Empire 8

[sjfcards]

It is hard not to be proud of that effort if you are a Fisher fan. Fisher without 3 starters, and 7 of their 10 leading scorers has a big second half and pulls away from St. Vincent and wins 68-47. Norsen plays well in the second half, the young PG Francis does a good job in a tough situation, Jordan Koch pours in 25 to lead Fisher.

The team can not let the good feeling last since they have to play the Championship in less than 24 hours, and it appears they will be without the group of players that were suspended today. According to what I heard from someone who would know, a group of players were drinking in the hotel, and they are suspended for this tourny. In the long run, the team will probably be better because of this, but tomorrow looks like it will be a tough one.

[Bombers798891]

Ithaca beats Roanoke College 96-88 in the 1st round of the Bill Sudeck Holiday Classic at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland Ohio. Chris Cruz-Rivas led the Bombers with 26 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, and 5 steals. Phil Barera had a double-double with 24 pts and 11 boards. Jordan Marcus also scored 24 pts and Andrie Oztemel Chipped in with 10. Bombers take on the winner of Theil vs. Case Western Reserve tomorrow at 4 PM.  

Also, Sean Rossi sets a school record with 17 assists. Rossi now averages 9 assists per game, which gives him the conference lead by a significant margin. He's also averaging 12 points per game.

I confess to not knowing much about the rest of the freshman class in the E8, but he's got to be among the leaders for freshman of the year, no?

[sjfcards]

That is the name that I keep hearing. I can't think of anyone else even close.

[bomber3]

I'm curious to know the details of the Fisher suspensions.  Was it the night before the game? If so then its totally deserved.

[Bombers798891]

That is the name that I keep hearing. I can't think of anyone else even close.

Bombers continue to light up the scoreboard, topping Case Western 97-94. Jordan Marcus pours in 44 points, the second time this season he's topped 40 points. Rossi, Cruz-Rivas and Barrera also contribute 10+ points.

Jordan Marcus is having a year and a half, and now averages 23.5 points per game. Barrera is shooting 75.3% from the floor. Ithaca moves to 8-2 on the season.

I've gotta say, I know the postseason results haven't been there the last two seasons, but Ithaca's 49-11 in their past 2+ regular seasons, and that's as impressive a run as they've had in school history. Great stuff for a high-flying offense

[sjfcards]

I'm curious to know the details of the Fisher suspensions.  Was it the night before the game? If so then its totally deserved.

I don't know what the details were with the apparent drinking party at the hotel. Hard to believe it would be the night before the game, but a lot of the players were back in the lineup today. I did notice that Ozell Franklin did not play any minutes today? I wonder if he is continuing to be punished, or if something else is going on. I think Fisher will be better off now that this has happened (Easy to say that when they won both games this weekend). Kornaker now knows they have some young talent that can come in and do the job when the usual suspects are off their game, or need some minutes on the bench. Norsen played big minutes today (I think he had the most of any player for Fisher), and Francis got more than he has been seeing. Young players confidence will also go up. I was really impressed with Koch this week as well. I am officially intrigued about the Future.

[Caz Bombers]

With Jordan Marcus going over 40 for the second time this season, I'm starting to wonder what in the heck this kid is doing in Division III.   

[JQV]

With Jordan Marcus going over 40 for the second time this season, I'm starting to wonder what in the heck this kid is doing in Division III.   

He's a 6'2" white kid.  Take it from this 6'2" white kid, the jobs are scarce.

[bomber3]

Caz -

I'm not sure if he got any offers for D1.  I've said it here before and ill say it again- he was the national jewish player of the year for high school in 2008 but I don't think he got any serious D1 looks.  If there is a downside to his game it would be lack of defensive intensity and lack of athleticism.  These could be potential reasons for staying at the D3 level.  He makes up for it with a super quick first step and about a quick of a release you can have.  If he keeps this up he has potential national and regional recognition coming his way for the next 3 years.

Great wins the past 2 days and congrats to Rossi for breaking the school record for assists. 

This team is set at the guard position for the next 3 years barring injury.  Great job recruiting by the coaching staff.

[Ethelred the Unready]

Caz -

I'm not sure if he got any offers for D1.  I've said it here before and ill say it again- he was the national jewish player of the year for high school in 2008 but I don't think he got any serious D1 looks.  If there is a downside to his game it would be lack of defensive intensity and lack of athleticism.  These could be potential reasons for staying at the D3 level.  He makes up for it with a super quick first step and about a quick of a release you can have.  If he keeps this up he has potential national and regional recognition coming his way for the next 3 years.

Great wins the past 2 days and congrats to Rossi for breaking the school record for assists. 

This team is set at the guard position for the next 3 years barring injury.  Great job recruiting by the coaching staff.

Recruiting is an inexact sceince at best and finding the "right" situation is a great thing.  As much time as DIII players have to give to the game, I can only imagine that it is increased ten=fold at the DI level. 

There was a UofR recruit two years ago that got virtually no PT his freshman year and transferred back to his "hometown" college.  He was seen by the father of the basketball coach while playing against some of the teams players in an off-season pickup game and was asked to be a practice player.  So he spent his sophomore year practicing with the varsity and sitting on the bench in his suit during home games.  This year he actually made the team and the last time I checked he had been in 4 games in a mop up role - pretty much the same as when he was at UofR.  The only difference?  He's at Georgetown University now.  Right place-right time. 

[Bombers798891]

Caz -

I'm not sure if he got any offers for D1.  I've said it here before and ill say it again- he was the national jewish player of the year for high school in 2008 but I don't think he got any serious D1 looks.  If there is a downside to his game it would be lack of defensive intensity and lack of athleticism.  These could be potential reasons for staying at the D3 level.  He makes up for it with a super quick first step and about a quick of a release you can have.  If he keeps this up he has potential national and regional recognition coming his way for the next 3 years.

Great wins the past 2 days and congrats to Rossi for breaking the school record for assists. 

This team is set at the guard position for the next 3 years barring injury.  Great job recruiting by the coaching staff.

The Bombers lack defensive ability at pretty much every spot on the floor. Bostic and Ruffrage were guys who could step up and make plays. This team is terrible defensively. Opponents are shooting 50.1% from the floor and averaging 85 PPG. I know they play an up-tempo style and outscore teams, but last season, teams shot 45% from the floor and scored 73 PPG.

That's what will stop this team from making a deep run. Last years' team could score 90-100 points. This team needs to score 90-100 points to win.

You can't argue with results, but looking at the one game they played against a truly elite team doesn't bode well.

But, at least it's fun basketball right?

[sjfcards]

It is fun to watch IC play, and they are winning games, so I would say so far so good if you are an IC fan. I agree they need to play a little more defense, but I think the young guys will learn that as they grow. It is nice to have a rediculous offense to fall back on tho. IC will beat a lot of teams just because some teams just do not have it in them to score 100.

Big game between Fisher and Stevens today. I don't know anything about Stevens, but their record is good, and Fisher has not played well in New Jersey yet. Hopefully Fisher is past all of the adversity from the tournament, and can put together a good performance today. Ultimately I tihnk both teams will be in the E8 tourny but it is the big game today. 

[sjfcards]

Fisher had a big first half and jumped out to a 24 point lead at the half. Fisher looked to be content to just take the air out of the ball in the second and let Stevens back in the game, but they were able to hold on for a 13 point win. A good start to the conference schedule for Fisher with wins over RIT and Stevens (especially on the road). Fisher is home a lot down the stretch and the road games they do have are teams like Naz and RIT, so not too far away. These next few conference games are big ones for Fisher.

I did not see Ozell Franklin with any minutes again today, and from what I could tell on the video feed, he was not on the bench. Has he left the team? Fisher will miss him if he is gone. Not sure what is going on there.

[GPT]

From what I heard Franklin is not playing because of grades

[sjfcards]

Do u know if he is out for the semester or till the end of break.