MBB: State University of New York Athletic Conference

[jdex]

Cortland blasts Oneonta 73-51, shooting 26x46 from the field and hitting half of 22 3s. J. Smith 22 pts(9x12fg, 4x6 3s); B. Manning 17 pts(5x8fg, 5x7 3s) in 25' after 14 pts, 10 rebs previous night at NP; K. McMahon 11 pts(4x6fg). J. Winter scoreless in 17' with 3 assts. Usually central figure in CSt offense didn't have many numbers at NP either. For OSt F. Lee 11 pts. Team 16x46fg

[magicman]

Cortland over Oneonta 73-51

Fredonia over Geneseo 62-50

[magicman]

Brockport downs Buffalo State 79-70.

[magicman]

Bear and jdex. Thanks for letting me know about the Buffalo State video feed. I've thought for some time that they are having problems and relayed that information to Bengalsrule, who in turn had alerted the staffers doing the video. All to no avail I guess.

Bear, sorry I missed you yesterday. You would have been proud of your (our) Bears as they turned a 7 point deficit 45-38 into a 50-50 tie over a 4 minute stretch. And they didn't stop there as they reeled off 13 more unanswered points to grab a 63-50 lead. Cards went colder than a Coors Light. Pierce, Lambert, Schwartz, and Adams all had an excellent game for Potsdam. I still think the Bears are up against it and will come in ninth place. Hope your leg heals up and we'll get a chance to visit in Glens Falls at the Hall of Fame brunch on Sunday March 18th. Did you order your tickets yet? I expect mine will arrive in Monday's mail. We've got at least 6 guys that I know of going down.  And did Bence show up last weekend?

Met Bearfan yesterday and got to listen to that booming voice as he announces a fine game. Good music during the breaks and got some good chocolate candy for my ride back to the Burgh. Thanks again Bearfan.

[thebear]

When I knew I was immobile, I called Teddy Bear and he made other plans.

I'm pretty sure Coach W is going to try to make the HOF.

I have to get my wife's spring break travel plans done, then I can order my tix for the HOF.  Got info from Merna the other day.

Glad you connected with Bearfan, he's one of the highlights of our home games win or lose.

Last night may have been addition by subtraction as first three guys usually off the Potsdam bench were late scratches by the coach.
Most nights this year, Bears are on the wrong end of runs like that, but was pleased to see the guys string 18 straight.

Pierce is a warrior, been playing hurt all year, but still brings it hard every night, classic tweener who lands in D-III.  Very high character person.

Tough losses today for Bengals and Geneseo.  Bengals have to win the 'yac tournament to get a bid after that loss.  If Mitchell injury is season ending, they will have big matchup troubles against Oswego.

I'm still hoping Bears put together a streak, and force Cards to win a road game.

[magicman]

Oswego 92 New Paltz 68

New Paltz jumped out to early 5 point leads at 7-2 and 9-4 but after that it was all Lakers. Oswego fueled by, well, the entire team just about, as 7 different players scored over the next 7+ minutes to run off to a 27-15 advantage with 9:34 left in the period. They coasted into the break up 41-29. Chad Burridge opened the 2nd half with 4 straight points followed by Hayden Ward with 13 straight points for Oswego, and then a dunk by Burridge and in the blink of an eye (well actually about 5 minutes) it was 60-33. The last 15 minutes of the game was basically stat padding time. The closest the Hawks got after that was 20 points.

Lakers placed 5 guys in double figures led by Hayden Ward with 20 points (7x10 fg, 3x4 3's, 3x3 ft) and 6 rebounds. Sean Michele was next with 15 points (5x7 3's), and 9 assists, followed by Chad Burridge with 13 points (4x6 fg, 5x7 ft) and 8 rebounds. Alex Mirabito had 11 points on perfect shooting (4x4 fg, 3x3 ft) and Josh Delfino had 10 points in 12 minutes (4x7 fg, 2x3 ft). Lakers were 33x54 from the field (61.1%), 13x20 from 3 point range (65%) and 13x21 (61.9%) from the line. Maybe they should shoot their free throws from beyond the arc. They had 31 rebounds to 25 for the Hawks and both teams committed 10 turnovers.

New Paltz was led by Harris Wichard with 25 points (6x13 fg, 3x7 3's, 10x11 ft). He also had 10 rebounds. Matt Devine had 12 points ( 4x13 fg, 1x3 3's, 3x4 ft)and 11 rebounds, while Jamal Lis-Simmons added 10 points (4x8 fg, 2x5 3's). Hawks shot 22x55 (40%) fg, 9x25 3,s (36.0%) and 15x17 from the line (88.2%)

Oswego wins their 29th straight regular season game to improve to 19-3 overall, 19-2 in D3, and 15-0 in the YAC. Three tough games next week with Geneseo, Buff State and Fredonia coming to Laker Hall in that order, starting on Tuesday.

New Paltz falls to 8-15 overall and 5-11 in the YAC and for the moment occupies the 8th and final playoff spot a half game behind Plattsburgh.. That placement will probably be determind when New Paltz takes on Plattsburgh at Hawk Center this Tuesday. 

[jdex]

Brockport by 10 in first half prior to Buffalo St. response to take one point lead. Port answers for halftime lead and holds serve the rest of the way but never by more than nine points. BS within deuce before G. Williams triple rights Eagles. Williams with 19 pts(7x12fg, 3x6 3s), 5pf in 24'; D. Jackson 17 pts(6x11fg), 10 rebs; K. Green 15 pts, 6 rebs. Bport 24x60fg, 27x35ft. Bengals get 16 pts(5x12fg) from N. McLean and 16 from J. Simmons(4x13fg) -- all in the second half; and 10 pts from E. Epps. BS 22x69fg, 24x29ft

Fredonia doesn't disappoint on Senior Day vs. Geneseo. Freds finish opening period with 9-0 run and start second half the same way to take one-sided control. Chasing Gens close to 54-46 at 1:30 but Devils finish 8x8 at the stripe. Sr. J. Bryant 10 pts, 11 rebs, 5 blcks, 3 stls in victory; L. Smith 19 pts, 6 rebs; J. Herrera 13 pts(3x8 3s); D. Goodwin 12 pts. Fredonia 19x53fg, 5x26 3s, 19x21ft. Ten Knights score, none more than 7 pts. apiece from Mike Hoy, E. Estabrooks, A. Miller. Gens post just 2 ...that's t-w-o assts. Eye 17x56fg, 3x16 3s, 13x19ft

[Bengalsrule]

"Oh the PAIN...the PAIN"....to quote Dr. Smith from the 60's hit series Lost in Space. (I have no doubt that magicman and Bear fan remember that show!! )

Geneseo/Brockport. Just can't get pass them 2 darn teams. 80% of my beloved BENGALS loses at their hands! Gotta get focused quick. 3 road games in 5 days (Fredonia, Oswego and Cortland). Fredonia is a must win if we hope to have any chance at a home playoff game. Not to mention needing Oswego to beat Geneseo and/or Cortland to beat Brockport and then my BENGALS beat Cortland on Saturday! Basically at this point...gotta run the table!

I'm encouraged when remnded that at this point last season (with 3 YAC games left) the BENGALS were 15-5 and didnt lose another game for almost 4 weeks (Sweet 16 loss to St. Marys). Need a similar run now.

In the words of Jian Paul Gonzalez...Its time for my beloved BENGALS to go "ALL IN"!!

[with age came?]

"Danger danger Will Robinson!"    The Bengals have everyone right where they want them!!  Just go ahead and count them out and you'll be flat on your back trying to get the license plate of that truck!!

[magicman]

New Top 25 poll is out and Oswego State moves up to #16 which is their highest placement of the year. The Lakers received 229 points which is a gain of 66 points over last week.

Buffalo State as expected received no mention in the poll after suffering a pair of weekend losses.

Hartwick moved into the Top 25 for the first time this year checking in at the #25 spot with 50 points.

NYU tumbled from their highest placement of the year at #16 in last week's poll all the way down to the ORV category. The Violets lost 186 points after dropping a pair of games over the weekend.They now have 20 points and are in the #30 spot.

Hobart was the only other East region school with a mention and that was barely audible as they received 1 point. 

[magicman]

Full slate of games scheduled for tonight with some key matchups that could lock in several seeds.

Potsdam State at Oneonta State     6:00 PM

The Bears hope to keep their slim playoff hopes alive. The Red Dragons are just playing for pride. Potsdam needs to win at least 2 of their final three games and hope that Plattsburgh or New Paltz goes winless. That would guarentee them a playoff berth. They could still tie either of those teams and win a possible tiebreaker, depending on the order of finish of the teams in 3rd through 6th positions. First things first though, and that is the game at hand. They managed to beat Oneonta in Potsdam, but it wasn't by a margin that inspires confidence in them getting the job done, tonight in Oneonta. Oddsmakers have made the Red Dragons a slim 2 point favorite due to home court advantage and I agree this game should be close. I'd love to go with the Bears here but this team has only won 1 game on an opponents court all year and that came in their season opener. If I thought Potsdam could play like they did against Plattsburgh last Friday, I'd be all over the Bears. This is probably Oneonta's last chance to win their 3rd game of the year and they'll be playing like it's the playoffs. Red Dragons squeak one out, 63-60.

Plattsburgh State at New Paltz            6:00 PM

This game, in all probability will determine the 7th and 8th place teams in the league. Should the Cardinals win tonight they will secure a playoff berth and if Potsdam loses as well, it would lock the Cards into the seventh slot. New Paltz could still be guaranteed the 8th spot even if they lose, as long as the Bears also lose, as they hold the tiebreaker over Potsdam. The pointspread in this game has the Hawks favored by 2, despite the fact that Plattsburgh won their first encounter by double digits. I'd love to pick my Cards in this game but after watching their struggles in the last two games they've played, I have a hard time doing it. Had they taken care of business against Fredonia and Potsdam, they could be playing for a 4th or 5th seed tonight, instead of still trying to qualify for the playoffs. The road hasn't been kind to the Cards and New Paltz features 2 of the top scorers in the league. That statistic is skewed somewhat by the fact that those Hawk players have continued to play right till the end of games that have already been decided (usually a loss) and they have padded their stats against other teams 2nd and 3rd stringers. That's not to say that they aren't good players, because they are, but their scoring averages would probably be a bit less if they weren't still on the floor when other teams had called off the dogs. I'm probably going to regret this but I can't go against Plattsburgh. The one thing I keep thinking about is we've had an awful lot of success against the Hawks in the past few years. Plattsburgh wins a close one 79-75.

Brockport State at Cortland State    8:00 PM

The Golden Eagles are the 2nd hottest team in the conference right now as they've reeled off 4 straight wins and 2nd place is still within their grasp. They have finally reached .500 for the first time this season after getting off to a horrendous 1-6 start. After tonight's game they wind up their schedule with home contests against Potsdam and Plattsburgh, so a win tonight could possibly find them with a 12-6 final record. Cortland will host Fredonia and Buff State to end their regular season. A loss to either one of them coupled with a loss tonight and Brockport could end up tied with the Red Dragons. The Eagles would then own the tiebreaker by virtue of their 2 wins over Buffalo State. Cortland has also been playing some solid basketball having won 8 0f their last 10 games and both of those losses have come at the hands of the 16th ranked Lakers. They traveled to Brockport 3 weeks ago and beat the Eagles 73-66 in a game that was closer than the final score indicated. There's a lot on the line in Corey Gym tonight and I expect this game will be a barnburner. Pointspread favors the Dragons by 4 but I'm going with a mild upset here and picking the revenge minded Eagles to win 78-75 and it wouldn't surprise me to see it decided in OT.

Buffalo State at Fredonia State

Bengals may have seen their NCAA hope go out the window with 2 losses last weekend. They need lots of help in the form of another SUNYAC Championship or failing that, will need a number of East Region teams that are favored to win their respective leagues, to actually do so. That list would include Hartwick, Hobart, and Medaille. It would also help if other teams in the East region like Rochester, Nazareth, Stevens, and NYU put a few L's on the board. Bengals come into tonight's contest hurting in other ways as well with All Conference performer Justin Mitchell nursing an injury that will leave him unavailable for action. Needing to finish strong and having to do so without a player of his caliber will be a big challenge for the Bengals in the next 2 weeks. Fredonia is still hoping to finish in the top 4 and host a first round playoff game. Having to finish against the top 3 in the league is not a recipe for success, however. And their last two games are on the road. Buffalo State didn't exactly pound the Blue Devils when they met in the Queen City and that was with a healthy Justin Mitchell. Winning by only 3 at home doesn't make me feel real excited about taking the Bengals tonight. Julius Bryant is a load inside and could cause problems tonight for a depleted Bengal lineup. The posted line has Buffalo State favored by 4 points but that's with Mitchell in uniform. Somehow I think the Bengal's defense and Jake Simmons' hot hand will overcome the loss of Mitchell. I think Roderick Epps will need a big game off the bench. I think Buff State gets it done but it will be another close game on a night filled with them.  Bengals win it 71-68.     

[magicman]

Plattsburgh leads New Paltz 33-22 at the half. Cards John Perez leads all scorers with 12 points. Harris Wichard has 10 for the Hawks.

[magicman]

Potsdam falls behind Oneonta by double digits 16-4. Red Dragons up by as much as 14 and settle for a 34-22 advantage at the break. Dan Lee has 11 points for Oneonta, while Curtis Pierce leads the Bears with 7.

[magicman]

Geneseo State at Oswego State  8:00 PM

Can anybody stop the Oswego express? 16th ranked Lakers go for 30th straight regular season conference win tonight and I don't think the Blue Knights will be able to stop them. Oswego won their first meeting 63-49 and that 14 point MOV is exactly what the oddsmakers have made tonight's pointspread. Lakers have reeled off 10 in a row and continue to move up in the D3hoops Top 25. Geneseo is tied with Brockport for the 4th playoff spot and is still hopeful they can host a first round game. If they lose tonight and Brockport wins the Blue Knights could find themselves in the bottom half of the draw. If the teams end up tied and the Eagles beat Cortland, Brockport would own the tiebreaker over them. Hard to figure the Knights pulling off the upset here. Anythings possible of course but I've seen the Lakers mow down too many teams this year. Geneseo will just be one more among the many. Lakers 77 Geneseo 62.

[magicman]

Plattsburgh State defeats New Paltz by a final score of 65-58 and the score isn't indicative of how Plattsburgh dominated this game. Cardinals were up by 15 to 20 points throughout most of the second half. Plattsburgh was still up 62-45 with under 3 minutes to play but got sloppy at the end and missed  a number of free throws that let the Hawks close to within 8 points with 22 seconds left. Junghoon Roh then hit 3 of 4 foul shots to close out the Hawks. An uncontested jumper by New Paltz at the buzzer made the final a 7 point edge. Cardinals were led by John Perez with a double double of 13 points and 10 rebounds. Shavar Fields had 14 points and 7 rebounds. Josh Bruno came off the bench and added 7 points with 6 boards. Shamoy McIntosh also subbed in with 7 points, 3 assists and 2 steals in 18 minutes. Reggie Williams had 6 points and 6 rebounds in 18 minutes as well.

Hawks were led by Harris Wichard with 20 points and 6 rebounds. Conference scoring leader Matt Devine was held to 12 points and 3 boards.

Plattsburgh has now clinched a playoff spot and with 2 wins over New Paltz combined with Potsdam's loss tonight at Oneonta the Cardinals have clinched the 7th seed in the SUNYAC tournament. The most wins the Cards can end up with is 8 and that would only tie them with Fredonia if the Blue Devils don't win another game. Fredonia has beaten the Cards twice however and cannot be overtaken.

New Paltz despite their loss tonight has clinched the 8th and final spot, again due to Potsdam's loss. The Bears could only tie the Hawks with 5 wins and New Paltz holds 2 wins over Potsdam to claim the tiebreaker should that be neccessary.

Cards hit the road again this weekend against Brockport on Friday night followed by Geneseo on Saturday afternoon.

New Paltz has only 1 game remaining which is a Friday night contest at Oneonta.