Empire 8

[gobombers15]

HAHAHAHA....Fisher smacked RIT today. Ignore any previous posts saying otherwise. The score did not do the game justice. Fisher took the lead early in the first and was never threatened afterwards. They are an extremely well-coached team and have a lot of promising youngsters. They are unquestionably the class of the elite 8. Asst. coach Mahanna is surely someone to keep on your radars. Truly a rising star. RIT gave a good effort and I would not be surprised to see them upset a team in the future. Once the younger Cardinals relax and start finishing around the hoop and the team as a whole guards the three slightly better, its all over.

Just curious, why do you say that about Coach Mahanna??

First off, I certainly did not mean any disrespect to Coach Kornaker. His resume speaks for itself. Five E8 titles in the last seven years and a .778 winning percentage certainly says it all. Asst. coach Mahanna is entering his second season under Kornaker and has made a name for himself on the recruting trail among other coaches. The freshmen class, brought in by Kornaker and Mahannna, has created a bit of a stir in the E8 and surely will play a significant role in numerous league titles in the future for the Cardinals. The freshmen haven't seen much action yet but have showed flashes. Francis and Evans, in partiular, look like studs. I have also heard (from a few reliable people who would know) that Asst. coach Mahanna has been pivotal in the individual skill development of the returning players, Gettings and Henderson especially. If he's not a head coach within the next four or five years I will eat my hat.

In regards to Mahanna, it is wayy too early to tell.  He has only been there two years and they didn't even make the E8 tourney is his first year.  Also, Fisher did fine without him the previous 5 or 6 years.  One of the definite up and coming coaches is Nevada Smith from IC.  He has been strong recruiting (Marcus, Cruz, current freshman, etc.) and is one of the main reasons the uptempo style was implemented. 

IC's record the past 3 years speaks for itself:

Record since arriving: 60-27 (69%)
3 Years Prior: 42-40  (51%)

Smith's name has been mentioned a lot during the last year or so. I hope he gets an opportunity like Dobbs did at Potsdam.

[magicman]

Utica falls to Cortland State 71-61.

[magicman]

Back and forth play between Cortland and Utica College in the 1st half that saw 8 ties and 9 lead changes, before Red Dragons go into the break up 34-33. Largest lead was 5 pts achieved twice by Corts late in the half. Pioneers fall behind by 6 at the 16:13 mark of the 2nd, 41-35 but come roaring back with a 15-0 run in the next 4:30, highlighted by back to back treys by Will Abrams and James Paterson followed by an Abrams free throw and a Paterson steal and layup. Cortland finally stops the bleeding with a Mike Lewis layup and 2 ft's by Paul Oliver to pull within 5 at 50-45. Red Dragons continue comeback with 15-2 run of their own to take the lead 56-52 on another pair of Oliver ft's and a 3 pointer by Jeff Lamont. Red Dragons never headed and go 6x6 from the line down the stretch to seal the win.

Cortland led by Paul Oliver with a double -double of 20 pts (6x10 fg's, 8x8 ft's) and 11 rebounds. Ben Nagle had 18 pts on 7x9 fg's and 4x4 ft;s with 8 boards. Jeff Lamont chipped in with 10 pts (2x5 fg's 2x2 3's, 4x4 ft's). Red Dragons were 24x48 from the field, 5x15 from beyond the arc and 18 for 20 from the line. Utica College only went to the charity stripe 11 times hitting 7. Cortland also won the battle of the boards 40-23. Utica College was led by Paterson with 25 pts. Patrick Goodman had 14, and Abrams added 11. Pioneers shot 25x62 from the field and 4x16 from 3 point land.

[Bombers798891]

Bombers blow a 16 point second half lead, but manage to come out on top of St. Lawrence 101-97. Jordan Marcus goes for 34, and Andrei Oztemel has 30 as the Bombers manage to hold off the Saints.

Ithaca wins their 3rd straight, but the team's inexperience shows as they nearly blow a huge 2nd half lead for the second time this season. The Bombers appear to have no ability to play defense, and seem to be content to outscore teams (or try to)

The Bombers remind me of some of the Nazareth teams we've seen over the past few years. Dangerous, and a team that can hang with you, but too flawed to make a serious run. Perhaps next season, when the players have more experience, they can make a run. For now, I guess it's sit back and watch the scoreboard light up.

[gobombers15]

Bombers blow a 16 point second half lead, but manage to come out on top of St. Lawrence 101-97. Jordan Marcus goes for 34, and Andrei Oztemel has 30 as the Bombers manage to hold off the Saints.

Ithaca wins their 3rd straight, but the team's inexperience shows as they nearly blow a huge 2nd half lead for the second time this season. The Bombers appear to have no ability to play defense, and seem to be content to outscore teams (or try to)

The Bombers remind me of some of the Nazareth teams we've seen over the past few years. Dangerous, and a team that can hang with you, but too flawed to make a serious run. Perhaps next season, when the players have more experience, they can make a run. For now, I guess it's sit back and watch the scoreboard light up.

Getting outrebounded 44-29 doesn't help, either.  On the bright side, it looks like they have at least three guys who can go for 25 points on a given night (Marcus, Cruz, Oztemel).

Ithaca attempted 39 three-point FG's tonight. 

[Bombers798891]

Bombers blow a 16 point second half lead, but manage to come out on top of St. Lawrence 101-97. Jordan Marcus goes for 34, and Andrei Oztemel has 30 as the Bombers manage to hold off the Saints.

Ithaca wins their 3rd straight, but the team's inexperience shows as they nearly blow a huge 2nd half lead for the second time this season. The Bombers appear to have no ability to play defense, and seem to be content to outscore teams (or try to)

The Bombers remind me of some of the Nazareth teams we've seen over the past few years. Dangerous, and a team that can hang with you, but too flawed to make a serious run. Perhaps next season, when the players have more experience, they can make a run. For now, I guess it's sit back and watch the scoreboard light up.

Getting outrebounded 44-29 doesn't help, either.  On the bright side, it looks like they have at least three guys who can go for 25 points on a given night (Marcus, Cruz, Oztemel).

Ithaca attempted 39 three-point FG's tonight. 

Yeah, that's the weird thing though. Oztemel was only averaging like, 6 points a game prior to last night. And Cruz is so streaky...he was 3-9 from the floor and 2-4 from the line. He's not getting as many fast break points without Burton there.

The guy I think this team misses the most (besides Burton) is Scott Ruffrage. They really need someone who can just come in and play 4-5 minutes of solid defense on a guy to stop a team on a run.

The 39 threes are astounding. Almost half their shots this season have been from three

[sjfcards]

Does anyone who was at the IC/SLU game have any information on the Saints? I believe they are in Fisher's tournament at the end of the month. I never know what to expect from them.

Fisher has a swing game today. If they can beat desales and be 4-1, it seems like a pretty good start to the season in the first semester. If they lose, they drop to 3-2, and it is not nearly as impressive.

[Bombers798891]

Does anyone who was at the IC/SLU game have any information on the Saints? I believe they are in Fisher's tournament at the end of the month. I never know what to expect from them.

Fisher has a swing game today. If they can beat desales and be 4-1, it seems like a pretty good start to the season in the first semester. If they lose, they drop to 3-2, and it is not nearly as impressive.

I watched the game on TV (damn snow). St. Lawrence can shoot, but they're pretty careless with the ball. A lot of errant passes, but they're comfortable playing up tempo, and considering they were getting blown out early in the 2nd half (76-60) they're not the kind of team to quit.

I'd say something about their inside game, but Ithaca doesn't really have one, so I'm not sure that outrebounding IC by 15 says anything. Ithaca's got one true center and he played 23 minutes and had 4 pts with 4 rebounds.

[thebear]

But tonight, playing against a very undersized Potsdam team, he had 33 & 9, shooting 16 for 18 from the field.

Rossi is impressive, was able to penetrate & dish at will.

Marcus suffered some sort of ankly injury as IC was pulling away in the second half and spent the rest of the game
elevating & icing his ankle.  Hopefully the injury isn't too serious.

Ithaca will be very good by the end of this season barring injury.  They have some very talented freshmen that will be sophomores in terms of game experience by late February.

[Bombers798891]

But tonight, playing against a very undersized Potsdam team, he had 33 & 9, shooting 16 for 18 from the field.

Rossi is impressive, was able to penetrate & dish at will.

Marcus suffered some sort of ankly injury as IC was pulling away in the second half and spent the rest of the game
elevating & icing his ankle.  Hopefully the injury isn't too serious.

Ithaca will be very good by the end of this season barring injury.  They have some very talented freshmen that will be sophomores in terms of game experience by late February.

Well, I wasn't referring to Barrera in my post, as he's a forward. He's a tenacious rebounder and clearly, when given the right team, a big time scorer.

That's the third Bomber to go over the 30 point mark the last two games.

Re: the Marcus injury, that's not good. Thankfully, the team is off for the next two weeks and doesn't play a challenging conference game until the 8th of January. (Sorry, Elmira)

This Ithaca team reminds me of the one from two years ago that went 17-8. Good, but a year away and missing a piece or two. It'll be interesting this season

[Bombers798891]

What's up with E8 teams not holding leads?

RIT up 62-41 with 13:46 to go, Fisher College closes on a 28-6 run to win 69-68. Stunning.

[sjfcards]

Fisher had a tough one yesterday going down to Desales by 2. The problem was not a personnel issue, but Desales shot lights out from 3, especially in the first half. Desales is better than I thought they would be. Fisher had a shot at the end, but was not able to convert a jumper.

[magicman]

Fisher had a tough one yesterday going down to Desales by 2. The problem was not a personnel issue, but Desales shot lights out from 3, especially in the first half. Desales is better than I thought they would be. Fisher had a shot at the end, but was not able to convert a jumper.

DeSales also did not have their best player in the game, D3 hoops  preseason
All-American Darnell Braswell.

[bomber3]

Fisher had a tough one yesterday going down to Desales by 2. The problem was not a personnel issue, but Desales shot lights out from 3, especially in the first half. Desales is better than I thought they would be. Fisher had a shot at the end, but was not able to convert a jumper.

DeSales also did not have their best player in the game, D3 hoops  preseason
All-American Darnell Braswell.

If Fisher couldn't beat Desales without Braswell then I cant consider Fisher to be an elite team.  I gave them one freebie with the Hobart loss but this solidifies it.  I thought they had the potential to be a 21-22 win team but now it looks like they will hover around last year's record with 17 or so wins.

In other news, Phil Barera is shooting an astounding 77.1% from the field while averaging 14.4 points per game.  He has been one of the main catalysts for the Bombers' 6-2 first semester start.  I know its been only 8 games but he is on pace to shatter the E8 record of 64% and break the Division III national record for field goal percentage (Current record is 76.6% and has stood for 15 seasons). Very impressive. Of course in his first game after this post he will probably go 3-14 or something and come back down to earth.

[Bombers798891]

Fisher had a tough one yesterday going down to Desales by 2. The problem was not a personnel issue, but Desales shot lights out from 3, especially in the first half. Desales is better than I thought they would be. Fisher had a shot at the end, but was not able to convert a jumper.

DeSales also did not have their best player in the game, D3 hoops  preseason
All-American Darnell Braswell.

If Fisher couldn't beat Desales without Braswell then I cant consider Fisher to be an elite team.  I gave them one freebie with the Hobart loss but this solidifies it.  I thought they had the potential to be a 21-22 win team but now it looks like they will hover around last year's record with 17 or so wins.

In other news, Phil Barera is shooting an astounding 77.1% from the field while averaging 14.4 points per game.  He has been one of the main catalysts for the Bombers' 6-2 first semester start.  I know its been only 8 games but he is on pace to shatter the E8 record of 64% and break the Division III national record for field goal percentage (Current record is 76.6% and has stood for 15 seasons). Very impressive. Of course in his first game after this post he will probably go 3-14 or something and come back down to earth.

It's pretty tough to play the "on pace" game with percentages. Also, IC's sports information page has the Bombers at 6-1, so they're missing a game in there somewhere. Barerra's will be high, simply because of where he plays, but there's no reason to think it will finish anywhere near where it is now