scores a career high 37 pts to lead the Brewers. Vassar takes on Newbury College this Friday in the opening round of the Vassar Invitational.

[OldDanny]

What happened to my LL pick last night?  Hobart lost their opener to Ithaca at home.  Was anyone there who could fill me in?  It sounds like Ithaca rode some hot hands after the Statesmen jumped out to a early lead!

[magicman]

Clarkson moves to 2-0 with a 71-61 home win over SUNY Canton  Tuesday night at Alumni Gym. Elson Pickering with another double-double led the Golden Knights with 18 pts, 12 rebounds, and 3 blocks. Soph Jonathan Hood also had a double-double with 13 pts and 10 boards. Canton's Tony Valentin had a hot hand all night scoring 22 pts in the 1st half and finishing with a game high 36. Clarkson jumped out to a 14-0 lead but Valentin kept his team in the game and the pesky Kangaroos wouldn't go away. Down by 8 at the half Canton fought back to tie the game at 40 and kept it close until the Knights had a 10-0 run to give them a double digit lead with about 8 minutes left to play. Foul shots down the stretch kept Clarkson in control.

Next up for Clarkson at home is crosstown rival Potsdam State at 4 PM on Sat. Nov. 21st .

[magicman]

St Lawrence drops their 2nd straight losing to Gwynedd-Mercy 87-77 in the opening round of the Rotary Tipoff tournament at Franklin & Marshall Friday evening. SLU grabbed an early lead of 13-8 after the first 5 mins of play but Gwynedd-Mercy shut the door on the Saints over the next 8 minutes outscoring them 24-0 to take a 32-13 lead before Garrett Sharlowe hit a layup and foul shot to stop the bleeding. SLU closed the gap slightly to trail 46-32 at the break. They continued to cut into the Griffins lead and twice got within 2 possessions at 66-61 with 9:25 left and again at 72-67 with 6:31 remaining but that was as close as they would get.
Garrett Sharlow came off the bench to lead the Saints with 20 pts. Josh Sharlow was right behind with 17pts, including 5x10 from 3 pt land. Andy Hoercher also was hot from behind the arc(4x8) as he scored 16 pts. Ralph Temgoua added 15 pts.
Rebounds and free throws told the story of the game as the Saints were out rebounded by nearly a 2-1 margin, 40-21. The Griffins went to the line 29 times and made 24 while the Saints hit 12 of 17. John Hogga led the Griffins with 26 pts and 10 boards. 

Franklin & Marshall beat New York City Tech 102-40 in the other game. I thought the 2 losers played in the consolation game but both SLU and F&M websites say the Saints are playing F&M. However the SLU score was originally posted wrong on the Friday scoreboard showing an SLU win so that may have triggered a mix-up for Saturday's matchups. Wouldn't surprise me to see SLU playing New York City Tech on Sat.

[magicman]

Other LL scores from Friday Night:

Hamilton beat SUNY-Canton 89-56 in the Continentals season opener. Pat Sullivan was the game's high scorer with 18 pts. Eric Benvenuti was 5x10 from the field ((3x5 3's) and totaled 15 pts along with 6 rebounds. Dayne Harris and Ken Click were also in double figures as they both added 10 pts. Tony Valentin led Canton with 17 pts.
Hamilton takes on Ursinus in the Championship game on Saturday at 4PM

Vassar drops Newbury 77-62 in the opening round of the Vassar Tip-Off Tournament. They will now face #5 ranked Richard Stockton in the Championship game on Sat at 3PM. Stockton beat Western Connecticut 88-86 to advance.

Here's the link to game details:
http://www.vassarathletics.com/news/2009/11/20/MBB_1120090328.aspx?path=mbball

[OldDanny]

The Statesmen of Hobart played Alfred in the finals of the Pizza Hut Tournament at Dickinson after beating the hosts in the opening round Friday night.  Sophomore Matt Pebole led all scorers with 19....while the freshmen Thompson and Davis chipped in with 16 and 12.  Alfred won in the championship 53-51 after being down by 9 with 3 minutes to play.  Mark Bruce played a solid game to land on the all-tourney team with Pebole. 

[magicman]

St Lawrence did play New York City Tech on Sat and not Franklin&Marshall. Probably a good thing as the Saints needed a win and they got it downing the Yellow Jackets 71-41.

SLU is off until Dec 1st when they travel to Plattsburgh State to take on the Cardinals.

[magicman]

Clarkson wins the battle of Potsdam as they top their North country rival Potsdam State, 83-62. It was the largest margin of victory in the history of the rivalry.
Clarkson is now 3-0 and looks to extend their Northern New York mastery when they host Plattsburgh State on Sunday Nov 29th at 6PM.

[thebear]

Clarkson wins the battle of Potsdam as they top their North country rival Potsdam State, 83-62. It was the largest margin of victory in the history of the rivalry.
Clarkson is now 3-0 and looks to extend their Northern New York mastery when they host Plattsburgh State on Sunday Nov 29th at 6PM.

Magic - missed a qualifier here.  It is the largest CLARKSON margin of victory.  I don't have the data base at home, but there are a number of 30+ point margins going in the other direction.

That being said, Pickering is a playa - 6-6 wide body, in shape, good ball skills, can shoot the three.

Bears are seriously undersized, only one player suited taller than 6-2 and he played 6 minutes.

[with age came?]

Bear - what happenned to Kelso (big & a kind of nasty attitude) & Lotheridge (sp?) like 6' 11" but needed to get into the weight room? Both of them I thought had potential at the d-3 level. Don't see even of them on the roster?  Seems like Pickering is playing more like his Sophmore year than last year which would be good for the Knights.  He has tremendous capabilities when he is healthy.  He can be a "game changer". I'll check on SUNYAC board too in case you put something over there. 

[magicman]

with age you're up late tonite. Are you going to be in Potsdam Sunday for the Clarkson- Plattsburgh St game?