MBB: State University of New York Athletic Conference

[magicman]

Oswego State 78 Buffalo State 73

Two good teams going at it down to the wire tonight in Laker Hall. Buffalo State jumped out to an early lead behind the hot hand of Jake Simmons and had a 17-9 advantage. Lakers got 3 straight 3 pointers, 1 by Ryan Sheridan and 2 by Sean Michele to go in front 18-17. Three more ties would occur before the Lakers forged ahead by 7 points at 31-24 with 3:54 left in the half. 2 Jake Simmons triples brought the Bengals within 2, at 32-30 and after a Chad Burridge layup made it 34-30, Simmons buried another triple to make it a 1 point game. After the teams traded possessions with no points scored, a Laker turnover resulted in another 3 point play for Simmons but this was the old "and one" variety, to give the Bengals a 36-34 edge. The Lakers ended the half on a Hayden Ward jumper and another Ryan Sheridan 3, to go into the break up 39-36.

The 2nd half opened with the teams exchanging baskets and Buff State caught the Lakers at 41 on another 3 point play by Ahmed Nagaya. Conor Monaghan then made back to back layups and after 2 Chris Gilke free throws, Monaghan buried a three to put Oswego up 50-41, for their largest lead of the game. Still up 52-43 the Lakers lose the lead as the Bengals, fueled by another Jake Simmon's three pointer, 4 points by Nagaya, and a jumper and 3 pointer by Roderick Epps finish a 14-1 run to go back in front for the first time in the half at 57-53 with 12 minutes left. Bengals continued to roll and stretched their advantage to 73-63 on another 3 pointer by Jake Simmons with just under 7 minutes to go and that was the largest lead of the game for either team. Hard to believe, but Buffalo State never scores another point as Oswego rides the back of Hayden Ward who scores 11 of the final 15 Laker points to pull out the win 78-73. Those 15 points started with a Monaghan jumper, followed by a Ward layup. Ward then got a tip in off a Sheridan miss. After a Buff State miss and a foul, Burridge made 1 of 2 from the line to bring the Lakers within 3 at 73-70. Teams traded fouls, traded misses, and traded turnovers, before Ward grabbed another rebound of a missed 3 by Monaghan, stepped back, and made a 3 of his own to tie the game at 73 with 2:44 left. Teams both misfire and with 1:50 to go Ward is fouled and he makes both free throws to give the Lakers the lead. Buffalo State still has plenty of time to pull this game out but the Bengals come up empty on 3 straight possessions. Needing to foul the Bengals get a huge break when Oswego misses both free throws but on their trip down for the tie, Burridge blocks a shot that ends up in a jump ball call, that allows Buffalo State to retain possession, with 24 ticks left. I'd certainly want the ball in the hands of Jake Simmons at this point, but somehow he doesn't get it and it didn't look like Epps got off a good shot on his drive to the basket. Ward corraled the rebound and was fouled with 14 seconds on the clock and he calmly swished both free throws to make it a 4 point lead. Simmons came down and hurridly threw up a three that missed and Burridge was fouled and made 1 of 2 for the final point of the 15-0 ending.

Oswego was led by Ward with 18 points (6x12 fg, 1x5 3's, 5x7 ft) and 12 rebounds for another double double in only 23 minutes of action. Burridge just missed a double double of his own as he had 17 points ( 5x11 fg, 1x2 3's, 6x10 ft) and 9 rebounds. Conor Monaghan was also in double figure with 14 points ( 5x13 fg, 2x7 3's, 2x4 ft), 3 assists and 3 boards. Sean Michele had 6 points, 10 assists, 4 rebounds, and 2 steals while playing the entire 40 minutes. Lakers shot 24x55 fg (43.6%), 9x25 3's (36%), and 21x30 ft (70%). They had 43 rebounds to 35 for the Bengals. Oswego had 13 turnovers, while Buff State had 12.

The Bengals were led by Jake Simmons who was the game's high scorer with 30 points (10x18 fg, 5x12 3's, 5x5 ft). Ahmed Nagaya added 18 points (8x15 fg, 2x2 ft) and grabbed 8 rebounds. Nico McLean with 6 points, 9 rebounds and 4 steals. Bengals were 28x69 fg (40.6%), 6x18 3's (33.3%), 11x13 ft (84.6%).

The win gives the Lakers a 21-3 record and their 31st straight regular season conference win. They will take on Fredonia State tomorrow afternoon looking to make it a clean sweep for the year. 

The loss leaves the Bengals with an 11-6 conference slate (18-7 overall) and they will need a win tomorrow at Cortland to guarantee them the 3rd seed in the tournament. A loss coupled with a Brockport win and a Geneseo win, will find them in fifth place at the end of the day.   

[magicman]

Final weekend of play in the SUNYAC.

This is how I think the final standings will end up. The only teams that are locked in at the moment are Oswego, Plattsburgh, and New Paltz. The 2nd through 6th positions are still subject to change.

1.   Oswego
2.   Cortland
3.   Buffalo State
4.   Geneseo
5.   Brockport
6.   Fredonia
7.   Plattsburgh
8.   New Paltz
9.   Potsdam
10. Oneonta

That would make the first round games on Tuesday look like this:  Again, this is just a prediction, as this weekend's results could change the projected standings I posted above.

New Paltz at Oswego          This game is a definite matchup
Plattsburgh at Cortland       This game is a definite matchup
Fredonia at Buffalo State     TBD
Brockport at Geneseo          TBD

Well, after Friday night's games a few more pieces of the puzzle have fallen into place. Cortland has sewn up the 2nd seed as no other team can reach 13 wins. Fredonia's loss to Cortland means the Blue Devils are locked into the 6th seed. They can't be caught by those teams below them and they can't catch any teams in front of them.

Went 5-0 with my picks Friday night and almost had the Cortland-Fredonia game nailed. I had it 74-67 and it was 72-68.  Also pretty close on the Geneseo-Potsdam game. I had it 75-58 and it was 74-51.

My year to date record is 94-28 which gives me a success rate of 77%. 9 of those 28 losses have been by Plattsburgh State. 6 have been by Brockport State, 4 have been by Buffalo State and 3 by Potsdam State. I also predicted both of Oswego D3 losses would be wins. That accounts for 24 of my 28 losses.   

[magicman]

Brockport 87 Plattsburgh 67

Brockport grabbed the lead in this game right from the start and were never headed. They quickly opened up a 13-4 lead and increased it to double digits at 17-7. They continued to lead by 6 to 10 points and gained the largest lead of the half at 26-15 on a 3 pointer by Gerald Williams with 6 minutes to play. Plattsburgh would cut into that lead as they ended the half on an 11-4 spurt to go into the break only down 30-26. The Cards opened the 2nd half with a 3 pointer by Ezra Hodgson but that was the end of the Cardinal highlites as the Eagles quickly scored 7 unanswered points to build it back to an 8 point lead. Still up by 9 at 46-37 after another Hodgson 3 pointer by Plattsburgh, Brockport would go on another 11-2 run to make it 57 to 39 and put the game away for all practical purposes. The lead continued to grow and reached as much as 26 points at 69-43 and the closest Plattsburgh could get was 17 points on several occasions.

Brockport placed 4 players in double figures as Kyheem Green led the way with 12 points and 6 rebounds. John Ivy, Jordan Major, and Lance Legister all had 10 points, while Gerald Williams added 9. No Brockport starter played more than 26 minutes as Coach Dunne emptied his bench. Eagles shot 50% from the field, 40% from downtown and 65.2% from the line. They were out rebounded 44 to 38 but only had 13 turnovers to 21 for the Cards.

Plattsburgh got 13 points and 5 rebounds from John Perez. Anthony Baker came off the bench to score 11 points and grb 6 boards in only 14 minutes of action. Reggie Williams had 7 points, 8 rebounds and 4 blocks in 16 minutes and Mike Mitchell scored 8 points in 18 minutes. Cards shot 23x63 from the field (36.5%), and were only 5x14 from 3 point range (35.7%). They were 16x24 from the line (66.6%).

Brockport will host Potsdam tomorrow and they need Plattsburgh to beat Geneseo so they can move ahead of the Blue Knights in the standings. They could finish as high as 3rd or as low as 5th depending on the results of the Geneseo game and the Buff State at Cortland game.

   

[magicman]

Hayden Ward was selected as the SUNYAC Player of the Week on Wednesday for the week ending Feb. 12th. Long overdue I believe. After Friday night's game against Buffalo State, if he repeats that effort today against Fredonia, he may win back to back POTW awards. Here is the release from the YAC website:


FREDONIA, N.Y. - Oswego State junior forward Hayden Ward has been named the SUNYAC Men's Basketball Player of the Week for the week ending February 12, 2012.

Ward averaged 16.5 points per game off 58.8 percent (10-of-17) shooting from the floor and 81.8 percent (9-of-11) shooting from the charity stripe, helping the Lakers clinch the No. 1-seed in the upcoming playoffs. In addition, he shot 80 percent (4-of-5) from long range. Ward scored 13 points in just 23 minutes of action in a 68-55 win over Oneonta on Friday. He followed up his performance against the Red Dragons with a 20-point explosion against New Paltz on Saturday, lifting the Lakers to a 92-68 victory. Against the Hawks, he shot 7-of-10 from the floor, which included a 3-of-4 mark from distance.

[magicman]

Final day of the regular season with 4 games scheduled all at 4:00 PM

Potsdam State at Brockport State

Brockport is hoping to grab the 4th seed (and possibly even a #3 seed) and host a first round game. They need a win in today's game and a loss by Geneseo to do so. They could also move up if Buffalo State gets beat by Cortland. They shouldn't have a problem with the first part of the equation as the Bears just seem to be going through the motions. Pointspread has the Eagles favored by 16 and after the way that Brockport disposed of Plattsburgh yesterday combined with the lackluster effort from the Bears against Geneseo, 16 doesn't seem like enough. I'll go with the Eagles to win in a romp 89-59.

Plattsburgh State at Geneseo State

Cardinals playing like a team that has nothing to play for. Hope they get it out of their system. This is a meaningless game for them but has big implications for the Blue Knights. A #3 seed is still in play and if they get it they would face Fredonia who has owned them this year. Their other possible matchups would be against Buff State or Brockport. Hmmm...maybe they don't want the 3 seed, as they are 3-1 in those games. Posted line has Geneseo favored by 6 points but they handled the Cards pretty easily back in December in the Burgh. The Knights should win this one 76-63. Sure hope I'm wrong though.

Fredonia State at Oswego State

The story of this game is all Oswego. The 16th ranked Lakers have a lot to lose, if they lose, and at the top of the list is their lofty position in the East Region rankings. A win today coupled with a Hartwick loss and the Lakers should move into the #1 spot in the NCAA rankings that will come out next Wednesday. That would guarantee them an at large bid should they suffer a setback in the SUNYAC Tournament and fail to gain the automatic bid. They also would like to move up a few more notches in the National Rankings as well and depending on the outcomes of teams ranked above them, they could do so. Finally there is that clean sweep of conference foes that always looks nice on the resume. Trying to win their 32nd straight regular season conference game and carry that streak into next season is also another goal. Chad Burridge needs just 3 points to give him and brother Mat a combined 3000 points for their Oswego careers. I can see that happening on the Lakers 1st possession with a hoop and harm. Chad is only 46 points shy of the 1800 point mark for his own career total. Fredonia, locked into the 6th seed, would seem to lack motivation, but the Blue Devils would love nothing better than to knock off the Lakers and prevent the brooms from coming out in Laker Hall. Beating a ranked team heading into the playoffs would give Fredonia all kinds of confidence and the Blue Devils know their season will end, unless they can somehow walk off Max Zeil gym next weekend, with the SUNYAC championship. Pointspread has the Lakers favored by 11 points and that seems to be a little high. i think it might closer but still another Oswego win. Lakers 72 Blue Devils 65.

Buffalo State at Cortland State

Bengals need this game to secure a home playoff berth. Cortland has already clinched the 2nd seed. Buffalo State, with much more on the line will be shorthanded again with no Justin Mitchell, but hope to get another big lift from Jake Simmons. Cortland could use a win here to perhaps gain entry into the regional rankings. With an 18-6 regional record the Red Dragons could win out and lose in the SUNYAC final, which would give them a 21-7 in region finish. They would need help to get a Pool C bid but it's not impossible. Oddsmakers have made Cortland a slim 1 point favorite. I'm taking the Bengals to win 82-77.       

[magicman]

Geneseo leads Plattsburgh 42-28 at halftime. Andy Drescher with 11 points to lead the Knights. John Perez with 6 points for the Cards.  Geneseo up 25-23 with 6:50 left in the half, goes on a 13-0 run to move in front 38-23.

[jdex]

Brockport 44, Potsdam 17 at the half

Oswego 37, Fredonia 12 late in opening period

Buffalo St. by a little late in first half .....

[magicman]

Oswego all over Fredonia 39-14 with under 3 minutes left in the half. Fredonia's Julius Bryant just went to the bench with his 3rd foul.  Video feed with commentary is up and running but livestats not working.

[magicman]

Buffalo State leads Cortland 45-41 at the half.

Jake Simmons with 13 points for the Bengals and Nico McLean with 11. Jeremy Smith has 17 for the Dragons.

[magicman]

Oswego goes into the break up 39-16. Finally some livestats from the Laker game.
Hayden Ward with 12 points. Sean Michele with 10. Ryan Sheridan with 8, Conor Monaghan with 8 and Chad Burridge with 7 to lead a balanced Oswego effort.  Damien Goodwin with 5 points leads Fredonia. Fred's big man Julius Bryant was held scoreless.

[magicman]

Brockport puts the Bears away early as they open the game with a 23-3 run. Kyheem Green leads the Eagles with 12 points who have now opened up a 51-22 lead with 16:20 left in the game.

[magicman]

The rout is also on in Geneseo as the Blue Knights open up a 59-35 lead with 11:14 left to play.

[magicman]

Oswego  51 Fredonia 25 with 12 minutes to go

Brockport 72 Potsdam 37 with 7:30 to play

Geneseo 75 Plattsburgh 51 with 2:55 to play

Cortland with a bunch of 3 pointers has taken an 6 point lead over the Bengals at 72-66 with 10 minutes to go.

[magicman]

Final in Geneseo as the Blue Knights secure at least a 4th seed with a 75-53 win over Plattsburgh.

Blue Knights took control early and coasted to the win. Balanced effort with 4 players in double figures. Matt Curry led the way with 13 points. Mike Hoy and Ryan Rienfenhauser both had 12, while Andy Drescher had 11.

Junghoon Roh led Plattsburgh with 11 points and Shavar Fields added 10.

[magicman]

Cortland and Buffalo State getting to crunch time as the Bengals come back from a 9 point 86-77 deficit to close to within 2 at 88-86. Jesse Winter just buries another 3 pointer, his 5th and reaches a career high 30 points as the Dragons are now up 91-86 with 2:39 to go.