MBB: City University of New York Athletic Conference

[Knightstalker]

Go to the multi-region page, there are several pages in their that are on a more national base.  Go to the rooms in the other regions and introduce yourself and ask about the conferences.

[Pat Coleman]

The usual list of the best conferences in Division III includes the WIAC, CCIW, OAC in that order. This year the WIAC is a little down and the CCIW has been ultra-competitive. The UAA is having a good year also.

Some years the NJAC has been in the conversation but the league has not been talked of in that light much recently. The CUNYAC is never in the conversation of best conferences in Division III, however.

[JDub]

I think Baruch has the talent to win a couple of games in the tournment they have already beaten 3 tournment teams this year. Williams Paterson, Kings College, and SUNY Farmingdale are all very good teams from what I heard.

[Rhodes Scholar]

I think Baruch has the talent to win a couple of games in the tournment they have already beaten 3 tournment teams this year. Williams Paterson, Kings College, and SUNY Farmingdale are all very good teams from what I heard.

Baruch should not think about the NCAA tournament right now. They should focus on their game Wednesday at CCNY, a team that gave them a lot of trouble earlier in the season.

[Pat Coleman]

I think Baruch has the talent to win a couple of games in the tournment they have already beaten 3 tournment teams this year. Williams Paterson, Kings College, and SUNY Farmingdale are all very good teams from what I heard.

Very good teams? Perhaps. Great teams? Not a chance.

[Rhodes Scholar]

Two brief comments:

It looks like Tim Hepworth, a reserve freshman point guard, is no longer on Baruch's roster. Hepworth, out of CHSAA power Xavierian, is a good outside shooter with solid ballhandling skills. Although Hepworth is gone, the Bearcats did add sophomore Laurence Smith, a 6-3 swingman out of Frederick Douglas. Smith is a good athlete who will be expected to contribute right away.

Last night, Staten Island won their third straight game crushing King's Point, 89-54. Maybe CSI is getting it together as we enter the home stretch. By the way, Kings Point is the only D3 team to beat Baruch this year. The Mariners beat the Bearcats, 76-73, on Dec. 13, at Kings Point.

[Rhodes Scholar]

Today's marquee CUNYAC matchup features Baruch (9-0) at CCNY (6-3). The visitors come into the game riding an eight-game win streak and have managed to generate a fair amount of interest and excitement because of their 18-3 record (18-1 vs. D3 foes).

These two teams met earlier this year on Dec. 8, 2005, at Baruch. The Bearcats prevailed, 61-58, in a very competitive contest that featured numerous lead changes and went down to the final seconds.

[JDub]

Another win for the Bearcats.

[Rhodes Scholar]

I saw Baruch defeat CCNY, 63-60, last night. It was a sloppily played game that could have gone either way, but the Bearcats managed to prevail and pick up the road victory.

The Beavers got off to a fast start and lead 15-6. Baruch then went on a 10-0 run to take their first lead of the game, 16-15. City then forged ahead once again, only to falter late in the first half. Baruch went into the locker room with a 34-27 advantage.

The Bearcats got out of the gate very slowly in the second half, which allowed CCNY to regain the lead, 42-40, on a three-pointer by Steve Souma. City increased the lead to six, 49-43, but Baruch fought back to tie the game at 49 with about eight minutes remaining. From this point forward neither team could open up more than a three-point edge, and the lead seesawed back and forth.

CCNY led 60-59, with 1:16 remaining, after Ken Richards hit two free throws, but Baruch scored the next four points on a pair of free throws by Louie Karis and a driving layup by Chris Williams. The Beavers had a chance to tie the game in the closing seconds, but a three-pointer by James Boddie bounced off the rim.

Baruch moves to 10-0 in conference play with the victory, while CCNY drops to 6-4. Karis was the high man for Baruch with 28 points, and Boddie led the Beavers with 19 points.

[Rhodes Scholar]

A couple of observations on last night's Baruch @ CCNY game:

For the second time this year, Baruch had their hands full with CCNY. Although Baruch is quicker and more athletic this year than usual, they did seem to have problems with City's quickness.

At times Baruch used their center, Cheick Fadika, to defend against CCNY guard James Boddie, who is probably the quickest player in the conference. It's not too often that a center matches up defensively with a guard.

CCNY did an excellent job defending Baruch's Robi Davidson, who is a deadly long-range shooter. The Beavers refused to let him get an open look the entire game.

Once again Louie Karis had a very solid game for Baruch. He shot very well from the outside, and he did not force the issue. Chris Williams made a couple of big plays for the Bearcats down the stretch.

CCNY is quick and athletic, but they're very inconsistent. When they show up to play and get a few breaks they can be tough to beat. They could use a low-post scorer and a bit more bulk. James Boddie is one of the better players in the conference, but he's somewhat erratic. Steve Souma is a versatile scorer. Robert Barker is a pretty good big man, but he's playing injured.

[Rhodes Scholar]

I saw Baruch win at home over John Jay, 72-50, yesterday afternoon. John Jay got out to an early lead and hung tough throughout the entire first half, trailing by only seven, 30-23, at the intermission. Unfortunately for the Bloodhounds, Baruch got going in the second half and broke the game wide open.

Once again the Bearcats were led by their trio of seniors: Louie Karis and Robi Davidson both finished with 17 points each, and Cheick Fadika added 15 points. Chris Williams came off the bench to give the team a lift on both ends of the court, and power forward George Kunkel did a good job on the boards.

It was my first look at John Jay this year, and it was pretty much what I expected. The team hustles and gives a pretty good effort, but they are clearly short on talent. It looks like Aramis Ramos and Hakeem Kased are the Bloodhounds' best players. They also have quite a few young players: there's a total of ten freshmen and sophomores on the roster. Of the underclassmen, Alex Valerio and Godfrey Mascall turned in the best performances.

With the victory, Baruch moves to 11-0 in conference play. Next up for the Bearcats is a home game against Hunter on Wednesday evening. The Hawks are coming off an upset victory over CCNY on Friday.

[Rhodes Scholar]

For the first time since 1998, when Hunter went to the Elite Eight, the CUNYAC has a team that is pretty much head and shoulders above everyone else in the conference. In the CUNYAC this type of dominance is rare. Usually there are three or sometimes four teams that are more or less equal. Not so this year. Baruch is #1 hands down and there is quite a bit of distance between them and the rest of the field.

Here are some of the reasons for Baruch's success this year:

1) Baruch has three very good seniors. Louie Karis is probably the conference MVP. Cheick Fadika is an all-conference player. Robi Davidson is the best three-point shooter in the conference.

2) Baruch is quicker and more athletic than in the past. The addition of Carl Emengo and Chris Williams, coupled with Fadika, gives Baruch far more quickness than they usually have.

3) Freshman George Kunkel has given the Bearcats a big boost coming off the bench. Kunkel is an excellent rebounder and a hard-nosed defender.

4) Baruch has solid coaching and good team chemistry, and they play with maturity and confidence.

[Rhodes Scholar]

I saw Baruch pick up a home-court victory over Hunter, 107-81, last night. The Hawks came out with good intensity and were competitive in the first half. Although they didn't play great defense, they shot the ball well and didn't have many turnovers. They went into the locker room down by only seven, 49-42.

The second half was not a good one for Hunter. Baruch continued to shoot the ball well, while Hunter began to misfire and turn the ball over with greater frequency. After five minutes of play the Bearcats' lead was up to 16, and Hunter was never able to recover.

Once again Baruch's trio of seniors led the way. Cheick Fadika was high scorer with 23 points, followed by Robi Davidson with 21 points and Louie Karis with 18 points. Hunter was led by Naeem Mahmood with 23 points.

With the victory Baruch moves to 12-0 in conference play. Their final regular season game is Saturday at Lehman. 

[Rhodes Scholar]

Some comments on last night's Hunter @ Baruch game:

Cheick Fadika has steadily improved since coming to Baruch. This is by far his best season. He could always run the floor and block shots, but he's become a very well-rounded player. He is physically stronger and has improved his inside and midrange game. Plus, he's developed a decent outside touch. He's now one of the top players in the CUNYAC.

Once again Baruch exhibited crisp passing and solid shooting. They didn't take bad shots, force the issue, or make a lot of mental errors. Their role players played well (especially Baptiste), and their bench contributed. All in all a solid overall performance, albeit against a rather poor opponent.

What's the story with Hunter? In 1998 they went to the Elite Eight with Braheen Cotton, George Brown and Troy Battle (all one-year players). The next year a truckload of new players came in, but the team never developed any chemistry and at season's end Mike Brown headed to Fordham as an assistant. Bill Healy took over and had some pretty good players throughout his tenure--Greg Hardin, Darryl Munroe, Lorcan Precious, and Ricardo Riemers to name a few--but he could never get them back on track. They were competitive but they lost far too many close games. And in the past two years, they've become simply awful. Let's see if Nick Plevritis can right the ship. It's certainly not going to be easy.

[Rhodes Scholar]

The big CUNYAC game this weekend pits Baruch at Lehman. If the Bearcats win this Saturday, they will close out the regular season with a perfect 13-0 conference mark.

These two teams met earlier in the season at Baruch. The Bearcats prevailed, 73-70, when Louie Karis nailed a 30-foot jumper with less than a second remaining on the clock. This was a game that Baruch could very well have lost. The Bearcats trailed by as many as 15 points in the second half, but they fought back and managed to pull out the victory.