Empire 8

[fisheralum03]

Now on to Fisher. I thought that after Fisher won the E8 title on SATURDAY night, they might have gotten a home game but I was surprised beyond belief that they got one of the 5 byes in the tournament. That is huge because Fisher has some players with injuries that need to be healed and it gives them a couple extra days to recooperate. I know, what teams don't have injuries at this time of year. I was also surprised at the side of the bracket Fisher was in. I seriously hope if Fisher does win on Saturday that the Sectional (SWEET 16/ELITE 8) is not in Amherst. I heard terrible things from last year (excluding the game). Ex: the parking situation, the gym is basically thre same size as Fisher and Fisher had to drive 6 hours to get there. That is all in the past but those are things you need to look at when deciding who is hosting 4 teams with a chance to go to the NCAA FINAL 4

[rjcarter8]

I'm guessing RIT snuck in because UR declined. Can anyone confirm this? Seems like UR would have been in no problem if they had wanted to be.

Maybe they think ECAC's is below them, who knows.

Agreed. Same way Ithaca used to feel about receiving ECAC bids in football. Luckily, that has changed recently in the years the Bombers missed the playoffs.

Did UR indeed decline an ECAC bid, or is it similar to a case like Hamilton last year where they couldn't play in the ECAC's because they are NESCAC members?

[OneontaBoy1323]

EMPIRE 8 ANNOUNCES MEN'S BASKETBALL ALL-CONFERENCE TEAM
Sean O'Brien of St. John Fisher Named Player of the Year

ROCHESTER, NY – Senior guard Sean O'Brien of conference champion St. John Fisher College was named Empire 8 Men's Basketball Player of the Year.  Jan Cocozziello of Hartwick College earned Rookie of the Year honors.  Rob Kornaker of St. John Fisher and Andy Goodemote of Utica College shared Coach of the Year Honors.
   O'Brien, a three-time all-conference first team selection, enters the national tournament averaging 12.5 points per game and leading the conference in assists (6.3 per game) and free throw percentage (90.2 percent).  He hit the game-winning jumper with 1.7 seconds left in overtime to send the Cardinals into the Empire 8 title game.
   Senior guard Justin Cichon, a second-team choice last year, and junior guard/forward Ray Bryant of Utica College were named to the all-conference first team.  Cichon enters the national tournament averaging 15.3 points per game and leads the Pioneers in three-point field goals (61) and free throw percentage (86.2 percent).
   Bryant ranks second in the conference in scoring (18.2 points per game) and rebounds (7.6 rebounds per game) and is shooting 54.2 percent from the floor and 74.6 percent from the free throw line.
Senior guard Jim Bellis of Ithaca College was named to the first team this season after receiving second-team all-conference recognition last year.  He averaged a team-high 18 points per game and also led the Bombers in 3-pointers (51), steals (49), and blocked shots heading into ECAC play.
   Senior guard Fran Snyder of RIT was named to the all-conference first team averaging a team-high 13.1 points per game and shooting 80.2 percent from the free throw line.  He also leads the ECAC-bound Tigers with 34 steals.
   Cocozziello, a five-time Empire 8 Rookie of the week, led the Hawks by averaging 14.8 points and 3.1 assists per game.  He also led the team with 31 steals.
   Kornaker guided St. John Fisher to its fourth consecutive league title to earn Coach of the Year honors for the fourth straight year.  Goodemote led Utica to the Empire 8 title game and its first NCAA appearance in school history.

2006 Empire 8 Men's Basketball Honors
Player of the Year: Sean O'Brien, St. John Fisher College
Rookie of the Year: Jan Cocozziello, Hartwick College   
Co-Coach of the Year: Andy Goodemote, Utica College
Co-Coach of the Year: Rob Kornaker, St. John Fisher College

-more-

PAGE TWO – EMPIRE 8 ANNOUNCES...

Empire 8 Men's Basketball All-Conference
First Team      
Name   School   Year   Position
Jim Bellis   Ithaca   Senior   Guard
Ray Bryant   Utica   Junior   Guard/Forward
Justin Cichon   Utica   Senior   Guard
Sean O'Brien   St. John Fisher   Senior   Guard
Fran Snyder   RIT   Senior   Guard

Second Team      
Name   School   Year   Position
Nick Bennett   St. John Fisher   Senior   Forward
Quentin Bryant   Alfred   Senior   Guard
Joe Canori   Nazareth   Sophomore   Guard
Mike McGee   St. John Fisher   Senior   Guard/Forward
Micah Owens   Elmira   Senior   Center

Sportsman of the Year
Name   Yr.   School      
Chris Lemasters   Sr.   Alfred University
Joe Prunier   Jr.   Elmira College
John Montana   Sr.   Hartwick College
Jeff Bostic   Fr.   Ithaca College
Mike DeBlois   Sr.   Nazareth College
Chris Bocciolatt   Jr.   RIT
Pete Gillett   Sr.   St. John Fisher College
Dennis Munch   So.   Utica College

Honorable Mention
Justin Beigel, St. John Fisher; Jan Cocozziello, Hartwick; Willie Lucas, Utica; Ryan McAdam, Nazareth; Dan McSweeney, St. John Fisher; Dillon Stein, Alfred

-Empire 8-

[superman57]

Congrats Sean, you deserve it.  and this is something for everbody to remember, the week of the 3rd through the 11th is fisher's spring break

[fisheralum03]

I hope there are a lot of Fisher fans at the game on Saturday even though Fisher is on Spring Break.

[Jukebox Hero]

I'll be there. This happened last year too with Fisher home tourney games during Spring Break.....

[Maq Diesel]

Hey, I am a huge Gordon fan and was wondering if some of you could offer some insight into this Utica team we are playing?  They seem to be preety much an unknown commodity up in the NE but if someone could post a little something in the CCC board about them we would love it.  Also for any Utica fans out there Gordon's coach Mike Schauer will be on Hoopsville sometime tonight I am guessing it will be closser to 8 than 11 but i have no idea to tell you the truth.

A little about us.  Gordon is a Christian Liberal Arts school about 25 northeast of boston with roughly 1700 students.  This is our first ever trip to the NCAA and by far our best season ever.  We lost three games one to Salem State which we should have won, one to Emory in GA after a week long layoff during break, and one to our rival and CCC tournement Champ Endictott.  We had an 18 game win streak snapped in tournament semi-finals.  About our team, we are athletic but not overly so, 8-10 guys see game action depending on the team we are playing.  Our starters  are 6' 5", 6' 5", 6' 4", 6' 1" and 5' 10" and our best players are our point guard Justin Kaufman, F Mike Herr (inside/outside) and F Jon Marstaller (post).  Almost everyone on the team can shoot the three ball and we do frequently, though not as much as Utica does from that stats I have seen.  We are a defensive team  by nature and can run and gun but coach Schauer would rather se games played in the 50-60 than the 80-90.  Well I will check back if anyone has any questions but if some Utica fan could post in the CCC board that would be sweet.

[col]

Well,  Ray Bryant is wicked awesome.

[fisheralum91]

Guys-
Should we send clear over to the CCC board to rattle some cages?
I think so!!

[fisheralum03]

that would be funny!!

[roy_williams]

fisher sucks

[gobombers15]

fisher sucks

Does your name refer to the North Carolina coach who has never won a championship with players he actually recruited and has an eerily resemblance to the cartoon character Huckleberry Hound (seriously, stare at Roy Williams for like two minutes and you'll see it) or the Detroit Lions WR who has hands of fiberglass? Either way, you picked a winner. Moron.

I actually think that kid is a fan of one of the CCC teams that is going to get beat beat beat by Utica Utica Utica.

[fisheralum91]

Hey Roy,
Go back to the CCC board.
We have our hands full with other idiots!

Oh- no offense Madhawk.

[col]

fisher sucks

Go Ray!

[tigerfan2]

Or maybe his name is just Roy Williams. Why all the anger toward either Roy GB15? Did you make the mistake of drafting Roy in your fantasy football league? Are you a Kansas fan and just bitter?