MBB: Liberty League

[hoopmang7]

is no one going to comment on the quick 4-0 start by skidmore, including a pretty impressive winning of the nyu tip off tournament led by tourney MVP and junior standout Jeff Altimar.  The team looks much improved and could compete in the league playoffs. 

[buck1053]

Nov. 17    7:00 PM   SUNY-Cobleskill    W, 83-72         
Nov. 21    1:00 PM    at New York University •    W, 80-75   

Nov. 22    3:00 PM   Ferrum @ NYU Tip-Off Tourn.    W, 74-63         
Nov. 24    8:00 PM   Southern Vermont •    W, 110-58

You want to talk about Skidmore, let's look at the wins:

Beat SUNY Cobleskill by 11, 83-72. Cobleskill is currently 1-5, their only win coming against the LL's Union, picked to finish 7th in the league.

Beat NYU by 5, 80-75. NYU is 3-1, but their wins have come against E8 strugglers Elmira and Stevens Tech, and a weak Old Westbury team.

Beat Ferrum by 11, 74-63. Ferrum is 1-4, their only win coming against the E8's Elmira.

Beat Southern Vermont by 52, 110-58. So. Vermont is 2-3, their wins coming against Stevenson (0-6) and Sage (1-3, their win against Albany College of Pharmacy).

I'm not saying that Skidmore's not going to have a good season, and they have certainly gotten off to a good start, but the quality of those wins does not show them to be a juggernaut. We'll see how they fare once they get to the league schedule to see if their wins against a weak non-league slate are smoke and mirrors or the real thing.

Also, when posting on these boards, if you want to be taken seriously, you should consider that others can see your e-mail address and discern pretty easily -- especially when using a school e-mail -- if you are simply a homer or someone with insights. There are plenty of people who post about their schools, but the ones who avoid abuse are the ones who offer a more even-keeled approach to posting.

[magicman]

SUNYIT moves to 4-0 coming back from an early 21-4 deficit to down Hamilton 82-69. Hamilton hit 9 of their first 10 shots including 3 treys but Wildcats claw their way back with a 21-4 run of their own to tie the game at 25 with 7:00 left in the 1st half. The teams went into the break still tied at 36. Back and forth play for the 1st few minutes of the 2nd until Floyd Thorne layup gives the Wildcats a 41-39 lead they would never relinquish. Up 69-65 with 4 minutes to play Diloo Brown hits back to back 3 pointers sandwiched around a Hamilton miss to extend the lead to 10 with 2:14 left. SUNYIT hit 7 straight free throws down the stretch to close out the Continentals. Brown and David Golembiowski shared the game's high scoring honors with 24 pts each to lead the Wildcats. Brown who came up just short of a rare triple-double  added 12 rebounds, 8 assists, 2 steals, and a block with only 2 turnovers. Golembiowski's stat line also included 7 boards, 5 assists, 2 blocks, and 2 steals with no turnovers. Thorne chipped in with 16 pts on 4x4 fg, 1x1 3's, 7x10 ft.
Hamilton placed 3 players in double figures led by Dayne Harris with 15 pts and 8 rebounds. Pat Sullivan scored 14 pts and Jay Simpson added 10.
Only the 2nd time Hamilton has lost to SUNYIT in their last 26 meetings.

[buck1053]

Only the 2nd time Hamilton has lost to SUNYIT in their last 26 meetings.

The other time also was under the Tobin Anderson era, I believe. Wasn't it the year Tom Murphy took over the SUNY IT program after having been ousted from Hamilton.

[doubleaz87]

Steve Thomas, Chris Ruiz and Plattsburgh really woke up Clarkson on Sunday night as they handed them their first loss. As former Clarkson Coach Stockwell was in attendance, the golden knights nearly got ran out of their own gym. Clarkson looked to be a strong team with plenty of experience looked like a chicken with it's head cutoff as they got killed by more then 20 points in the first half. Is Clarkson really that bad or is Plattsburgh really that good? Who knows, Plattsburgh ended up giving up that big lead as Clarkson got the game within 8 points late. 

[magicman]

Plattsburgh State holds off St. Lawrence to claim a 90-86 win tonight at Memorial Hall in Plattsburgh.

[magicman]

Just back from the Plattsburgh St-St Lawrence game and it was a nail biter. SLU jumped out to an early 14-9 lead but Cards take lead 20-17 at the 10 minute mark of the 1st half and were never headed. Up 34-26 for their largest lead of the half Saints close to within 3 but Steve Thomas hit a pull up jumper with 2 seconds left and the Cards go into the break up 41-36. Saints come out of the break and get within 1, 43-42, 3:10 into the half. Back and forth action with Cards going up by 5 or 6 only to have the Saints come back and close to 1 possession game on 5 occassions until Plattsburgh opens up their largest lead at 64-55 with 10:35 remaining. Again SLU closes to 66-64 and teams trade baskets over the next 7 possessions. Up 72-70 with 4:42 left, the Cardinals get a driving layup by Carl Munnerlyn 1 of 2 free throws from Errol Daniyan, and a midcourt steal and breakaway dunk by Steve Thomas to stretch the lead to 7. Saints Garrett Sharlow drains a three, Cards Danny Tangney with offensive rebound and putback to extend lead back to 6. Jack Conboy layup and Ralph Temgoua putback cut lead to 79-77 with 1:59 remaining. Cards Munnerlyn hits a big 3 pointer but Chris Ruiz called for his 5th foul and Temgoua hits both free throws for SLU to cut lead to 3 with 1:19 left. Daniyan hits 2 foul shots with 23 secs left to start the foul parade that followed. Cards hit 8 of 10 free throws in final 23 seconds to seal the win.
Munnerlyn led the Cardinals with 23 pts on 7x14 fg, 2x2 3's, 7x9 ft. Daniyan added 14 pts on 4x8 fg, 6x8 ft, 8 rebounds, 2 blocks and 2 steals. Steve Thomas also had 14 pts(4x12 fg, 0x3 3's 6x8 ft, 6 boards, 3 steals, and 3 assists. Chris Ruiz was limited because of foul trouble but managed 12 pts and 6 rebounds in 20 minutes. Ketama Brooks added 10 points on 4x5 fg, 2x2 3's.

St Lawrence placed 6 players in double figures led by Garrett Sharlow the game's high scorer with 24 pts on 9x17 fg, 3x6 3's, 3x3 ft and 9 rebounds. Andy Hoercher had 12 pts (4x9 fg, 1x2 3's, 3x3 ft) and a game high 5 assists. Josh Sharlow, Ralph Temgoua, Terry Parham, and Nick Meunier all finished with 11 pts each.

Saints shot 30x70 from the field(42.9%), 4x11 from behind the arc(36.4%), and 22x27 from the charity stripe(81.5%).

SLU falls to 1-3 on the season and travels to Vermont on Thursday Dec 3rd to take on nationally ranked and unbeaten #15 Middlebury Panthers (5-0). Personally I think that ranking is a little too high for the Panthers right now and SLU is probably going to be the best team they have faced this year to date. SLU beat them 84-71 last year and advanced deeper into the NCAA tournament than Middlebury did. Both teams lost their leading scorer from last year, Tom Wopperer for the Saints and Ben Rudin for the Panthers. The Saints also lost Bela Vonnak and Richard Williams which will probably hurt SLU more than the Panthers loss of Kyle Dudley and Matt Westman but SLU is a better team than their record would indicate and it wouldn't surprise me if they pull off the upset. It could be a great momentum builder for the Saints. Here's hoping!!

[magicman]

Only the 2nd time Hamilton has lost to SUNYIT in their last 26 meetings.

The other time also was under the Tobin Anderson era, I believe. Wasn't it the year Tom Murphy took over the SUNY IT program after having been ousted from Hamilton.

buck
That would be correct. Anderson's 1st year as coach was the 2004-05 season and SUNYIT beat Hamilton 75-72 on DECEMBER 7TH, 2004. A day that will live in infamy!!

[magicman]

Clarkson loses their 2nd contest of the week to a SUNYAC opponent as they fall at Oswego 60-46. Golden Knights who led briefly in the early going found themselves down by 7 with 5:57 to play in the half. Twice they managed to cut it to 1 before back to back buckets by the Lakers gave Oswegp a 5 pt lead at the break. An 11-4 surge by the Knights to start the 2nd period gave them the lead at 34-33 with 17:20 remaining but it would be the last time Clarkson enjoyed an edge. The Lakers regained the lead at the 16:23 mark and steadily increased it to double figures 48-38 with 10 minutes left to play. The Knights would make a final run to get within 4 near the 5 minute mark 49-45 but 4 straight empty possessions gave  the Lakers a double digit lead with 2:50 left to play. Foul shots provided the final 14 pt margin. Knights had to feel the loss of Rey Jefferson who was injured taking a charging foul in the closing stages of Sunday's game against Plattsburgh St. He left that game with 19 pts at the time of his injury.  Stand out stats in tonight's game: Lakers went to the line 37 times and made 23. Knights only had 18 ft's and made 11. Oswego enjoyed a huge rebounding margin grabbing 19 offensive boards for a total of 54. Clarkson had 13 offensive rebounds for a total of 34. Neither team shot the ball that well with the Lakers 18x52 fg's (34.6%) and only 1x14 (7.1%) from beyond the arc. Clarkson was worse, shooting  14x57 fg's (24.6%) and 7x24 (29.2%) from 3 pt land.  Oswego's Chad Burridge with 15 pts and 11 rebounds was the games leading scorer. The Laker's Hayden Ward also had a double-double with 13 pts and 14 boards. Elson Pickering with 10 pts and 6 rebounds was the only Clarkson player in double figures. Clarkson falls to 3-2 and next will host Morrisville St. this Friday at 7 PM .

[magicman]

Hobart with a big win tonight at  #35 St John Fisher. The Statesmen take down the Cardinals 90-83 toppling them from the unbeaten ranks. Hard to figure how they can beat Fisher on the road and lose when they hosted Alfred. Hobart now 3-2 on the season.

Union beats Southern Vermont 78-69 to square their record at 2-2.

Skidmore visits Hartwick and comes away with a 79-71 overtime victory to remain undefeated at 5-0. For the past 10 months with age has been touting their recruiting class last year. It looks like he was right and the Thoroughbreds will be a competative squad. In addition to all those talented Sophomores they have, they added a 6'4" Freshman from South Africa, Sakhile Sithole who is coming off the bench averaging 20 minutes a game, and is the 2nd leading scorer on the team with 13.2 ppg and 5.0 rebounds per game. Against NYU he had 20 pts and 5 boards in 18 min. Thoroughbreds will try and stretch their unbeaten streak this Friday when they host Johnson State in the opening round of the Hilton Garden Inn Invitational.  The other teams are Wells and York.



Vassar falls to New Paltz 75-64 and drops to 2-4 on the year.

[magicman]

Steve Thomas, Chris Ruiz and Plattsburgh really woke up Clarkson on Sunday night as they handed them their first loss. As former Clarkson Coach Stockwell was in attendance, the golden knights nearly got ran out of their own gym. Clarkson looked to be a strong team with plenty of experience looked like a chicken with it's head cutoff as they got killed by more then 20 points in the first half. Is Clarkson really that bad or is Plattsburgh really that good? Who knows, Plattsburgh ended up giving up that big lead as Clarkson got the game within 8 points late. 

I prefer to think that Plattsburgh is really that good. Seriously though this is a team that last year was in the majority of their games right up till the last few minutes and then inexperience got in the way. Poor shot selection on a crucial trip down the floor, turnover at the worst time, missed free throws during crunch time. You have to remember that 2 years ago Plattsburgh had the best regular season record in the country at 26-2  and was ranked in the Top 10. They lost all five starters off that team. Last year they only had 1 senior on their team and he only played for the 2nd semester. Most nights they started 4 sophs and a jr. They had to learn how to close out games. This year 2 new faces, Steve Thomas, a JC transfer, and Carl Munnerlyn also a JC transfer who was hurt last year and sat out the season have joined returning starters Chris Ruiz, Errol Daniyan, Danny Tangney, and point guard Ketema Brooks. Those 6 average between 20 and 34 minutes a game with 4 more guys adding 8 to 12 minutes a game. The Cardinals have the quickness and athleticism to stay with most anybody. They can come at you with full court pressure on defense and fast break, run and gun on offense. Both Brooks and Munnerlyn can run the point and Ruiz, Thomas, Tangney, and Munnerlyn can knock down the threes. Thomas is only 6"2" but plays like he's 6'6" or more. Ruiz averaged 18.2 ppg last year and was the SUNYAC's 2nd leading scorer. This year Thomas and Daniyan are both over 17ppg and Ruiz is 3rd on the team with 13.0 ppg. Munnerlyn also averages double figures with 12.2 ppg. Daniyan, the teams leading rebounder with 8 per game has turned his free throw shooting around in a huge way. Last year he was below 50% and the team was one of the worst in the country. This year Daniyan is the 2nd best free throw shooter on the team, with a 76.3 average. He's already won 2 games by hitting foul shots in the waning seconds.    Even Brooks, who is usually  pass first and doesn't look to shoot much can get hot and burn you as he did tonight against SLU hitting 4x5 fg with 2 of them 3's. I think the Cardinals have a good chance to reclaim that SUNYAC Championship they held for 3 years in a row before last year's learning experience. However as always the YAC will go right down to the wire and  Oneonta , Cortland, or some other team may beat out the Cards. But I like our chances and I like our chances for next year even more.

[doubleaz87]

Steve Thomas, Chris Ruiz and Plattsburgh really woke up Clarkson on Sunday night as they handed them their first loss. As former Clarkson Coach Stockwell was in attendance, the golden knights nearly got ran out of their own gym. Clarkson looked to be a strong team with plenty of experience looked like a chicken with it's head cutoff as they got killed by more then 20 points in the first half. Is Clarkson really that bad or is Plattsburgh really that good? Who knows, Plattsburgh ended up giving up that big lead as Clarkson got the game within 8 points late. 

I prefer to think that Plattsburgh is really that good. Seriously though this is a team that last year was in the majority of their games right up till the last few minutes and then inexperience got in the way. Poor shot selection on a crucial trip down the floor, turnover at the worst time, missed free throws during crunch time. You have to remember that 2 years ago Plattsburgh had the best regular season record in the country at 26-2  and was ranked in the Top 10. They lost all five starters off that team. Last year they only had 1 senior on their team and he only played for the 2nd semester. Most nights they started 4 sophs and a jr. They had to learn how to close out games. This year 2 new faces, Steve Thomas, a JC transfer, and Carl Munnerlyn also a JC transfer who was hurt last year and sat out the season have joined returning starters Chris Ruiz, Errol Daniyan, Danny Tangney, and point guard Ketema Brooks. Those 6 average between 20 and 34 minutes a game with 4 more guys adding 8 to 12 minutes a game. The Cardinals have the quickness and athleticism to stay with most anybody. They can come at you with full court pressure on defense and fast break, run and gun on offense. Both Brooks and Munnerlyn can run the point and Ruiz, Thomas, Tangney, and Munnerlyn can knock down the threes. Thomas is only 6"2" but plays like he's 6'6" or more. Ruiz averaged 18.2 ppg last year and was the SUNYAC's 2nd leading scorer. This year Thomas and Daniyan are both over 17ppg and Ruiz is 3rd on the team with 13.0 ppg. Munnerlyn also averages double figures with 12.2 ppg. Daniyan, the teams leading rebounder with 8 per game has turned his free throw shooting around in a huge way. Last year he was below 50% and the team was one of the worst in the country. This year Daniyan is the 2nd best free throw shooter on the team, with a 76.3 average. He's already won 2 games by hitting foul shots in the waning seconds.    Even Brooks, who is usually  pass first and doesn't look to shoot much can get hot and burn you as he did tonight against SLU hitting 4x5 fg with 2 of them 3's. I think the Cardinals have a good chance to reclaim that SUNYAC Championship they held for 3 years in a row before last year's learning experience. However as always the YAC will go right down to the wire and  Oneonta , Cortland, or some other team may beat out the Cards. But I like our chances and I like our chances for next year even more.

I can agree they probably are that good and your right they were very young last year. But do remember Chris Ruiz started in some games his freshman year and was looked to last season as the go-to guy. This year it seems like his role has changed a bit and that might be a cause for concern down the stretch if he becomes too laid back. He played a OK first half against Clarkson and then when the game mattered most he stalled out finishing the game 4-13 from the field with 3 turnovers in the second half. I say this but yet I still think he has the potential to be the best player in the conference this season.

[with age came?]

Hey guys (in particular Magic & Bear) my computer was out for few days.  Went to the Oswego Clarkson game last night.  Oswego won by 14 but it really was a little closer than that for the greater part of the game.  Clarkson shot very poorly and Stockwell's insider knowledge was critical.  That being said I think that Oswego will be very good this year and if they keep what they have and get a solid athletic guard they will really be a force.  I want to tell you their bigs are good.  Burridge is a scorer and good leaper with quickness for a 6'7" sophmore but the real difference maker last night was this "beast of a freshman" Hayden Ward. 8 offensive rebounds, good defense, just a coaches dream in my opinion. Think though they are young they (the Lakers) will compete for playoffs in the YAC.  Stockwell is a good coach and the team works hard.  Little lacking at guard though not bad just not a plus for them yet but their bigs are very good! Think Clarkson will be in the thick of things for the LL (which I think may be down a little this year).  They (Clarkson) were missing a good shooting guard Jefferson who had to sit out the game with an injury.  He has been shooting 50% from beyond the arc and they could have used his touch.  Neutral court I think the game would have been close to the end but Lakers still would have won.

[magicman]

Hamilton College travels to Utica College and drops a 60-48 decision Wed. night.
Continentals hold slim 2 pt lead at the half 24-22, but Pioneers quickly grab lead after the break and never look back. Build lead to double digits at the 10 minute mark and extend it to 16 before settling for the 12 pt win. 2nd time in 3 days that Hamilton loses to a team from Utica by double digits as SUNYIT won 82-69 on Monday night. Pat Sullivan with 17 pts and Dayne Harris with 10 lead the Continentals, who once again were plagued by poor shooting. Hamilton falls to 2-3 and next takes on Elmira at home on Tuesday Dec. 8th at 8 PM.   

[magicman]

St Lawrence travels to Middlebury and drops a 79-57 decision on Thursday night.
Saints down 5 at the half, 33-28 come back to tie it at 35, but the Panthers go on a 15-3 run to break the game open and extend lead to 25. Garrett Sharlow led the Saints with 15 pts and 6 rebounds. Ralph Temgoua added 12 pts and 4 boards.
SLU committed 22 turnovers and only shot 37.5% from the field 21x56. Thought the Saints would be more competative than this. SLU next uo Tuesday Dec. 8th when they host Potsdam State.