MBB: Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference

[zonescantstopme]

Frostburgs Roster Is UP!!

[freeballin]

so is Hilbert's, along with their season preview

www.hilbert.edu

[freeballin]

Hilbert wins a barn-burner over Hobart 73-70 (39-37 at the half). Get some big stops and a HUGE charge call down the stretch to take it, Reinard 23pts, Vander Sluis 16pts 9 boards, reyes 9 points 7 rebounds 9 assists. As a team they shot 53% from 3 point land and 93% from the line

[Hawk Backer]

Well another year of exciting AMCC basketball is upon us and we have a lot of developing storylines already in the conference.

Let's start with Lake Erie College and its very impressive start to the season.  They defeated Geneseo State, who returns virtually its entire roster, and then came back the next day to defeat perennial power U of R.  Darnell Campbell looks to have stepped up his game, scoring a game-high 31 points against Geneseo.  Howard Washington and Rob Williams each had strong games against U of R.  Washington's performance earned him MVP honors of the tournament.  Lake Erie looks like it should be the team to beat this season.

Pitt-Greensburg entered the post-Duke Cooper era this weekend and as expected struggled.  The Bobcats lost to Dickinson, who was 6-19 a season ago, and then fell to Messiah by 20.  It might be a long year for UPG, but again its too early to tell.  Ed Montgomery had 23 points against Dickinson and had a team-high 16 against Messiah.

Penn State Behrend, behind preseason POY Kevin Buczynski, split its two games this weekend.  The 6'7" center tallied 28 points in the win over Elmira then had nine against a very good Ohio Weslyan team.  Dan Ziegler also had a strong weekend as he was named to the All-Tournament Team with Buczynski.

Hilbert opened their 2006-07 campaign with a 73-70 victory over Hobart.  The Hawks fell behind early, but came back behind Dallas Reinard's 23 points.  Fellow second team All-AMCC selection Corey Vander Sluis registered 16 points and nine rebounds off the bench.

La Roche got hammered in its first two games, losing to Kenyon and Mount Vernon Nazarene by a combined 41 points.  Stacey Grady didn't play in the first game against Kenyon and then had 12 points off the bench against Mount Vernon.  No other Red Hawk scored in double figures in the two games.

Frostburg was idle this week. 

Mount Aloysius also split this weekend, winning the first round of its own Coaches vs. Cancer tournament and then falling to Salisbury in the championship game.  Roman Mims and Sam Hanik led the charge in the first game against Gallaudet, scoring a combined 60 points.  Mims had 32 and Hanik had 28 for the Mounties.  Against Salisbury, Mims scored 28 points in 31 minutes in the 97-76 loss.

Pitt Bradford had a disappointing start to its season, dropping its first two games.  The Panthers lost to St. Lawrence and then got destroyed by Brockport State.  Ryan Race really struggled, scoring just 14 points over the two-game stretch.  Dan Thomas had 20 points against Brockport.

PS-Altoona also dropped its first two games, losing a heartbreaker in double-overtime to Bethany before falling to Franciscan on Saturday.  Colin Geiger led four players in double-figures against Bethany with 22.  Tyler Franklin, an all-conference selection a year ago, had only six points.  Franklin bounced back against Franciscan, scoring a team-best 25 points.

Medaille split this weekend, winning against UAA member Case Western before losing to Marietta (OH).  James McNeil had a very efficient game against CWU, scoring 19 points on only nine shots!  Scott Hack also had a strong game, scoring 20.  McNeil was back to his chucking ways against Marietta but wasn't quite as bad, going 4-for-13 for 12 points.  Brandon Beers had 14.

Good to have basketball season back.

[ballfan]

Well Ryan Race I hear tell scored his 1000 pt tonight against Penn State Altoona in the Panthers 6 straight win..
Congrats Ryan...

[pennstghs]

lake erie college? the same school that witt embarassed in the tourney? they need to prove themselves a little first guys

[ballfan]

Well as you can see UPB has turned around from the 2 losses..
they are now 4-0 in the AMCC and 7-2 overall..
Not too shabby..for a team that struggled in those first two games..
Race scoring 1000 pts but they are without Mark Austin for awhile, and that might hurt them inside..not a big guy but he sure can bang with those big guys..
Good Luck Mark and hurry back...

[zonescantstopme]

Any words on frostburg this year, i know they seem really really young but i see they have put up a few wins

[jzflak15]

As we hit the winter break for mens basketball there are really no surprises. Hilbert at 1-3 is a little bit of a shocker but they seem to be alright. Behrend, Bradford, and lake Erie are all undefeated. Frostburg is right behind them. I think after that Hilbert is the next best team, with Aloysius right behind them. Altoona isnt a bad team, they just upset Lincoln university. After them you have La Roche, Medialle, and Greensburg who are all very inconsistent. if you had to pick a first team right now this is how I think it would look.

First Team
Roman Mims 20.4 ppg, leads the conference in 3's made, can score 30+ any night
Tyler Franklin 20.5 ppg, 54% from the field
Kevin Buchynski  16.9 ppg, 57% fg team is 4-0 8.0 rpg
Dan Thomas- team is 4-0 in the  AMCC  16.4 ppg, 4.5 apg, 82.0 ft % 72 fta
Antoine McCall  13.7 ppg. 5.0 rpg, teams best overall player 3-1 in amcc play

Second Team
Corey Vander Sluis
Dallas Reinard
Robert Williams
Brian Green Jr.
Darnell Campbell


Honorable mention
James McNeil
Stacy Grady   
Keith Hazel   
Dale Deberry
Howard Washington

[FSU Bobcats]

Any words on frostburg this year, i know they seem really really young but i see they have put up a few wins

Our OOC record was brutal.  But since the start of conference play, things have started to look up.  We're 5-1 in conference which puts us second behind PSB and Lake Erie.  Our lone conference loss was to PSB.

[jzflak15]

La Roche loses to medaille at home...Mcneil 25 points
Lake Erie beats Behrend at PSB...Buchynski 26 points in loss....
Altoona wins at UPG...franklin 23 pts
Hilbert loses at home to bradford...reinard 30 points...probably the best player in the amcc this season....point wise
This is how I see the top 6 getting in

1. Lake Erie
2. Behrend
3. Hilbert
4. Bradford
5. Frostburg
6. Altoona or  La Roche

[pennstghs]

wow exciting board

[Hawk Backer]

The AMCC concluded its regular season this weekend, and it looks as though it will be a two-team race to the tournament title this week. 

Up until last week, Lake Erie looked unbeatable and was cruising along on a 19-game winning streak before dropping an overtime decision to Penn State Behrend.  The Storm recovered to win their final conference contest against Frostburg and will host the AMCC tournament this weekend.   One thing to keep in mind is that LEC has been without the services of starters Jacjen Harris and Darnell Campbell in each of the last two games.  They lost against Behrend in large part because they were outrebounded 46-32 and will have a tough time again if these two players aren't mixing it up inside.

Penn State Behrend enters the tournament as the second seed after finishing the regular season with an 18-6 record and 16-2 in the AMCC.  Kevin Buczynski has had another fabulous year, averaging 18.1 points and 7.0 rebounds while shooting almost 60 percent from the field!  This Behrend team relies a lot on freshmen and sophomores, and has no seniors on the roster.  Will be interesting to see how they handle the road trip to Cleveland.

Pitt-Bradford was maybe the surprise team of the season this year, having been picked to finish in 7th place in the preseason coaches poll.  Dan Thomas has had a tremendous senior season, leading the team in scoring (15.2 PPG) and assists (3.7/game).  Ryan Race has had a rough go-about in his final year at Bradford, but has fought through injuries and has rebounded effectively in his last two games with double-digit efforts.  The Panthers will face Penn State Altoona in the first round of the tournament.

The Hawks of Hilbert have had an up-and-down year, winning five out of six games to start the new year before dropping five straight conference games, including two by two points.  HC has bounced back to finish strong at the end, winning four out of its final five contests.  Dallas Reinard has had an MVP-type season, leading the conference in scoring at nearly 22 points per contest while shooting 43 percent from beyond the arc.  Hilbert lost a viable low-post scoring threat midseason when Corey Vander Sluis was dropped from the roster, but they have played well of late and will have a home game against Frostburg State in the first round.

Frostburg lost its final four games and five of its last six and enter as the #5 seed in the tournament.  Antione McCall leads the team in scoring and rebounding but the Bobcats had a lot of their victories early in the season and have not been playing all that well of late.  They will face Hilbert in the opening round.

If not for Pitt-Bradford, Penn State Altoona's emergence as a playoff team would be the story of the AMCC.  Last year, the Lions had a lot of close losses but definitely had the talent to play with the big boys, having beaten Behrend by two late in the year.  This season, they have again relied on star Tyler Franklin, a first-team All-AMCC selection a season ago.  He's averaging a team-best 18.1 PPG but has also had help this year as Colin Geiger and Quinton Dziabo have taken some pressure off Franklin.  Altoona will face Bradford in the first round.

The rest of the conference teams saw their seasons come to a close this weekend.  Medaille finished the season with 11 wins, seven in the AMCC, and if they could've knocked off Hilbert in the season finale, would've found themselves in the tournament following two years that saw the Mavs go 4-46.  Mike MacDonald should be commended for the job he did this season.  Watch out for Medaille in future years.

La Roche finished out of the playoffs for the first time since the AMCC expanded, finishing with a 6-11 mark in conference.  Stacey Grady will be considered for first team honors after finishing sixth in the conference in scoring, but he didn't have nearly enough help from others this year.

Pitt-Greensburg and Mount Aloysius comprise the bottom two teams in the conference.  Greensburg really struggled this season, and it really wasn't that unexpected as they have lost the best two players in the conference (Conlon and Cooper) in each of the last two years.  They also lost Scavincky before the year even began, further depleting the team of talent.  The Mounties have struggled since joining the conference, and while their style of play is fun to watch and fun to play in, it has not translated into much on-the-court success. 

Quarterfinal Matchups

#6 Penn State Altoona at #3 Pitt-Bradford - These two teams split the two games during the regular season, with each squad winning on its own home court.  Bradford beat the Lions, 75-63, in the first week of conference play back in December.  Jon Hannon had a team-high 21 points for the Panthers, while Tyler Franklin was nearly unstoppable, going 12-for-14 from the field and tallying 30 points in 35 minutes.  UPB led by 16 at halftime and led comfortably throughout the second half.

In the second matchup, Franklin tallied 18 points and Quinton Dziabo added 22 points and 10 rebounds as the Lions returned the favor at home with a 77-56 victory.  Shawn Spindler and Cameron Hubbard were the only UPB players in double figured with 11 and 10 points, respectively. 

I think this game is going to be a close game, but ultimately I think home court advantage and the play of Dan Thomas are going to be the deciding factors.  But Franklin can single-handedly win a game, and the Panthers really don't have anyone that can matchup with him, evidenced by his 24 PPG scoring average in the regular season. 

#5 Frostburg State vs. #4 Hilbert - The Hawks dominated the Bobcats in the regular season, winning the first game by 14 points at home and taking the second by 17 in Maryland.  The AMCC's leading scorer Dallas Reinard averaged 25.5 points per game against FSU.  Antoine McCall tallied 27 points in the second contest.  Hilbert has shot the lights out vs. FSU's defense, shooting nearly 53 percent from the floor in the two contests.   I think Hilbert takes this game and advances to the semifinals.

Postseason Awards:

Player of the Year:   There are a lot of good candidates, but I think you have to give the award to someone on Lake Erie.  They've had a tremendous year, and even though none of the players on the team really has unbelievable stats, I think you have to reward them.  Derrick Thornton leads the team in scoring and rebounding, but he's only a sophomore.  And the senior guards (Williams and Washington) are both averaging double figures, but neither has eye-popping stats.  Harris is a nice player, but not POY worthy.  So after much evaluation, I guess you have to give the award to Buczynski again.  I've already mentioned his numbers, and without him Behrend would be a completely different team.  Honorable mention to Dallas Reinard, Dan Thomas and Tyler Franklin, as well as the players from LEC.

Rookie of the Year:   Unless I'm missing someone, there really was not an impact rookie in this year's freshman class.  A lot of guys have come off the bench to provide depth, but they haven't been the focal point of an offense.  Justin Kovac of PSB might be the closest thing to an impact freshman, having started most of the Lions games and averaging 7.0 points per game.  Chris Moscato from Medaille has also had a good year.

Good luck to all the teams...

[ScotsFan]

One thing to keep in mind is that LEC has been without the services of starters Jacjen Harris and Darnell Campbell in each of the last two games.  They lost against Behrend in large part because they were outrebounded 46-32 and will have a tough time again if these two players aren't mixing it up inside.

Why was LEC without the services of those 2 starters?  Was it injuries and if so, how serious were the injuries?

[Hawk Backer]

Why was LEC without the services of those 2 starters?  Was it injuries and if so, how serious were the injuries?

Harris has a broken big toe and is probably going to give it a go in the playoffs.  Campbell has a broken hand and is questionable for the rest of the season.