MBB: City University of New York Athletic Conference

[xalva66]

I still dont get it though. Where is the next tie-breaker? This just doesnt make sense. Someone from CUNY should answer this question. If the rankings were set this way before they were posted I could understand. But obviously someone must have seen the rankings and did not like them and probably made a complaint to the league. There is no other reasoning for this. This is blasphemy.

[Knightstalker]

Possibly the next tie breaker is common out of conf opponents?

[xalva66]

cant be. Only non-conference common opponent was St Joes of LI and both teams were hammered by them. I  am guessing that it has to do with quality wins against divisional opponents. Lehman has beaten Baruch in both meetings. That can be the only logical explanation. In any case, there must be a definitive tie-breaker rule set into place at the beginning of the season. Originally, Hunter was 7 and Lehman was 8, there was a reason for that seeding. Like I said, to change something like that after it is posted on the CUNY website must have occurred because someone appealed it. And then the method of the last tie-breaker must have been changed to something else. Again, CUNY should put out a statement as to why the seedings were done this way. Their explanation on the website is way too vague "Those seeds were determined by the combined head-to-head records against each other." What is the last tie-breaker? In any case, Hunter is going into the CUNY playoffs losing 9 straight games. Thats really not a good sign but crazier things have happened in the past.

[swingO]

 To all concerned about the Hunter -Lehman switch. The second tie-breaker in CUNY is divisional records. Once it was determined that only Lehman and Hunter were left after City Tech and John Jay were seeded, CUNY went to the next tiebreaker which was divisional record. Lehman was 5-3 and Hunter was 3-5. The initial problem was probably that City Tech was in the tie, and it was perceived that divisional records could not be used. Once the tie was narrowed down to two teams in the same division, the divisional tie breaker was used. Hope this helps all.

[xalva66]

Well that makes sense but why would they originally have it as 7-Hunter and 8-Lehman. There was a thinking to that. Where did you get this information from?

[swingO]

Asked of a few players who were aware of the situation.

[xalva66]

That makes sense.

[Coach AG]

Cuny all stars were named today. I was a little suprised by some of the selections.  For example how does Gari Blackett not get selected to the first team.  He only lead the league in rebounding by a whopping margin of +3 rebounds over they next highest player, lead the league in blocked shots and finally lead the league in field goal precentage while averaging 13 pts. on a winning team.  I understand Weissmuller made it but I think with those stats and what he meant to his team he should have been voted higher.

[Coach AG]

Hey SWING O = swing offense.  Do you coach a team that runs that system?   

[Coach AG]

I also forgot to mention Blackett has 16 double doubles for the year which is more than half of his games.  He also is ranked 4th in the nation in rebouding and ranks nationally in FG percentage.   

[swingO]

Hey Coach AG:


                 I know who you are because I'm related to the person who runs that system-by the way didn't you play for that coach? He always talks about how good you were.Good Luck with CSI in the tourney.

[Coach AG]

Thanks SwingO

[Coach AG]

POWERED BY WEISMULLER, CSI HOLDS OF LEHMAN COLLEGE IN CUNYAC QUARTERFINAL
Sophomore boasts sensational evening delivering CSI a victory   
Weismuller's 27 points and 13 rebounded were enough to hold off a quality Lehman team in CUNYAC's first round quarterfinal.

No. 2 College of Staten Island overcame a six point halftime deficit, then warded off a late flurry, to survive through a quarterfinal victory over No. 7 Lehman College, 62-55, in a game played at the City College of New York as part of the CUNYAC Postseason Tournament this evening.  The come-from-behind win, CSI's sixth straight, improved the team to 14-12, while the Lightning's season comes to an end at 10-16.

On a night when both teams would combine to shoot 37% from the floor, the lead changed hands five times in the first 12 minutes.  Finally, Lehman wrestled control in the first stanza.  A pair of Kyle Lockett free throws gave the Lightning a modest 15-14 advantage, and after a CSI turnover, Lockett canned a three-point basket from the left side to give his squad an 18-14 advantage.  Two minutes later, with their lead cut to 22-20, Duane Rhoden buried another three for Lehman, and after another CSI turnover, Lehman's Nick Watson scored an easy lay-in to give the Lightning their biggest cushion of the game, 27-20.

Thankfully, CSI countered with sophomore Sean Weismuller.  The 6-foot-8 standout, who had scored 13 of the team's first 21 points, scored an off-balance lay-up to put the Dolphins to within four, 27-23.  His clutch free throws on the ensuing possession, cut the lead further, before Lehman went back up by six, 31-25, at halftime.

In the second stanze, CSI stepped up the tempo in an effort to regain control.  After a Lockett jumper gave Lehman a 37-32 advantage,  Robert Mesjasz scored the first of his 10-second half points by burying a long-range three to cut the Lehman lead to two.  After Gari Blackett tossed in a pair of free-throws, Weismuller calmly sank two free throws of his own, to give CSI a 39-37 lead at the 13:14 mark that it would never relinquish.  From there, Weismuller proved to be CSI's backbone.  After extending to an 8-point lead at the 10:38 mark, everytime Lehman came to within two or four points, Weismuller responded with a bucket of his own to never leave the CSI lead in doubt.

Back up by eight, 57-49 with 1:05 to go, CSI then survived its final scare of the night.  An off-balance three-ball by Duane Rhoden nipped the lead to 57-52 with :56 remaining.  After a quick foul, CSI missed both ends of a free-throw opportunity, and Rhoden raced the length of the court and put in an improbable lay-up as he was fouled by Gari Blackett, to cut the lead to 57-54.  Rhoden completed the three-point play to cut the lead to a single basket, 57-55, with :35 left on the clock.  CSI then seemed to turn the ball over after an errant pass by Kyle Yocum was intercepted by Lockett, but the ball bounced off of Lockett's fingertips into Weismuller's hands, and another foul by Lehman sent Weismuller to the line.  Weismuller hit one of two, and after nearly turning the ball over on the possession before, CSI's Kyle Yocum came up with a terrfic steal of Rhoden to virtually insure CSI of the win.  Four foul shots later, CSI emerged victorious.

In the final count, Weismuller led all scorers with 27 points, his third highest point output of the season, while also posting 13 rebounds and a pair of steals.  Robert Mesjasz added 13 points and four steals, while Blackett posted 16 rebounds for the Dolphins.  For Lehman, Rhoden notched a team-high 23 points, with Lockett not far behind with 19 markers.  Lenny Gonzalez led the assault on the boards, with 12 caroms.

The win by CSI will now pit them in the semifinals with No. 3 Baruch College, a 66-58 overtime winner over No. 6 John Jay College earlier in the evening.  The game will take place on Wednesday, February 21, at 7:30pm at the City College of New York.  In the other quarterfinal games, No. 1 York College soundly defeated No. 8 Hunter College, 81-62.  While No. 4 City College of New York used a late surge to ward of No. 5 NYC College of Technology, 70-61.  The two winning teams will face off in the 5:30om game on Wednesday.

[Rhodes Scholar]

CUNY Tournament Results--Quarterfinals

York 81, Hunter 62

Hunter trailed by only six at the half (31-25), but faltered badly after the intermission. York repeatedly scored inside against the Hawks, who have a lot of trouble defending in the paint. The Cardinals got big games from Jeffrey Boone (22 points) and Jonathan Christian (16 points). Chris Garrick was high man for Hunter with 16 points. The Hawks were 6-0 in conference play with Chris Bernard and 0-7 without him.


CCNY 70, City Tech 61

This game was close from the start until CCNY opened up some breathing room in the final minute or so. City Tech led at the half, 31-29, but shot a horrid 27% from the floor in the second half, while CCNY shot a blistering 60% in the closing stanza. The Beavers got a big game from guard James Boddie with 25 points and Taleek Norman added 19 despite playing only 23 minutes. Otis Saylee and Ryan Phillip both had 21 points to lead City Tech.


Baruch 66, John Jay 58 (OT)

This was a very competitive game from the opening tip. John Jay had trouble shooting the ball the entire game, but still could have gotten the victory despite shooting only 28% from the floor. Baruch got an outstanding effort from Brian Forrestal (18 points) and a solid performance by Ben Crane (11 points and six assists). The Bearcats' best player, Carl Emengo, played only three minutes because he suffered a shoulder injury. Alex Valerio was the high scorer for the Bloodhounds with 14 points. Kelvin Luna and Vaughn Mason were next with 11 each.


Staten Island 62, Lehman 55

This was also a very close game that went down to the wire. Lehman was down by only three and had possession with about 20 seconds remaining but turned the ball over. Staten Island got a solid performance by Sean Weismuller. Duane Rhoden put in a nice effort for Lehman.  

[Coach AG]

The road to the NCAA Division III men's basketball tournament suddenly appears a lot less bumpier for the College of Staten Island.

Of course, this is a basketball team that a month ago couldn't have hit more potholes if it tried -- losing seven of eight games and dropping to a 7-12 overall record.   

Now, improbably, the Dolphins are riding a seven-game winning streak into tomorrow's 7:45 p.m. CUNY Conference Tournament semifinal at City College against Baruch, which likely will be missing its best player.

Second-seeded CSI (14-12) meets third-seeded Baruch (11-15) with a spot in the tourney finale Friday night at stake. Either top-seeded York (16-10) or fourth-seeded host City College (12-13) will be waiting, with the conference champion earning an automatic bid to the NCAAs.

Baruch is the only team still standing that the Dolphins haven't defeated this season -- the result of a 77-64 defeat a month ago in Manhattan. But the Bearcats aren't expected to have senior guard Carl Emengo, who torched CSI with 19 points and 11 assists during a second-half explosion that night.

Emengo injured his right shoulder in the opening minutes of the team's 66-58 quarterfinal victory over John Jay in overtime, and didn't return.

The Dolphins, meanwhile, were surviving their own quarterfinal battle, outlasting seventh-seeded Lehman, 62-55.

Which brings us back to the intriguing possibility of CSI qualifying for its first NCAA appearance since the 2001-02 season. The program has qualified nine times, including four since 1994-95 under head coach Tony Petosa.

The Dolphins would head to the national tourney with a 16-12 record, their worst qualifying won-loss mark ever, but would be neither complaining nor apologizing.

CSI split with York during the regular season, losing a closer-than-it-sounds 69-57 game in Queens and then blowing out the Cardinals, 74-58, two weeks ago at home.

But that's getting one step ahead of the game.

First comes Baruch, which has won five straight in a series CSI has dominated 40-13. The Bearcats would be scrambling without Emengo, especially against a team that has shot 52.2 percent while holding opponents to 40.5 accuracy during the current seven-game winning streak.

The road to the NCAA tourney, indeed, appears a lot less bumpier. ------

NOTES: The York-City College game starts tomorrow's semifinal round at 5:30 at CCNY's Nat Holman Gymnasium ... CSI owns a dominating 47-17 overall CUNY tourney record, including a record 11 championships. But the last title -- and automatic NCAA bid -- came in 2001-02 ... Proving that defense does matter, CSI is 35-5 all-time in tourney history when holding opponents under 70 points ... The Dolphins are 15-8 in semifinal games.


Courtesy of Jim Waggoner of the SI Advance, Thanks Jim for your excellent coverage of CSI basketball.