MBB: Liberty League

[bucketsallday]

noone said it was a cake walk. anyone that played for a team in the LL or whatever league RIT is in is obviously a pretty good basketball player, especially if they started, made all-league, etc. jud winton averaged somethin like 14 or 15 a game for his career at vassar, and even tho he played most of his career when vc was irrelevant in the league, putting up those numbers means he could play.

do you know the circumstances of murphy's tryouts abroad? was he trying out for a higher league team? also, ABA isnt a stretch for people at this level. dana martin from skidmore played for the vermont team for a while, and he might still be there.

[bucketsallday]

another thing - vassar barely bears hartwick tonight 58-55 after being down big in the first half. avitabile had 4pts and 3rebs, but brazell played well (18 and 6) and butterworth knocked down four threes and hopefully is getting back on track.

not sure what to make of this, anyone know how good hartwick is this year? i know that theyve been better the last few years. regardless, good teams win when theyre supposed too even when they have an off game.......

[bombersquadron]

another thing - vassar barely bears hartwick tonight 58-55 after being down big in the first half. avitabile had 4pts and 3rebs, but brazell played well (18 and 6) and butterworth knocked down four threes and hopefully is getting back on track.

not sure what to make of this, anyone know how good hartwick is this year? i know that theyve been better the last few years. regardless, good teams win when theyre supposed too even when they have an off game.......

Hartwick has one kid that can play, a couple decent players around him, one solid big kid. I was surprised by the final score, that avitabile did have better #s and that they were down that much. Not sure what to make of this Hartwick inflated its record by playing a joke of a non-conference sch. first semester so this surprises me.

[Caz Bombers]

Congrats to Hamilton, big win over Williams last night.

[labart96]

TGP- will give you a report after this weekend as I plan on watching Hobart for the first time this season. 

Thx!  +k.  Looks like you picked a good weekend to catch some hoops in Geneva.

Although Clarkson is struggling, they are still tied for 2nd in the current LL standings and SLU is 1st.  Would be great for the Statesmen if they can keep this current win streak going, get to .500 overall, etc.

[airball55]

Not so sure that Clarkson is struggling right now having won four of five.  Earlier on they were, but not right now.  However, the road can be an unpleasant place for the upstate teams, it is tough with all of those long bus rides to get ready for the first day games.... oops, I heard this already.  Seriously, if the Knights get one on the road then we can all start believing, and I think they can but obviously have to keep the scores down.

[labart96]

Not so sure that Clarkson is struggling right now having won four of five.  Earlier on they were, but not right now.  However, the road can be an unpleasant place for the upstate teams, it is tough with all of those long bus rides to get ready for the first day games.... oops, I heard this already.  Seriously, if the Knights get one on the road then we can all start believing, and I think they can but obviously have to keep the scores down.

Didn't realize Clarkson was 4-1 in their last 5, just that they were 6-10 overall per the league standings.  Hobart is in a similar boat of only winning 2 of their last 3, so this is a pretty critical game for both teams. 

[with age comes?]

Clarkson has been playing pretty well as of late.  They finally have a completely healthy team. Keith Murray was out with an injury until beginning of January and has been playing very well for the Knights.  Also the team had 3 or 4 others guys who are contributing out for multiple games during the season with injuries.  Whole team has been healthy since the beginning of the league schedule and surprising the heck out of me.  Agree with Airball, until Clarkson sneaks a win on the road, I still need more convincing.   Hamilton on the other hand with victory over Williams has got me totally convinced.  SLU vs Hamilton game on Fri, to quote a local car dealer, is HUGE!!!!!!! From the looks of things it could either cement SLU as the heavy favorite or throw the race back up for grabs among the elite teams. Should be a fun weekend.

[Bart1117]

Bombersquad...

So bomber you seem to be a liked dude on this site and I am sure its well deserved, and the "bobble head" comment got you a plus in my book, but if you want to talk about something or if you want to ask me a question, be a man and ask me...dont be a tool and try to start a funny thread over the internet...
One thing I wasnt was soft, so if I feel someone is soft in the LL, I will say it...Stats mean nothing to me when it comes to whether a player is scared of the paint or not...So relax with the comments although extremely funny..Loook forward to some Ithaca comments because I am sure you think they are going to win the National Championship..

I don't think sticking up for my boy Bostic makes me a tool by any means. I wasn't trying to start a funny thread either. I was just stating the facts how i saw them. Sorry you had an injury plagued career, but Bostic is not soft, just because he has a great 15-17 footer and isn't asked to be a back to the basket player doesn't mean hes soft. Bostic cleans up everything for Ithaca inside, and you or whoever called him soft was misinformed. I'm sure there isn't a coach in the E8, LL or sunyac who would turn down Bostic or think he is too soft.

And why do you think i feel Ithaca is going to win the National Championship. I think they are the most talented team since they went to the NCAA's in '02 maybe better. I have never once said or predicted anything about a National Championship, i do think if IThaca get hot going into the E8 tourney they can get on a roll and make some noise in the tournament. But like most teams in the E8, it really depends on what team takes the floor that night.

Anyways hopefully there are no ill feelings, and you have control of your account now and can give us some input as we reach the playoffs.

Straighten this out for Liberty League posters as well...The rest of the quote is on the E8 board...Hobart will be 4th in conference..CHIEF!

[magicman]

Some important games around the state tonight,in all 3 leagues. 

SUNYAC

Brockport @ Fredonia         Golden Eagles 79-67

Plattsburgh @ Oneonta      Cards must stay focused win 84-75

Potsdam @ New Paltz         Battle for a playoff spot.  Bears 81-77

Geneso@ Buff. St.               Battle for 3rd in the West.  Geneseo 74-70


Empire 8

St John Fisher @ Elmira       SJF wins 1st road game 74-61

Nazareth @ Stevens            Revenge time & 1st place too Naz 78-76

Hartwick @ Utica                  Must win for Utica  64-55


Liberty League

St. Lawrence @ Hamilton     Both teams on a roll but Hamilton at home 69-67




Huge game in Rochester with Washington U. in town. Winner gets leg up in conference and National rankungs. UR wins this battle 76-70

[OlBallCoach]

Brewers escape gutsy Dutchmen

Just returned from Brew House and watching Vassar survive the Dutchmen, in a game that could only be described as both sloppy and ugly. Both teams turned the ball over 20+ times (Vassar 22, Union 27) as both team failed to "value the basketball".

It took nothing less than an amazing Brewer run late in the second half of play to survive a gutsy road performance from Union.

It was Vassar however who once again this season decided to attempt and dial up long distance from behind the 3 point arc as the main thrust of their offense, to no avail. Settling time and time again for numerous 3 balls throughout a majority of the contest, the Brewers shot an anemic 2-21 (9.5%) from downtown for the game. It was because of that horrific shooting that the Dutchmen's upset possibility was kept alive almost the entire game.

In my opinion, because the Brewers returned to their truest form of old late in the game by using some blistering ball pressure defense while jumping the passing lanes in the final 4 minutes of the game to turnover Union (erasing a double digit deficit) they were able to turn the momentum of the game back in their favor.
The comeback could also be attributed to the Brewers foregoing the 3 ball late in the contest and wisely turning to their floor leaders Lawrence Avitable (18pts, 7 Off. rebounds, 4-5ft) and Tyson Brazell (22pts, 8-9ft).

Relying heavily on the 1-2 punch from seniors Avitable and Brazell (who continually attacked the rim) in the second half and a monster effort off the bench from Jon Swartz, who came up with 3 critical steals (3-4 fg, 3-3ft, & 5 steals), the Brewers locked down the Dutchmen when they needed to most. After re-securing the lead late, Vassar kept Union at bay with nothing less than spectacular free throw shooting going 16-18 (88.9%) in the second stanza.

Union received a solid effort from junior forward Drew Desmarais (8-14 fg) who certainly came to play and deserves much LL respect.
Also for a majority of the game I was impressed with freshmen point guard Drew Goldstein (5-9 fg) who has a very nice handle and solid court vision in dolling out 5 assists. Unfortunately his youth may have had him feeling some of the late game L.L. pressure as he totaled 10 turnovers in the contest, 3 during the decisive final minutes of play which lead to Vassar scores.

Although this was a very important win for the Brewers, they must vastly improve, as I believe this type of team effort will not cut the mustard versus any of the other L.L. members.

[airball55]

No surprises last night.  I really believe you will start to see separation, Hamilton and St. Law. for the one and two spots, then Clarkson, Hobart and Vassar for the last two spots.  Could have a below .500 team for the last spot.  For those last three teams you must win at home, does not look like any of them are strong enough to win on the road.

[labart96]

Congrats to Hobart's Graz for netting his 1,000th career pts last night!

[bucketsallday]

vassar escaped a disastrous loss to union, thanks is large part to tough d down the stretch, forcing steals and getting easy buckets. brewers are in a bit of a funk right now, and pretty beatup right now (even coach dutton has the flu). but like i said before, a win is a win, and good teams win the ones they are supposed even when they dont play well.

wish i could have seen the hamilton stl game. any posters there last night?

and congrats to grazioli and the 1000, as well as an early congrats to brazell from vassar (two points away).

[shooters]

Hamilton SLU game was a bit of a mess for the first half but then Hamilton really clamped down in the second half on defense, scary part is their leading scorer Wood didn't play much due to foul trouble. This Hamilton team is the real deal and I think by the time they play in the tournament they will be a force to be reckoned with. They don't really have any superstars, just good athletic players, Simpson is one of the best if not the best guard in the LL, I didn't say best scorers just a really good floor leader. Todays game against Clarkson could get interesting- Clarkson always comes to play against Hamilton. Posters have to agree if Hamilton beats SLU, Williams and Clarkson all in the same week Hamilton has matured into the LL team to beat. Vassar is just what most of us thought going in, a team that played a weak schedule and had an over-inflated record. Yes they beat Hamilton but that won't happen again.