Empire 8

[NYHOOPS8]

Stevens had a good effort against Williams but Williams' outside shooting and height was too much for them to handle in the second half. Stevens started a tiny lineup against the huge frontline of Williams. One of their starting big men did not play.

[AUPepBand]

Saxons lead the entire way and hold off Stevens, 100-88, after the Ducks evened the score at 74. Frosh guard Tyler Seelman responded with a deep trey, with Lothridge fouled after the shot under the basket. His first free throw was good to give AU a 78-74 lead, which they never relinquished.

Meanwhile, down I-86, Elmira wins its fourth straight with a mild 81-75 upset win over Hartwick.  Elsewhere tonight, Nazareth tops Ithaca, 76-64 and St. John Fisher defeats Houghton, 89-59. That leaves FOUR E8 teams with 3 conference losses, Elmira and St. John Fisher with 5 losses.

Stevens 8-3; Hartwick 8-3; Nazareth 7-3; Alfred 6-3; Fisher 6-5; Elmira 4-5; Ithaca 1-9; Utica 1-10.

Saturday's Matchups:
Stevens at Elmira
Hartwick at Alfred
St. John Fisher at Ithaca
Houghton at Nazareth

On Saxon Warriors!

[magicman]

Wow Pep,
Congrats on the big win over Stevens. Hope you can pull off another big win later today.

[AUPepBand]

Wow Pep,
Congrats on the big win over Stevens. Hope you can pull off another big win later today.

....and a big win for Coach Curle's Cardinals! Wow! Must have been a great game. Packed house at Brockport?

Pep was pleased with attendance at the AU-Stevens game (Saxons for Saxons Night) but puzzled by the box score saying it was 200. The place was rockin' with courtside bleachers just about full and the balcony at least 50% filled. Capacity currently listed at 1700. Open the other side bleachers and capacity is 2500. Pep would be willing to bet there were at least 750 in attendance at the game. Fun atmosphere.

No time to celebrate.....back to work against Hartwick today!

On Saxon Warriors!

[AUPepBand]

Saxons wear down the Hartwick Hawks, taking a 105-98 win at McLane Center. Pep is just back from the game and is elated that the Saxons took down E8 front-runners Stevens and Hartwick back-to-back. AU remains in the E8 mix with a 16-5 overall and 7-3 E8 mark, while Hartwick falls to 13-9 (8-4 E8).

Pep was a bit puzzled by a Hartwick lady fan who contended that Alfred "stinks."
"Did you see the game at Hartwick?" she asked, "Your team stinks."
"How many All-Americans does Alfred have?" she asked.
Pep raised his hand formed in a "0".
"Our leading scorer is averaging 12 points a game," Pep replied, "Yet the Saxons are the second leading team in the nation in scoring."
"Hartwick is right up there, too!" she countered.
"Wait 'til you meet the big guys," she said.
"Yeah, wait 'til you meet the big boys!" she repeated and, perhaps thinking Pep was hard of hearing, repeated again,
"Wait until you meet the big boys."

When it was all over, Pep wished her safe travels and we embarked on a civil conversation. All's well that ends well. Pep thanked her for coming to the game and wished her well.

On Saxon Warriors!

[AUPepBand]

In other Empire 8 games today, St. John Fisher kept pace with an 81-71 win at Ithaca. Cardinals now (14-9, 7-5 E8).
Stevens overcame a 20-point second half deficit to escape Elmira with a 60-58 win and take over first place in the E8 at (15-7, 9-3 E8)
And, in a game that does not figure in standings, Nazareth defeated Houghton, 74-46. Naz now (15-6, 7-3).

[magicman]

Pep should have said to the lady, to paraphrase Walt Kelly...We have met the big boys and they are us!

Again another nice win for the Alfred Saxons, to beat both the frontrunners on consecutive days is quite noteworthy. Good luck in the stretch run, Pep.

[AUPepBand]

Pep should have said to the lady, to paraphrase Walt Kelly...We have met the big boys and they are us!

Again another nice win for the Alfred Saxons, to beat both the frontrunners on consecutive days is quite noteworthy. Good luck in the stretch run, Pep.

+K magic
The lady was correct in most everything she said.

"Hartwick's right up there, too (leading team in scoring)"....Hawks are tied for 24th in the nation, scoring an average of 83.3 ppg.

Jared "Suds" Suderley, no doubt an All-American, ranks 36th in the nation in scoring, averaging 20.5 ppg and is 9th in the nation with 12 double doubles. He had 13 rebounds and 28 points today.

When the two teams met at Hartwick earlier this season, Alfred scored 124 points in a 131-124 overtime loss. Pep doesn't know too many teams that put 124 points on the scoreboard who "stink" unless they all refused to wear deodorant. 

To his credit, Coach Dale Wellman has built a solid well-balanced squad that this year has blossomed in a new scheme. Early in the season, Pep wondered whether the Saxons could keep up their high-scoring once they started playing  conference games. They've made a believer of Pep.

Pep doesn't care whether AU has any All-Americans...because the Saxons play as a T E A M.

On Saxon Warriors!

[dcahill44]

With Regional Rankings on its way this week heres how I think the East Regional Rankings will look like
1. Brockport
2. Plattsburgh
3. Geneseo
4. NYU
5. Hobart
6. Stevens
I think Nazareth is 7th and Vassar 8th. Main reason I think Stevens is ahead of Naz is because they beat them twice.

[Dave 'd-mac' McHugh]

Another episode of Hoopsville is slated for tonight and we have Nazareth MBB coach Kevin Broderick scheduled to join us along with the following guests:

- Pomona-Pitzer MBB coach Charles Katsiaficas
- #15 Wittenberg MBB coach Bill Brown
- #2 Hope WBB coach Brian Morehouse
- Stevenson WBB coach Jackie Boswell
- Maryville WBB coach Darrin Travillian
- Trinity (TX) WBB coach Cameron Hill
- St. Mary's (Md.) MBB coach Chris Harney

Show starts at 7 PM EST and will run at least 2:30 tonight.

You can tune in here: www.d3hoops.com/hoopsville/archives/2013-14/feb13

You can also follow us on social media
- Twitter (@d3hoopsville and #Hoopsville)
- Facebook (www.facebook.com/Hoopsville)
- Email (hoopsville@d3hoops.com)

Thanks and enjoy the show!

[AUPepBand]

Big night at St. John Fisher as the Cardinals (14-9, 7-5) in a must-win situation as they host their cross-street rival Nazareth Golden Flyers (15-6, 7-3) in a critical Empire 8 matchup.

Elsewhere, Utica (7-14, 1-10) which lost to Alfred at the buzzer at home recently, travels to McLane Center where the Saxons (16-5, 7-3) are unbeaten this season at 8-0, and fighting for an Empire 8 Conference berth.

A hot Elmira squad (9-12, 4-6) hoping to avenge a one-point loss to Ithaca (6-16, 1-10) will travel up Rt. 13 to take on the Bombers at Ben Light Gymnasium.

Empire 8 Standings going into this weekend's games:
Stevens (9-3), Alfred (7-3), Naz (7-3), Hartwick (8-4), Fisher (7-5), Elmira (4-6), Ithaca (1-10), Utica (1-10) Houghton (N-A)

Saturday's Games:
Fisher at Alfred
Naz at Elmira
Utica at Ithaca

After this weekend:
Stevens has games remaining at Hartwick (Feb. 18) and against Elmira (Feb. 21)
Alfred has games at Naz (Feb. 18) and against Ithaca (Feb. 22)
Nazareth hosts AU Feb. 18 and plays at Utica Feb. 21.
Hartwick hosts Stevens (Feb. 18) and Elmira (Feb. 22).

On Saxon Warriors!

[AUPepBand]

Cardinals hold on to defeat cross-street rival Nazareth, 67-65 as Fisher improves to 8-5 in the E8, while Nazareth goes to 7-4.
AU knocks off Utica, 116-94 to improve to 8-3 in the E8, half game behind Stevens (9-3).
Tyler Dibble scores on a layup with 3 seconds remaining to give Elmira a 69-68 win over Ithaca at Ben Light. Score was identical to Ithaca's win at Elmira on Jan. 28.

Saturday's 2 p.m. Tipoffs:
St. John Fisher (8-5) at Alfred (8-3)
Nazareth (7-4) at Elmira (5-6)
Utica (1-10) at Ithaca (1-10)

On Saxon Warriors!

[NYHOOPS8]

St John Fisher's win over Nazareth last night puts them right back in the thick of the playoff race. Elmira seems to be the key to the seedings and berths in the conference tournament. They play Nazareth, Stevens, and Hartwick who are all fighting for spots in the playoffs.

[AUPepBand]

Fisher finishes its Empire 8 schedule with a 105-83 win at Alfred today to improve to 9-5 in E8 play. Saxons drop to 8-4, with games at Nazareth (8-4 with convincing win at Elmira today) Tuesday and at home with Ithaca Feb. 22.

Nazareth finishes its E8 play Friday, Feb. 21 at Utica.

Meanwhile, Stevens (9-3) at Hartwick (8-4) Tuesday and at home with Elmira (4-7) Feb. 21.

In weird scheduling, Hartwick must travel to Houghton for a Friday night game Feb. 21, then take the 3.5 hour bus ride home to Oneonta to host Elmira on Feb. 22 in a game that was moved from 2 to 3 p.m. tipoff.

All told, Pep has no clue what's going to happen in the Empire 8....there are five viable teams fighting for four available spots for the E8 Tournament....just hoping the Saxons can regroup and keep fighting.

On Saxon Warriors!

[magicman]

Here's a case of almost Deja Vu happening all over again.

On January 28th Ithaca beat Elmira 69-68 in Elmira

Last night Elmira beat Ithaca 69-68 in Ithaca.

Wonder what the odds are that 2 teams will split their season series by the same identical score?