MBB: State University of New York Athletic Conference

[magicman]

Tonights results:

SUNYIT comes to PLattsburgh and downs the Cardinals 71-65. Diloo Brown scorches the nets for 31 points on 11x21 fg, 6x11 3's 3x4 ft. SUNYIT will take on Medaille Saturday evening for the right to go to the sweet 16.

Medaille comes from 11 points down 60-49 with 5:27 to play and gets a basket by Keith Hack with 1 second to go that ties it up and sends it to overtime. Mavericks jump out to a 4 point lead and are never caught as they down Nazareth 78-72

Brandeis downs St. Lawrence 76-64. The Judges are down 5 in the early going but catch the Saints at 17 apiece with 10:24 to play in the 1st. 20-7 run by Brandeis gives them a 13 point advantage and they were never threatened. Brandeis led at one point late in the 2nd by 25 points.

St John Fisher wins a tight one against Brooklyn 60-56. Cardinals end the game on an 11-2 run to advance against Brandeis tomorrow night. Down 54-49 with 4:27 to go Fishers gets back to back 3 pointers from Jordan Koch and Conner Henderson 24 seconds apart to grab a 55-54 lead they would never relinquish.

Franklin and Marshall defeats Oneonta St. 91-77 and will move on to face Merchant Marine on Saturday night. Diplomats break away from a 39-35 halftime advantage to open up a double digit lead with 12:45 remaining in the 2nd half. Red Dragon could never get within shouting distance after that.

 

[magicman]

Tough way for the Cardinals season to come to an end, as they didn't play to their ability tonight and seemed out of synch right from the start. SUNYIT jumped out to a quick 5-0 lead and it took the Cards over 2 and a half minutes to get on the board with a Chris Ruiz 3 pointer. Back to back buckets by Errol Daniyan on 2 nice feeds from Steve Thomas gave the Cardinals the lead at 7-5. It was the 1st and only lead the Cards would enjoy all night. The Wildcats quickly tied it up with 2 free throws and shortly after, up 13-12 with 13:24 left in the 1st half, they went on a 24-7 run to open up an 18 point advantage at 37-19 with 2:10 remaining. Cardinals fought back to shorten the gap and went into the half down 41-29.
Teams traded baskets out of the break and with nearly 7 minutes gone the Wildcats were still ahead by a dozen at 54-42.  3 straight Cardinals baskets got them within 5 and a Steve Thomas 3 pulled them within 2 at 61-59 with 3 :27 left in the game. Up 64-60 with 1:49 on the clock Kevin Capiello hit the biggest basket of the game with a 3 pointer to stretch the lead to 7. Cards last gasp came on back to back buckets with a Daniyan layup, a Cards steal and Chris Ruiz putback of a missed Steve Thomas 3 point attempt . Ruiz was fouled on the play but misses the and 1 that would have cut it to 67-65 with 1:10 left. Wildcats come down, work the clock, shoot a three with 43 second left, miss and keep possession as the ball goes out of bounds off a Plattsburgh player. With a fresh shot clock it appears the Cards will have to foul but Carl Munnerlyn steals the ball with 25 seconds left and the ball goes ahead to Daniyan who makes a basket but is called for travel on the play. Ruiz quickly fouls on the inbound pass, and SUNYIT goes to the line but misses the front end of a 1 & 1. Cards rebound but seconds later turn it over and foul Dave Golembiowski who calmly makes both free throws to make it a 2 possession game. With 9 seconds left Wildcats steal the ball, score on a dunk and a technical is called against them for swatting the ball after the made basket. A Thomas frre throw is the final point of the game with 3 seconds left.

The biggest player on the hardwood at Memorial Hall tonight in this game or the one that preceded it between Nazareth and Medaille was one of the smallest players to take the floor, SUNYIT's Sr. guard 6'0" Diloo Brown. Right from the opening tip this guy did nothing but drive daggers into the heart of the Cards. He opened the game with a triple on the Wildcats' 1st field goal attempt and time and time again hit a big basket with the shot clock winding down. Corey McAdam from Nazareth was the E8 Player of the Year and both Plattsburgh and Medaille featured several All Conference performers but this guy was All World tonight. He scored 31 points, shooting 11x21 from the field and 6x11 from beyond the arc. he was 3x4 from the line and contributed 3 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals. Dave Golembiwski who will probably graduate next year as the all time leading scorer in SUNYIT history ( he has over 1500 points already) managed a double-double with 14 pts (5x16 fg 4x4 ft) and 10 rebounds. Floyd Fitzpatrick Thorne, a transfer from Paul Smith's College added 15 pts (6x13 fg, 0x2 3's 3x4 ft) and 7 rebounds. The Wildcats shot 27x62 (43.5%) from the field 7x27 (25.9%) from long range and 10x13 (76.9%) from the line. They out rebounded Plattsburgh 41-37 and committed 14 turnovers to 15 for the Cards.

Plattsburgh placed 3 players in double figures as Chris Ruiz and Steve Thomas each scored 18 points. Ruiz was 8x19 from the field, 2x7 3's and 0x1 ft's. He added 7 boards, 3 assists and 2 steals but had a game high 7 turnovers. Thomas shot 7x19 from the field 3x7 from long range and 1x3 from the line. he grabbed 8 boards, had 6 assists and 2 steals. Errol Daniyan was close behind with 17 points on 8x13 shooting and 1x2 from the stripe. He just missed a double-double with 9 rebounds. Cardinals shot 27x67 (40.3%)from the field, 8x26 (30.8%) from beyond the arc and 3x8 (37.5%) from the line.

Plattsburgh ends their season with a 21-8 record. With their 4 top scorers and 12 returning players, next year should prove to be an even better one than this year's team had. The high hopes this group had of making a run deep into the tourney didn't happen but next year could be one of those magical seasons if they continue to improve their skills and get stronger on the defensive end of the court. Thanks for the great ride guys and good luck to Danny Tangney and Farris Thomas the 2 graduating seniors who didn't always get the accolades and headlines but always left it all on the court. It was a pleasure sitting with Danny's parents every weekend the team was at home as they faithfully traveled the 600 mile round trip to come up to the North Country and support their son and his team.     

[magicman]

Here's my guesses on tonight's action involving New York teams.

Plattsburgh St. 82    SUNYIT  70    Final Score:  Plattsburgh 65  SUNYIT 71 Only off by 1 on the SUNYIT part, it's the other side that's causing all the pain.

Medaille 76   Nazareth  72   Final Score:  Medaille 78   Nazareth 72  Not only picked the upset here but just missed the final as Naz commits a meaningless foul with a couple ticks left on the clock. Yelled hard at the Medaille player to make him miss but to no avail. Guy was 5 for 11 when he went to the line for the last 2 and of course swishes em both.
   
St. John Fisher 73  Brooklyn 65  Final Score: St. John Fisher 60 Brooklyn 56 Right winner just a little shy on the numbers. Although Brooklyn's 56 is 65 backwards.

Brandeis 77  St. Lawrence  68   Final Score:  Brandeis 76  St Lawrence 64. Almost as good as the Naz/Medaille prognostication.
 
Oneonta 68  Franklin and Marshall  66  Final Score: F&M 91 Oneonta 77  Nothing close about this one. Went with my heart instead of my head. Shoulda known better than to go against a Final Four team from last year who had almost everybody back. Thought Brian Beckford might cause them problems. He had a decent game (18 pts, 6 rebounds) but F&M's James McNally was better (26 & 9) Based a lot of my prediction on Oneonta's defeat of 7th ranked William Paterson. Apparently they were overrated as they lose to (GULP) Albertus Magnus.

[thebear]

Magic

Sorry to hear of the end of the Card's season.  Suspect that Grimmer & Co. had a little payback motivation vs. Mr. Curle.

Unfortunately the 'yac teams - men & women are one & done this season.  Lacrosse starts Monday.

Re: your Oneonta prediction, Grimes was hurt, only played 17' and was ineffective, big piece of their game as he does what he has to all over the court.  Don't know why Beckford came off the bench?

As you said, with 12 back, Cards can only get better.

Until next season.  Thanks for all the good work.

[scooterman]

Magic- I am very shocked and disappointed--I remember when IT was in SUNYAC, and they were usually middle of pack or little above. The Burg didn't come to play at their place? I am really sorry the YAC's didn't fare well. I agree that next year should be a good one for Coach Curle. I guess I will turn my attention to the ECAC's. Hopefully my beloved Eagles can bring home a championship. My prediction is Brockport and IC in the finals with the Port winning in OT.

[WNYHoops]

I wrote on this board a few weeks back how good I thought both Medaille and SUNY IT were ... even though they play in lesser conferences. Fact is both the AMCC and NEAC have a few teams at the top of their leagues who could, and would, be very competitive and compete for championships in any league in the state. They proved it last night. Medaille is a true system team who is smart, well-coached and disciplined in their approach. SUNYIT is super athletic with two great players in Brown and Goleimbowski. They took down the winners of the Empire 8 and SUNYAC so please don't discount these "lesser" leagues and programs in the future. I read people bashing them for a weak conference and discounting them all the time on these boards. Fact is many schools from the LL, Empire 8 and SUNYAC won't schedule schools like Medaille, SUNYIT, Pitt Brad, Wells and Penn State Behrend because they know how difficult it is to play them. Hats off to the little guy for taking down the big dogs. That is what March Madness is all about!!

[magicman]

Brockport with an 18-0 run midway through the 1st half takes command against Hobart. Golden Eagles turn 11-8 deficit into a 26-11 advantage and coast into the break up 43-28.

[scooterman]

Well it is the Port and IC in the finals of the ECAC,s--Can the mighty midget men pull off their 2nd ECAC championship in 3 years? I think it will be a great game--As long as Coach Burton doesn't get to shoot and open 3's the Eagles should be in good shape. It is weird that the last E8 team and SUNY team in the post season are playing tomorrow.--- Very disappointing showing for both leagues in the NCAA's

[magicman]

Very entertaining game Saturday night between SUNYIT and Medaille at Memorial Hall in Plattsbugh. SUNYIT won it 64-63 but just like Friday night's win over Nazareth, Medaille had a chance to hit  the last shot and walk off the court with a win.
The Wildcats from Utica came flying out of the gate with a 5-0 lead that was stretched to double digits 6 and a half minutes into the game. Diloo Brown opened the scoring with 5 straight points, followed by 5 points from Fitzpatrick Thorne. After a Dave Golembiowski jumper it was Aaron Swancott's turn to score 5 points and just like that it was 17-7. The Wildcats would increase their lead to 13 at 21-8 with 9 minutes gone by when Medaille decided it was time to regroup. Or rather Mike Bekun of the Mavericks decided it was time to act. Berkun hit a jumper, then a triple, followed by a jumper by Ricky Reed. The Wildcat's Thorne brought the lead back to 8 with a monster dunk off a nice Diloo Brown feed, and then Berkun went back to work hitting 2 straight trifectas to give Medaille their 1st lead of the game at 24-23 with 6:10 to play in the period. Back came the Wildcats with an 11-0 run of their own capped by another Diloo Brown 3 pointer to restore a double digit lead at 34-24 with 2:10 remaining in the half. A 3 pointer by Keith Hack as the period ended, found Medaille down 35-29 at the break and the Maverick fans were happy that the margin wasn't larger.
Hoping to cut into the Wildcat's lead to start the 2nd and puzzled why SUNYIT's big man, Golembiowski stayed out beyond the arc attempting 3 pointers, the Medaille contingent soon had their answer. After going 0-3 from long range in the 1st half and missing another 3 point attempt early in the 2nd, Golembiowski poured in 13 of the next 15 Wildcat points. He started with 3 inside baskets completing a 3 point play on one and finished with back to back triples to stretch the Wildcat lead to as much as 18. His 1st 3 pointer made the score 47-29, completing a 12-0 run to open the half and after 4 Maverick points he hit a second 3 pointer to make it 50- 33 with only 4:28 gone by in the half. But the Mavericks refused to pack it in and still down 15 at 60-45 with 8:51 left to play they slowly chipped away and cut the lead to 9 at 60-51. SUNYIT's Thorne gets fouled on a made jumper and completes the 3 point play to again stretch the lead to 13, 64-51 with 6:13 to go. The Wildcats would not score another point. Trying to eat time off the clock the Wildcats deliberate half court offense backfired as they either missed their shot (0-7) or turned the ball over (4 TO's) on their final 11 possessions. Meanwhile a jumper by Keith Hack, a 3 pointer by Chris Moscato, a short jumper by Ron Malicki, and a jumper by Ricky Reed made it 64-60 with 3:06 to play. Medaille loses an opportunity when Reed misses 2 foul shots with 2:21 left and after another Wildcat turnover, Keith Hack's layup attempt at the 1:48 mark hits the front of the rim and tries to roll in but it appears basket interference occurs while the ball is on the rim. The refs don't make the call as the bench goes wild and Coach MacDonald has to be restrained by his assistants to prevent a technical. The Wildcats come down, miss a 3 point attempt, get the rebound and Adam Swancott is fouled. He misses the front end of a 1 & 1, the Mavericks' Malicki grabs the rebound, drives to the hoop, makes the basket and is fouled. He hits the free throw to cut it to 64-63 with 49 seconds left. SUNYIT comes down and misses a 3 by Golembiowski with 17 seconds left. Medaille rebounds the ball and brings it down for the final shot but Reed loses the handle, gets tied up with the possession arrow going to SUNYIT and 7 seconds left in the game. Taking the ball out of bounds on the sideline at Medaille's end the SUNYIT fans witnessed the shortest 5 seconds in recorded history as the ref makes a 5 second call on the inbounds pass to give the Mavericks one final opportunity. The Medaille fans I were sitting with were stunned at the turn of events ( but extremely happy) and were pretty sure it was a makeup call for the missed basket interference. (No doubt about it) It was all for naught though, as the Medaille player (he shall remain nameless by me) loses the ball as he makes his move to the basket. SUNYIT's Diloo Brown comes up with the ball and throws it the length of the court as time expires.

The Wildcats Were led by Golembiowski with 22 points and 15 rebounds. Brown and Thorne both had 14 pts while Swancott added 12.

Ron Malicki led Medaille with 15 pts followed by Mike Berkun with 14 and Chris Moscato with 12. Keith Hack had 8 pts and was the Mavericks leading rebounder with 9.
Medaille ends their most successful season in school history at 24-5 and they won an NCAA tournament game for the 1st time ever.

SUNYIT improves to 26-4 and advances to the Sweet 16 for the first time in their history, moving a step further than last year when they lost to St. Lawrence in a 2nd round game.
Williams the #2 ranked team in the country is their next opponent in the sectional on March 12th-13th, which will most likely be held in Williamstown Mass. That sectional will also have Brandeis, who beat #25 St John Fisher, and Rhode Island College who upset #9 Middlebury.

           
     

[magicman]

Brockport St. falls to Ithaca 78-71 in the final of the Upstate ECAC tournament.

Ithaca led at the half 36-32 but Brockport caught the Bombers at 42 all with 3:12 gone in the 2nd and opened up a 5 pt lead, their largest of the game, with 15:43 to play. The teams would exchange leads 7 more times with 3 ties before Ithaca's
Andrei Oztemel hit a 3 pointer with 1:51 remaining to give the Bombers a 71-69 advantage. Ithaca extended their lead to 5 at 74-69, and Brockport closed to within 3 but Ithaca hit 4 foul shots down the stretch to pull away. Oztemel was named Most Outstanding player and finished with 14 pts and 8 rebounds. Phil Barera was the game's leading scorer with 23 points and 11 rebounds. Jordan Marcus, Sean Rossi, and Chris Cruz-Rivas all added 11 points each.
For Brockport, Anthony Hall led the way with 15 pts followed by Jermaine Johnson, Gerald Williams, and Brandon Williams with 11 points each. Andy Marchand chipped in with 10 points.

[scooterman]

Well Magic --This is Scooterman signing off for another season--Back to the golf course where I can control my destiny(usually)---unless my putter or wedge go south for the day--Everyone enjoy and hopefully talk to you next season--God willing---I enjoyed all the banter and information!!!!

[with age came?]

Scooter- my contrite apology for my lack of basketball acumen regarding the ECAC is over on the Liberty League board.  Boy was I wrong....even with 2 teams on my side....  enjoy your golf game...

[bomber3]

What's the general consensus on the SUNYAC boards about SUNYIT being the only SUNY school remaining after leaving the conference? Any feelings of animosity/embarassment or just happy at least one team in the region is still alive?

And what are their chances against #2 Williams and Jostens (D3 POY) award winner Blake Schultz?

Williams faced a couple East region teams this year:
Beat Cortland State 72-68
Beat LL bottom feeder Vassar 111-74
Beat E8 bottom feader Elmira 85-64
Beat bottom/middle of the SUNYAC pack New Paltz - 70-68
Beat bottom/middle of the LL pack Hamilton  96-61

SUNY IT beat New Paltz - 97-82
SUNY IT beat Hamilton - 82-69
Lost to Cortland 78-61

On paper, SUNYIT has a daunting task ahead of them (27-1 #2 in the nation, national POY) but they don't seem to be easily intimidated and might put up a fight...

[Pat Coleman]

Don't automatically equate Jostens with national player of the year. It's a basketball/academic/community service award.

[magicman]

The D3Hoops All Region Teams have just been released.

Corey McAdam of Nazareth College was chosen as the All East Region Player of the year.

SUNYAC players Chris Ruiz, junior guard from Plattsburgh St. and Errol Daniyan junior forward also from Plattsburgh St. were named to the All East Region 2nd Team.

Oneonta St. senior center, Brian Beckford was was named to the 2nd Team as well.

Here is the complete list of award winners from the East Region. Congratulations to all of these outstanding players.

Men's All-East Region Team
Players were nominated for these awards by the Sports Information Directors at the various schools. All SIDs in the region were given the opportunity to vote.

Player of the Year: Corey McAdam, Sr., Nazareth
Coach of the Year: Kevin Grimmer, SUNYIT
Rookie of the Year: Stefan Thompson, G, Hobart

First team

Pos. Player School Yr. Hometown
G Corey McAdam Nazareth Sr. Fairport, N.Y.
G Diloo Brown SUNYIT Sr. Harlem, N.Y.
F Matt Pebole Hobart So. Little Silver, N.J.
F Phil Barera Ithaca Jr. Belmont, Mass. 
C David Golembiowski SUNYIT Jr. Barneveld, N.Y.

Second team

Pos. Player School Yr. Hometown
G Chris Ruiz Plattsburgh State Jr. Washington Hts., N.Y.
G Darrell Bullock Wells Sr. Chicago, Ill.
F Errol Daniyan Plattsburgh State Jr. Coram, N.Y.
C Juan Paulino Wells Sr. Bronx, N.Y.
C Brian Beckford Oneonta State Sr. Brooklyn, N.Y.