MBB: State University of New York Athletic Conference

[magicman]

Plattsburgh State nailed their first 5 attempts from behind the arc to jump out to a quick lead over Clarkson. Up by 14 after 8 minutes Clarkson fought back to cut it to 29-22 but the Cardinals went on a 13-1 run and stretched it to 22-4 run to end the half up 51-26. Cards shot 19-28 (67.9%) in the opening period. Plattsburgh extended their lead to 58-29 early in the 2nd half before Clarkson made a game of it and closed to within 8 late in the game but Cardinals made free throws down the stretch to preserve the win. Steve Thomas led the Cardinals with 21 pts on 6x8 fg, 3x4 3's, and 6x7 from the line. Errol Daniyan scored 19 pts on 5x6 fg,and 9x12 from the line. The big man has now made 23x30 free throws in 5 games for a 76% clip, up over 20 pts from last season. Carl Munnerlyn also had a big game adding 18 pts on 5x8 fg, 1x1 3's, 7x8 ft, with 6 steals. Rey Jefferson with 19 pts, (7x8 from the field with 5 treys), Felix Llanos with  16 pts and Elson Pickering with 12 pts paced the Golden Knights. It was Clarkson's 1st loss of the season and they move to 3-1.

Plattsburgh St. is now 4-1 and will host Liberty League power St. Lawrence on Tuesday Dec. 1st. Cards looking to avenge last years loss to the Saints.

[doubleaz87]

As for the Tom Kelso thing... ummmm he is actually 6'9"... but yeah he isn't on the team anymore technically. It's a long story that isn't being provided to the masses. Potsdam has a long way to go. They can't defend teams with size inside (Which is every other team in the SUNYAC) and they can't defend the inside outside game as everyone saw in the Clarkson game. Dobbs needs at least two big men in next year's recruiting class in order to compete. The Bears play the want to be D-3 SUNY Canton tonight, we'll see what happens as they look for their first win.

[Bengalsrule]

FRIDAY 12/4 IT'S FOR REAL!
   This Friday marks the beginning of the SUNYAC Season ( i.e. games that really count for something). With an even number of teams (10), and everyone playing each other twice, the SUNYAC Standings will leave little doubt as to who is the best come 2/21/2010! And since no one gets to play Morrisville twice while others only play them once,  the Conference standings should be a true indicator of where everyone is at come playoff time!

  Looking forward to Fridays night Conference openers. Certainly the BENGALS 1-1 vs Blue Devils 0-3 (and at 0-3 they may really be feeling blue )is my game of choice for this weekend. I have no doubt that everyone who has either been injured or suspended on Fredonia's team will be eligible and/or healthy for Friday nights conference opener! .

  The Brockport 3-1 vs. Oswego 2-1 (with, in my opinion, one of the best 1-2 SUNYAC 08-09  frontcourt tandems  in Burridge and Francois) match-up should be very entertaining. So far this year Burridge is averaging over 22 a game while Francois is managing the boards.

  The Plattsburgh 4-1 vs. New Paltz 3-2 game should also be very entertaining/revealing.  Interesting enough Plattsburghs' Ruiz, last years #2 scorer in SUNYAC at 18.2, is the third leading scorer on this years team with a 13.2 average!?.

  Potsdam 0-2 vs. Oneonta 3-1  and Geneseo 0-2 vs Cortland 2-1 both  look like a  mismatch on paper, however SUNYAC play is better than all the rest, so anything can happen when 2 SUNYAC teams get together!

Here's 2 great SUNYAC season!!!

[jdex]

Cortland misses last second shot and falls 76-75 at Ithaca, whoseS. Rossi sinks deciding hoop at 1:15 to conclude game's scoring. D. Marshall had put CSt up at 1:29. IC back from 44-36 halftime hole and trails till A. Oztenel trey provides 65-63 edge at 7:08.  Nip and tuck thereafter. Rossi 18 pts, 6 assts; J. Marcus 15; P. Barera 14 pts, 11 rebs; Oztenel 14 pts. IC 29x61fg, 9x14ft. Cortland's P. Oliver 18 pts (9x10fg) -- 16 in 1st half, 4 pf in all; W. Costin 13 pts; D. Marshall 11 pts; B. Manning 11 pts. Dragons 33x63fg, 3x5ft

New Paltz 75, Vassar 64

[jdex]

Plattsburgh jumps to 41-36 halftime lead over St. Lawrence, hikes margin to nine and holds off late SL surge for 90-86 win. Saints within two at 0:04. C. Munnerlyn ft at 0:03 and S. Thomas ft pair at 0:01. Munnerlyn 23 pts; Thomas 14 pts; E. Daniyan 14 pts, 8 rebs; C. Ruiz 12 pts; K. brooks 10 pts. Cards 31x62fg, 6x12 3s, 22x30 ft. SL with five in double figures, 12 high, four others with 11

Oswego 60, Clarkson 46
Potsdam 104, Canton 62
Fredonia 64, Houghton 60

[jdex]

Oswego uses late 11-1 run to keep guest Clarkson at bay. H. Ward sparks that spree and finishes with 13 pts, 14 rebs. C. Burridge 15 pts, 11 rebs. 3 stls. Lakers outboard Knights 54-34, shoot 18x52fg, 1x14 3s, 23x37ft. Clarkson 14x57fg, 11x18ft

New Paltz opens up 40-30 halftime lead at home. Hawks 29x59fg as J. Anderson gets 20 pts(9x14fg); H. Wichard 20 pts(3x5 3s); S. Taylor 12 pts, 10 rebs; O. Agyemang 7 assts, 6 rebs

Fredonia's J. Kane off sideline for 22 pts(7x8fg). B. Cooper 13 pts(3x8 3s), 7 rebs. Devils erase 30-26 deficit at midway stage

Potsdam builds 52-35 gap midway and coasts upon nailing five of first eight shots in final half. A. Williams' 20 pts paces double figure handful for Bears vs. 1-7 Kangaroos

[magicman]

Just back from the Plattsburgh St-St Lawrence game and it was a nail biter. SLU jumped out to an early 14-9 lead but Cards take lead 20-17 at the 10 minute mark of the 1st half and were never headed. Up 34-26 for their largest lead of the half Saints close to within 3 but Steve Thomas hit a pull up jumper with 2 seconds left and the Cards go into the break up 41-36. Saints come out of the break and get within 1, 43-42, 3:10 into the half. Back and forth action with Cards going up by 5 or 6 only to have the Saints come back and close to 1 possession game on 5 occassions until Plattsburgh opens up their largest lead at 64-55 with 10:35 remaining. Again SLU closes to 66-64 and teams trade baskets over the next 7 possessions. Up 72-70 with 4:42 left, the Cardinals get a driving layup by Carl Munnerlyn 1 of 2 free throws from Errol Daniyan, and a midcourt steal and breakaway dunk by Steve Thomas to stretch the lead to 7. Saints Garrett Sharlow drains a three, Cards Danny Tangney with offensive rebound and putback to extend lead back to 6. Jack Conboy layup and Ralph Temgoua putback cut lead to 79-77 with 1:59 remaining. Cards Munnerlyn hits a big 3 pointer but Chris Ruiz called for his 5th foul and Temgoua hits both free throws for SLU to cut lead to 3 with 1:19 left. Daniyan hits 2 foul shots with 23 secs left to start the foul parade that followed. Cards hit 8 of 10 free throws in final 23 seconds to seal the win.
Munnerlyn led the Cardinals with 23 pts on 7x14 fg, 2x2 3's, 7x9 ft. Daniyan added 14 pts on 4x8 fg, 6x8 ft, 8 rebounds, 2 blocks and 2 steals. Steve Thomas also had 14 pts(4x12 fg, 0x3 3's 6x8 ft, 6 boards, 3 steals, and 3 assists. Chris Ruiz was limited because of foul trouble but managed 12 pts and 6 rebounds in 20 minutes. Ketama Brooks added 10 points on 4x5 fg, 2x2 3's.

St Lawrence placed 6 players in double figures led by Garrett Sharlow the game's high scorer with 24 pts on 9x17 fg, 3x6 3's, 3x3 ft and 9 rebounds. Andy Hoercher had 12 pts (4x9 fg, 1x2 3's, 3x3 ft) and a game high 5 assists. Josh Sharlow, Ralph Temgoua, Terry Parham, and Nick Meunier all finished with 11 pts each.

Cardinals shot 31x62 (50%) from the field with 6x12 from behind the arc and 22x30 from the line(73.3%)  Cardinals were one of the worst free throw shooting teams in all of Division 3 last year ranking 3rd from the bottom but have turned that around this year averaging 71.6% from the line. Cards were outrebounded by the Saints 33x30.

Plattsburgh State moves to 5-1 on the season and only has 1 non-conference game remaining when they travel to Middlebury on January 5th. Cards open SUNYAC play this coming weekend when they travel downstate to take on 4-2 New Paltz on Friday night before moving on to face unbeaten Oneonta on Saturday night. Red Dragons, currently
3-0 take on Potsdam State Friday night but don't think the Bears are going to prevent Oneonta from a 4-0 start heading into the Plattsburgh game. Bears and Hawks square off Saturday night.          

[magicman]

Through games of 12-1:

SUNYAC record vs E8    2-6      Cortland loses to Ithaca since last update.

SUNYAC record vs Liberty League  5-2  
Plattsburgh beats Clarkson & St Lawrence, New Paltz beats Vassar, Oswego beats Clarkson.

SUNYAC overall non-conference record 23-15. Top 7 SUNYAC teams(teams that do not have a losing record) are 21-8

For a comparison:
Liberty League's overall non-conference record is 20-16. Top 6 teams(teams that do not have a losing record) are 18-9

Empire 8's overall non-conference record is 24-16. Top 7 teams(teams that do not have a losing record) are 22-11

Tough to read much into these stats because of the unbalanced match-ups but just thought I throw them out there for your viewing pleasure.

[Bengalsrule]

Good stuff there magicman!

[doubleaz87]

Mike Grimes (Albany native like myself) vs. Chris Ruiz on Saturday. Who wins that match-up?

[with age came?]

There is nobody like the magicman when comes to the crunching of the numbers!!  The "Defending National Champion" in the multi-board pool!!!

[magicman]

There is nobody like the magicman when comes to the crunching of the numbers!!  The "Defending National Champion" in the multi-board pool!!!

Thanks  age. Wondered where you've been for the past week.

[magicman]

Mike Grimes (Albany native like myself) vs. Chris Ruiz on Saturday. Who wins that match-up?

Well, I wish the game was here in Plattsburgh so I could see it but at least because of the balanced schedule this year I will get to see the rematch on Jan. 20th. I think Oneonta might win this 1st matchup (but I hope they don't) because home court is huge in the SUNYAC. Both teams have gotten off to a good start and are loaded with vetern players. Plattsburgh, with the 2 juco players they gained this year, has had to adjust  the minutes that the returning starters receive. More options for the Cardinals this year means Ruiz isn't on the floor as much as last season and naturally opposing defenses are aimed at stopping him because of his All-Conference status and possible POY considerations. This opens up the other options the Cards have and it is why Ruiz is only the 3rd leading scorer on the team. It's early though and I expect by year's end he will be at the top. Cards still have to learn to share the ball and make the extra pass, but they're gettting better at doing that as evidenced by 5 players in double figs against SLU Tuesday night. The turnovers that plagued them in their loss to Elms College has been addressed and hopefully they will continue to improve in that area of play. I think the Grimes-Ruiz matchup will turn out to be fairly even but if I have to pick one I'll go with Ruiz. He wins the battle but Red Dragons score narrow victory. The wild card for the Cardinals is Steve Thomas. His performance could be a game changer.   

[scooterman]

Magic --How are you? Thanks for all the numbers but give me your prediction of SUNYAC standings from nonconference showings--I like Plattsburgh as they have many weapons. My beloved Eagles should be in the mix, and I don't have enough information to make educated order of finish. Give us something to discuss.

[doubleaz87]

Mike Grimes (Albany native like myself) vs. Chris Ruiz on Saturday. Who wins that match-up?

Well, I wish the game was here in Plattsburgh so I could see it but at least because of the balanced schedule this year I will get to see the rematch on Jan. 20th. I think Oneonta might win this 1st matchup (but I hope they don't) because home court is huge in the SUNYAC. Both teams have gotten off to a good start and are loaded with vetern players. Plattsburgh, with the 2 juco players they gained this year, has had to adjust  the minutes that the returning starters receive. More options for the Cardinals this year means Ruiz isn't on the floor as much as last season and naturally opposing defenses are aimed at stopping him because of his All-Conference status and possible POY considerations. This opens up the other options the Cards have and it is why Ruiz is only the 3rd leading scorer on the team. It's early though and I expect by year's end he will be at the top. Cards still have to learn to share the ball and make the extra pass, but they're gettting better at doing that as evidenced by 5 players in double figs against SLU Tuesday night. The turnovers that plagued them in their loss to Elms College has been addressed and hopefully they will continue to improve in that area of play. I think the Grimes-Ruiz matchup will turn out to be fairly even but if I have to pick one I'll go with Ruiz. He wins the battle but Red Dragons score narrow victory. The wild card for the Cardinals is Steve Thomas. His performance could be a game changer.   

Very true... They are a better overall team with those two transfers... But as for the match-up I'm taking Grimes because he is very determined to go out on top and he will do anything to win the SUNYAC.