Empire 8

[bamm]

Hartwick - 61
RIT - 88

Hartwick is a long way from being a good team.

The only exciting episode in the game went like this:  Right before tipoff, I look at my buddy and say "I can't tell who Hartwick's head coach is, all those guys look and act exactly the same.  Not really a good sign ."

In the second half I found out the Hartwick head coach was suspended for this game.  Needless to say, I was proud of myself.

Nice game for Fran Snyder, who did whatever he wanted all night at the offensive end.  At least 12 or 13 guys had to score for the Tigers.  Hartwick never had it under single digits after it was 14-4.

[gobombers15]

Ithaca wins in OT, 83-76. Big games for Bellis, Burton(now favorite for E8 ROY) and Whetsone of all people. Bombers need a split this weekend and will get it now. Ithaca stays tied for 1st place in the E8 at 5-1.

[lileyes]

what makes sean burton the favorite for roy over doug herring?

[the bird man]

Fisher rolls Elmira by 29.

can't wait for the game tomorrow in Ithaca.

Go cards...

[clearconceit]

Not sure what game you were watching GBomber, but our game wasn't that close.  It was 16 points with a few minutes left.  A couple of harmless 3's made it a single digit game.
Nobody believes but I will say it again.... we are going to the TOURNEY baby.  We will rock RIT tomorrow.

Take no prisoners.

Hey Mad Hawk.... what's the matter with you?  Can't you face the msuic when you get your A$# kicked?  I am waiting to hear about how your coach didn't coach and that would have made the difference.  Nobody pulls for you more than me but atleast face the music.

Also I still say that Cocozziello kid is the best freshman.  I am out of here.

Go PIONEERS!!!!  Rock on baby.

[gobombers15]

What game was I watching? I wasn't watching any game, I'm in New Orleans, idiot. However, I do have this thing called internet and was listening to the Utica game when it was 38-35, Naz leading, with 13 minutes remaining(when I posted). Look at the box score, that will back me up. Your radio guy (Andy the Ox?) even mentioned it was a close game until the last 9 minutes. By the way, I'd rather pull every hair out of my leg than listen to another Utica basketball broadcast. If I have to hear another "and the refs call the foul on the Pioneers, I don't know how they can call that" or "out of bounds...how is that not the Pioneers' ball, come on," I think I'm going to barf.

Bird Man, I bet Burton has Alfred's coach's vote. Each time Alfred would get up by 3 or 4, Burton would hit a 3 or make a big pass to set up a basket. He was huge tonight. I think Herring is his biggest challenger right now. You can't hand Cocozziello the award because he's the only player on that team, that's not how it should work.

Ray Bryant is not the best player in the conference, he's not even the best player in the conference with that last name. For my money, I'd take Quentin Bryant of Alfred any day of the week. That kid is filthy. He was hitting step-back 3's with two guys in his face at big moments in the game tonight. Alfred's offense should be "give it to Quentin, everyone else just get out of the way." Kid is dirty. That said, I think Canori should win POY but may get punished by the fact he's only a sophomore, we will see.

Hey, MadDumb, where you at now? What's up with the Hawks? I guess their "downward spiral" began when they had to start playing competent D3 basketball teams, huh? Still think they have 4 conference wins in them? I sure don't!

Just hoping Ithaca doesn't get run by Fisher tomorrow, Go Bombers!

[UCgrad45]

"Your radio guy (Andy the Ox?) even mentioned it was a close game until the last 9 minutes. By the way, I'd rather pull every hair out of my leg than listen to another Utica basketball broadcast. If I have to hear another "and the refs call the foul on the Pioneers, I don't know how they can call that" or "out of bounds...how is that not the Pioneers' ball, come on," I think I'm going to barf."

From 38-35, Naz only scored once for almost 9 minutes.

Adam the Bull rarely rips on officials. Working very close to him during games, I can tell you for a fact that he will usually defend officials, even when the Utica crowd is getting on them. However, as said before, there seems to be a different style of officiating in rochester than in the rest of the state.


As for Ray Bryant, he is much better than people outside of Utica give him credit for. He could have inflated stats, but he is a team player. He has been conference player or co player of the week 3 times this season. That is more than any other player in the conference. The other Bryant has been player of the week exactly zero times. Let's not go crazy with our claims because you don't like clear.

[gobombers15]

All I said is Q.Bryant is the most "talented" player in the league. For anyone who has seen him play, I'm sure you'll agree with me. Q was Player of the Week a bunch last year but for some reason they're trying not to depend on him too much this year. He had about 10 pts halfway through the 2nd half last night then decided he was gonna take over and, though i don't know his exact total, I bet he had around 30. Keep in mind Ray Bryant has played an entire season and Quentin just came back for the 2nd semester. Even the Fisher fans said they don't understand why the ball isn't in his hands every time down the floor, which I tend to agree with.

And, Utica fans, you guys are going to have to let this whole "different officiating style in Rochester" thing die. During my year off from school I lived in Rochester and the reffing looked exactly the same to me as it did when I was at Ithaca. That is to say they are D3 refs and can be inconsistent at times. It's gonna be a hard sell convincing me that only the Utica/Hartwick combo have good officials but every other place does not. I'm not buying that for a second. Suck it up, play the game, and deal with the fact most teams get home calls. It's part of the advantage of playing at home.

[UCgrad45]

Q. Bryant is a good player. I have seen him play twice a season since he was a freshman. However, Ray is overall a better player in my opinion. Maybe you didn't like his 29 and 10 against Ithaca?
The reason he doesn't always have the ball is that Alfred also has Stein, who may be the best big man in the conference. It is a team game. Ray could probably average about 30 a game, but he doesn't have the need to do that. He makes the whole team better both with his play, and his intangibles. Q. Bryant is not a leader in my opinion. With the talent Alfred has, they should be much better than their record shows.

[lileyes]

UC grad...I totally agree.  UC is a much better team when Ray Bryant is on the court.  It doesn't matter if he is scoring or not.  He makes everyone around him better and is the type of player anyone would want on their team. 

[rjcarter8]

I guess I've got to see Burton play in some more games. I've only seen him once -- against Hartwick -- and he wasn't all that impressive. He was out of sync and quite hot-headed, getting a technical foul after fouling a Hartwick player. He only had 11 points and more turnovers than assists 3-2.

I also had a chance to listen to the game against Green Mountain and it sounded like Burton played well, but Green Mountain isn't exactly a powerhouse.

BTW, Cocozziello didn't play all that great against Ithaca either, only scoring 3 points.

Finally, a thought for today, I'm sure it won't happen, but here's hoping Ithaca knocks off Fisher.

[hawks1323]

9 Freshmen
1 Sophmore
3 Juniors (2 of whom are transfers)
2 Seniors (1 transfer)

3 Returners
12 New Players

Starters
Youngest Starting 5 in the E8 (No prior seasons of experience)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Hawks have come a long way so far this season from the previous two seasons! Even with a loss last night against RIT, I am not concerned one bit. Lets not forget that last nights game was the first E8 road game for 12 out of 15 players. Last night's loss was a wake call for the young Hawks that playing on the road is tough. RIT can expect to face a smarter Hawks team on February 11th. At the moment, I place the line at: Hawks by 4.

Let's not forget that Roman Empire lost several battles before they became the power they ended up being. Last night's game was a terrific learning experience for the Hawks (The emerging empire).

Also, Britian lost the American Revolution. Look at who they are today, a world power


Ciao for now..more later

[superman57]

First off even if Fisher losses one more confrence game but then beats utica Fisher still has the tie break over Utica,  but if Fisher plays anything like they've played the past two games then Ithaca definitly stands a chance to win.  Again I say the only way Utica is going to the tourny is if they win out and make it to the championship game and either win it or lose in overtime or something like that.  I think the only team that truly stands a chance at getting an at large bid is Fisher if they win out because of the fact that they are Nationally Ranked and have proved themselves in the past, not something Utica has done yet.  Fisher has 3 losses to of them were on the road to top 25 teams and the other one was against a huge rival.  So clear please be a little leval headed hear.  Try to understand that so matter how much you want it to happen Utica will not rout any team except for Hartwick and Utica, this league is a lot closer then we all thought.  Second understand that Empire 8 hasn't gotten two bids to the tourny in as long as I can remember, and 3rd you can't be the best till you beat the best and 41 out of 42 in the Varsity Gym tell me that your gonna have a rough time winning in the varisty gym

[hawks1323]

Opps, I almost forget to include a BOOYAH

[rjcarter8]

MadHawk,
I have nothing against Hartwick or any team in the E8, but you can't keep posting these ridiculous things. You just can't.

While there may be improvements happening at Hartwick, you are making the City of Oneonta, the school, the students, the coaches and the players on the team look bad.

Hartwick will not compete for the E8 title this year, they will not win more than a few conference games, and you need to accept that. You are just making Hartwick and yourself a target.

You can't boast about how good a team is, then when they lose by 17 points, come up with excuses that 12 of 15 players on the team hadn't experienced a E8 road game before. Good teams win games, it is as simple as that. It's true Hartwick has improved, but they are still not a good team.

The Hawks time will come in the next couple years if they are able to keep players around, but this is not the year and you should realize it before you embarass yourself even more than you already have.

And quit saying Booyah, it's not helping.