MBB: MAC Freedom League

[loyalroyal]

I looked up the history of the Royals B-Ball Team and their playoff results are listed as follows since 1990:

1990-91 - Won conference
1991-92 - Loss to Susquehanna in Semis
1992-93 - Won conference
1993-94 - Did Not Qualify
1994-95 - Loss in Semis to Lebanon Valley
1995-96 - Loss in Quarters to Susquehanna
1996-97 - Loss in Quarters to Widener
1997-98 - Loss in Finals to Wilkes
1998-99 - Loss in Semis to Lebanon Valley
1999-00 - Loss in Finals to Widener
2000-01 - Loss in Finals to Wilkes
2001-02 - Loss in Semis to Lycoming
2002-03 - Won Conference
2003-04 - Did Not Qualify
2004-05 - Loss in Semis to Kings
2005-06 - Won Conference

The only team I could find somewhat of a history for was Kings, and this history is from 1997-98:

97-98 - DNQ
98-99 - DNQ
99-00 - DNQ
00-01 - Loss in Semis to Wilkes
01-02 - Loss in Finals to Lycoming
02-03 - Loss in Semis to Scranton
03-04 - Loss in Semis to Lycoming
04-05 - Won Conference
05-06 - Loss in Semis to Wilkes

Hope this helps answer some questions!

[cold_case]

I was seriously against Scranton leaving the Freedom but after listening to their game with FDU today, all I can say is that I’m glad they are joining the Landmark.
This FDU nonsense has finally run its course with me.
Their program is garbage (those empty rafters don’t lie) yet they seem to pick up a tainted victory every now and then at home.
Justifying this post is not hard. Just check the free throw shooting.
The powers-that-be in the Freedom have only themselves to blame for the state of flux their league is enduring.

[bill]

Cold case
Ouch. I guess you're a tad bit upset about today's game. Seriously, though. The program is garbage? Why? because we don't fill a 3000 seat court with only 1500 students who live on campus? Come on, what's so garbage with the program?
The players and coaching staff work very hard at what they do.  To call the program garbage sounds a lot like sour grapes...

[ColonelJohn4Life]

Loyal - Scranton didn't make the postseason in '94?  That's stunning to me.  They were coming off of 3 straight Sweet 16s, weren't they?

If memory serves, Wilkes in postseason:
2006 - Lost in Finals to Scranton
2005 - Lost in Semis to DeSales
2004 - Lost in Finals to Lycoming
2003 - Lost in Semis to King's
2002 - DNQ
2001 - Won MAC-F conference (over Scranton)
2000 - Lost in Quarters to Albright
1999 - Won MAC conference (over Leb Val)
1998 - Won MAC conference (over Scranton - the "Purple Tux Game")
1997 - Won Freedom regular season... lost MAC overall?
1996 - Won MAC conference
1995 - Won MAC conference
1994 - Cripes, I was 14 people.  I don't remember. )

Good to see Wilkes knock off Del Val.  Kable with 24, Kresge with 17, rest of the squad had 21.  Ehh, we'll take it.

[cold_case]

Cold case
Ouch. I guess you're a tad bit upset about today's game. Seriously, though. The program is garbage? Why? because we don't fill a 3000 seat court with only 1500 students who live on campus? Come on, what's so garbage with the program?
The players and coaching staff work very hard at what they do.  To call the program garbage sounds a lot like sour grapes...

Sour grapes?
No, not at all. Just dumbfounded.
The more things change, the more they stay the same.
I remember seeing King's play at FDU the first year both schools came into the MAC. King's was down five with about four minutes to play. FDU had outshot King's 38-5 from the free throw line and the mood on the floor was getting a little scary before it all came to a head. A player from FDU threw a body block on a Kings player when he was going in for a layup and a minor scuffle ensued.
When order was finally restored, King's was hit with a couple technicals. FDU, ZERO!
Ed Donahue, the King's coach at the time, took his team off the floor and never came back out to finish the contest.
Driving home after the game I remember my buddy telling me that teams playing at FDU in the future are going to have problems.
Listening to the broadcast yesterday and how the game was going stirred up memories of that night in February, 1979. That same friend called me and asked if I was listening to the game. He also asked if it sounded familiar, minus the brawls.
Sour grapes back then and I guess it's sour grapes now. Funny how it always comes back to being a game involving FDU in New Jersey, regardless of the opponent.
Oh, by the way, the kid who threw the body block that night was never called for a foul. Instead, the King's player was whistled for travelling.
Oh, by the way, Part II. Check yesterdays boxscore for the free throw count.
This matter is officially closed on my part.

[naismith]

cc, where does one get the box scores on this site?

I read the press release and it sounds like Scranton fouled intentionally at games end.
They said Emslie went 8 for 8.

[cold_case]

Nais,
I think FDU hit eight FT's in the final 20+ seconds. It was lopsided regardless.

THE UNIVERSITY OF SCRANTON (16-5, 7-3)
Arnold, Randy 6-16 3-3 15; FitzPatrick, Ryan 5-11 0-0 15; Paul Biagioli 5-10 3-4 15; Powell, James 5-6 0-0 11; Hawk, Paul 3-11 1-2 8; Cannon, Darren 1-3 0-0 3; Fuller, Brendan 1-2 0-0 2; Bicknell, Tom 1-5 0-0 2; O'Connell, Dan 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 27-65 7-9 71.

FDU-FLORHAM (15-6, 7-3)
Frank Emslie 6-11 12-13 28; Brian Rimol 6-8 6-8 18; Brian Dillon 3-6 4-4 13; Pierre Schmitt 3-10 1-7 7; Ryan McPherson 2-7 2-3 6; Brandon Matano 2-3 0-0 6; Cody Chalmers 0-0 1-2 1; Milton LaCroix 0-4 0-0 0; Andrew Biancosino 0-1 0-3 0. Totals 22-50 26-40 79.

[naismith]

As to yesterday's results, the topsy turvy Fredom keeps on rolling.
Took a look at the Drew Ranger's schedule......and it is not impossible....
Could you imagine Drew, FDU in a Freedom Final!!
Not likely but stay tuned.

Went to Wilkes and passed on Kings/ DeSales.

Close game for most of the first half: Pinckney doing his usual stuff and 33 (Van Dyke?) showing some nice touch with a few baseline jumpers. Del Val is a bit small and the roster is laden with frosh and sophs (it always seems that way)....I thought Del Val did a good job on the boards. (12 off rbds in box score). One observer noted that the 1-3-1 that Wilkes deployed is vulnerable to the offensive rebound especially from the weakside.

For Wilkes, they shot the ball reasonably well for a change. Kresge had an 'efficient' game and Kable found his touch.

Gabe played the point on the 1-3-1 and did ok. Quiet offensive day for him.
The Wilkes faithful were nervous even with a substantial lead and when the ft's started clanking (Fasciana missed the 1st 2 and Kable actually shot an air ball from the ft line)....well......they settled down and hit most the remaining charity tosses.

My player of the game was Chris Gulla. He played 21 minutes before fouling out on a ridiculous offensive foul.....
His 5 assists and 3 TO effort understates his court presence. He created ball movement, penetrated the lane for some effortless kick out passes to open shooters.
CG doesn't panic in traffic and  he made some plays for his teammates.
He did a solid job defensively underneath in the 1-3-1. When he played outside, he was able to contain Pinckney on the drive and actually pickpocketed him for his steal.
Felt the offense ran well with him handling the ball......

A suddenly desperate Scranton team (guess I put the hex on them by anointing them conference champs pre-Kings/FDU)  coming to town....just what the Colonels need.

CC, do you have the numbers of those Jersey zebras???

Naismith

[saratoga]

I was at this game (Royals vs. FDU), and it was as disgusting live as it appears on paper. Three weeks ago I mentioned on this site that the Scranton game AT Drew was probably the best officiated game I had seen in a long, long time. Yesterdays game at FDU was the most one-sided display of "homerjobitis" I've seen in recent years. Not only were two of the three bad, it appeared they enjoyed being pathetic. The youngest of the Stooges was pretty good...90% of the calls came from the 2 others & MAC Central really needs to do a little in-house investigation into this game & 2/3 of this crew. This should be done not for Scranton's sake as everyone knows their leaving this conference anyway...but, there are teams that still have to play FDU in the future & this form a blatent incompetence should NOT be tolerated. There was even a Technical foul called on DC for looking at the ref & saying, "What?" Bang, a technical. Now there may be some of you out there that have never seen Scranton play...but, understand this, Coach Danzig runs a tight ship & those kids never moan & groan about calls during a game...they may not like what was just called, but they don't put on the theatrics as many kids do...they just hand the ball to the ref & move on. They have won numerous Sportsmanship awards so to see the frustration building toward the end of this fiasco was pretty predictable. I realize it was Alumni Day at FDU yesterday...I just never realized old Roger has so many of his former players now employed as Jersey refs!

[Leo The Lion]

First things first,

King's had another solid win yesterday defeating DeSales with the final 17 seconds of the game being almost as exciting as that last segment at Scranton.

As for CC and Naismith,

Isn't it common knowledge in this league that when you play out of state you tend to get hosed.  Let's not sell FDU's  ride short and say its all because of poor officiating.  The same bad refs were reffing FDU games when the program had three conference wins per season.  Besides, we have some notorious officials here in the NEPA Valley as well. 

[saratoga]

Leo: Even the best refs have off games, as do players & even coaches. This was not just a bad game...it boardered on absolute incompetence. When FDU won 7 games per year I can assure you they were in just about every one at home & only by the shear quality of talent of their opposition did they lose. Take their current squad of seasoned veterans...I believe 4 seniors start, add a serious dash of horrible refs with a chip on their shoulders the size of a cinder block & you have a recipe for disaster. When any team shoots 40 free-throws to another teams 9...you have a problem. If the Royals usually only win 5 games per year & have no concept of the game & are just a bunch of hacks, that's one thing...but, to witness one shadow foul after another all game long by a good team was a bit much. With that said, Scranton still could have won this as the lead got to 2pts. with about 3 minutes to go & as in the Kings game an ill-advised shot here, a mystery foul there, a unforced turnover x 2 here & the next thing you know the 2pt. deficit is now 8 & it's start the bus. Some kids are stepping up...some are in a funk, some are trying to do too much. Relax & play your game... Good things will happen. PS. James Powell left his heart & soul on the court yesterday...110% hustle.

[cold_case]

Does anybody know who won the Super Bowl???

[NEPAFAN]

Thanks for the info LoyalRoyal.




RE: FDU loss. When was the last time anyone has seen such a foul shot disparity? And the last time Scranton got a technical foul? Good call Saratoga.


Regardless, Scranton has to move on and right the ship against Wilkes, which as down as Rickrode's team has been, will not be an easy task. I'll worry about possible playoff scenarios later!


The Super Bowl was last night???

[ljk]

Wilkes/Del Val was one ugly contest.  It had the look and feel of a scrimmage.  With the sparse crowd, you could hear the players chatting.  At one point Pinckey complained to the ref that Gould hit him in the mouth.  Pinckney still has never met a shot he didnt like.  Buzz Kable had the game that the Wilkes faithful have been waiting for.  I would like to see him put the ball on the deck more, creating his own shot.   With his size and strength, he could take the smaller guards in the league down in the paint, and draw more fouls by driving to the hoop.  He has the potential to be a scorer.  Kresge is starting to get back to form, but still does not look as comfortable as he did in the early going.  The new guy, DeFeo, had some good moments with some hustle plays.  Gabe did not seem to be his usual self.  Gould and Gulla played tough with excellent floor game.  Kline and Adams are the "unfinishers".   The 1-3-1 zone has a lot of holes and does seem vulnerable to a better team with the personnel to attack it.  Maybe Naismiths Dylan tune was the lucky charm to break Wilkes losing streak.  Perhaps the Colonels should come out to the floor to the strains of Bob, "How does it feeeeeel?, To get off the sniddde."  Wilkes is 10-9 with 4 to play.  Most losses by a JR team is 11.  Will they break the record?  Stay tuned.

[ColonelJohn4Life]

Does anybody know who won the Super Bowl???

ColdCase - congrats on your boys getting their first ring in Indy.  I had Colts 20-17 in the office pool.  Shame on me for underestimating Vinatieri.

Nice article in the Wilkes Beacon about the end of the Wilkes - Scranton rivalry:
http://media.www.wilkesbeacon.com/media/storage/paper533/news/2007/02/05/Sports/End-Of.An.Era.For.Classic.Rivalry-2695134.shtml?sourcedomain=www.wilkesbeacon.com&MIIHost=media.collegepublisher.com

My favorite part of the rivalry - Wilkes wins 10 straight from 1998-2001, including the 2000 season where Scranton won the conference, but lost to an 8-6 Wilkes team twice.  Throw out the records.

So far this season, I crowned DeSales MAC-F Champs after two games, and Naismith crowned Scranton before 2 straight losses.  Who's next?

I always assumed a playoff game at DeSales was a worst-case scenario.  Who knew there was a possibility of a playoff game at FDU??   Nightmare.