MBB: State University of New York Athletic Conference

[thebear]

Bears lead by 14 with :36 left.  Expecting a huge thank you from magic.

[thebear]

Huge games from Rob Duquette and Mark Lake Jr, both with 17, off the wounded list.

Bears played intense defense forcing 19 turnovers and only giving 9 of their own.

[magicman]

Bears lead by 14 with :36 left.  Expecting a huge thank you from magic.

bear,
Just pulled into my store to check out how the games went tonight. I knew the Bears were up at halftime and I thought maybe all the MIA's were playing tonight. What a huge win for the guys and you're right the Cardinals and I owe our Bears a HUGE THANK YOU. I only wish we could repay the favor but I think it's too late for Potsdam at this stage of the season. Still,  it was a nice win for the team and if you don't mind me asking, would you repeat this result on Feb. 16th? That may be the last chance my Cards have to overtake the Red Dragons.   

[magicman]

Just back from Memorial Hall where the Cardinals took care of business against the boys from Brockport. Sparse crowd on hand but better than I expected with all the snow we got.

The teams traded leads early on but Brockport went ahead 11-10 on a 3 pointer by John Ivy that was followed by a layup from Matt Lee, and 2 free throws by Brandon Caruthers. The Cardinals were playing catch up the rest of the entire first half. Caruthers got another layup at the 7:25 mark to give the Eagles their biggest lead of the period at 29-21. They continued to lead by 7 or 8 points until the Cards' Reggie Williams hit a pair of free throws with 7 seconds left to make it 40-35 and a Brockport 3 at the buzzer was off the mark.

Once again the teams went back and forth through the early going of the 2nd period. Plattsburgh would narrow the deficit but couldn't quite catch the Eagles. Finally with 13:41 left to play 2 Shamoy McIntosh free throws tied the game at 48 and after Brockport failed to score on their next possession the Cardinals finally got a lead on a layup by big man Reggie Williams with 12:43 remaining. 5 more ties and 6 lead changes would take place over the next 8 minutes until Plattsburgh, down 62-61 got a hoop and harm from Shavar Fields to take a lead they wouldn't surrender. After Port missed a triple, the Cards' Ezra Hodgson buried his attempt from downtown and after another long range miss by the Eagles the Cards' McIntosh drove to the hoop for a monster dunk that put Plattsburgh up 69-62 with 2:59 remaining. the Cardinals closed out the scoring by going 9x12 from the line to end the game. With 39 seconds left the Eagles Coach Dunne called off the dogs and the final stood at 78 to 68.

Shamoy McIntosh led all scorers as he tossed in 23 points with 6 rebounds and a pair of steals. he was a perfect 12x12 from the line. John Perez had 13 points and 6 rebounds, while Jordan Moody also had 13 points with 3 rebounds, 2 steals and 2 blocks. Shavar Fields came off the bench to score 10 points with 5 rebounds in 16 minutes of court time. Reggie Williams also gave the Cards some great bench minutes, as he filled the stat sheet with 8 points, 6 rebounds, 5 blocks, an assist and a steal in 13 mintes. Point guard Chris Manning also made his presence felt with 9 assists, 5 rebounds, 4 steals, and 3 points. Ezra Hodgson had 2 big 3 pointers, 5 rebounds and 2 steals. Cards didn't shoot very well tonight from the field and downtown but did hit 35x48 from the line thanks to McIntosh's perfect night there. They were outrebounded 49-46 but only had 14 turnovers to 26 for Brockport. The zebras certainly didn't keep their whistles in their pockets as the teams were called for 51 personal fouls, 31 on Port and 20 on the Cards. In fairness to them it was a pretty physical game and Brockport always brings the pressure from end to end.

The Eagles were led by a double-double from their leading man, John Ivy who poured in 22 points and grabbed 11 rebounds. It was interesting to see a 6'0" guard playing center but that's where he was for a good portion of the 2nd half. Did a pretty darn good job with a number of layups and several nifty passes when the zone collasped on him. Jordan Major had 14 points and 5 rebounds. Brandon Caruthers had 9 points and 7 rebounds with most coming in the 1st half as he was limited by foul troubles. He only got 18 minutes of court time and fouled out with 4:34 left to play. Bobby Bell had 7 points 6 rebounds 3 steals and 2 assists. The Eagles didn't have a good night shooting the rock either as both teams must have had 6 or 7 shots each go halfway down the cylinder and rattle back out. 

Got a chance to meet and chat with Coach Dunne, who I've always respected as a coach. No matter what cards he's dealt he always puts a competitve team on the floor. It was nice to hear that he reads the SUNYAC board and keeps up with all the chatter from yours truly and the other regulars. Thanks for the kind words Coach.

Plattsburgh now moves into sole possession of 2nd place with a 10-4 conference log (14-7 overall). It may be a short lived stay in that spot however as the angry Blue Knights from Geneseo will pull into the Burgh looking to regain their position tomorrow afternoon when they take on the Cards at 4:00 PM.

Brockport 7-7 (13-9 overall) still hangs on to the 5th place position since Buffalo State fell to New Paltz this afternoon. They will be looking to regroup against the rejuvenated Potsdam State Bears who appear to be healthy now for the first time in 3 weeks. Game time in Jerry Welch Gym will  also be at 4:00 PM tomorrow.     

[Bengalsrule]

Great wins for the north country duo tonight. Congrats.  Wish thati could saythe same for my BENGALS but the Hawks just wouldnt lay down. Creditgoes to Shareef Taylor ( almost a triple double with his 6 blocks) and Co
This 1 hurt!!

Need a win at Oneonta worse than ever.

I imagine ill hear from Hawkbill soon

[magicman]

Went 4 for 5 with my picks yesterday, missing only with the Potsdam-Geneseo game which made me extremely happy that I was wrong on that one.

New Paltz 86 Buffalo State 81.     Was fairly close with my 88-85 predicted Hawk win.

Oneonta 79 Fredonia 67.      I had Oneonta winning 69-66. Almost nailed the Blue Devils total but didn't figure Oneonta would put up their highest point total in a conference game this year.

Cortland 78 Oswego 46.   For the 2nd time in two weeks I nailed Cortland's exact score against the Lakers as I had them scoring 75 in their last matchup. My prediction of a 78-72 final was predicated on the fact that Oswego was going to show up. They apparently forgot to. Not even God would have predicted a blow out of this propotion.

Potsdam 75 Geneseo 61.  My one miss for the night as I had Geneseo winning this one 77-67. The Bears have been without 3 starters and my prediction was based on that fact. My numbers weren't far off from the actual score, just needed to reverse the teams. In all honesty I probably still would have gone with the Blue Knights even if I knew Potsdam was 100% healthy.

Plattsburgh 78 Brockport 68   I had this as a 80-77 win for the Cardinals. Two missed free throws by John Perez on 2 different trips to the line with less than a minute left cost me the exact Cardinal point total. I'll be speaking to John about this matter later today. The score was 62-61 in favor of Brockport with 6:06 left to play. Brockport took 8 shots from the field in the final six minutes of the game. They were all 3 pointers and they were 1x8. They also had 4 turnovers in that time which were the big reasons they failed to reach my total of 77.   

[thebear]

Went 4 for 5 with my picks yesterday, missing only with the Potsdam-Geneseo game which made me extremely happy that I was wrong on that one.

Potsdam 75 Geneseo 61.  My one miss for the night as I had Geneseo winning this one 77-67. The Bears have been without 3 starters and my prediction was based on that fact. My numbers weren't far off from the actual score, just needed to reverse the teams. In all honesty I probably still would have gone with the Blue Knights even if I knew Potsdam was 100% healthy.

The stunning stat in the Potsdam - Geneseo game was the Bear's 31-5 advantage on points off turnovers.  Overcame a huge game from Gordon Lyons, and Geneseo's advantage in the paint and on the boards.

Sounds like a bit of pressure might be in order at Memorial Hall this afternoon

[magicman]

Four games slated for today and the featured game is the matchup between 2nd place Plattsburgh and 3rd place Geneseo at the Burgh.

Buffalo State at Oneonta State  4:00 PM

The Bengals can't afford a slip up here if they have any hopes of making the playoffs. With 2 tough games looming next weekend they need to win both games left against the teams at the bottom of the standings. The loss to New Paltz yesterday now leaves them in a perilous position for a playoff berth since the Hawks own the tiebreaker at the present time. Oneonta is looking to win back to back games for the 1st time all year. I don't think it's gonna happen. Oddsmakers have the Bengals listed as a 6 point favorite and if the Red Dragons continue their solid play at home they can keep this one close. I think the Bengals will prevail 85-76.


Brockport State at Potsdam State  4:00 PM

Can the Bears pull off a 2nd straight upset? They are fighting for their playoff lives as they haven't yet been mathematically eliminated. Going into the weekend they needed to win their remaining 5 games and still had no guarantees that would do the job. Since those 5 games were against the top 5 teams in the conference it would seem to be too tall of an order even though those games are all in Potsdam. They're 1 for 1 after taking down Geneseo but today they face a Brockport team with a different style of play than the Blue Knights. Brockport needs to go 1-1 on this trip or they could fall below Buff State and back into a tie with New Paltz for the 6th and final playoff spot. They also will lose a tiebreaker against the Hawks. This is a tough game to predict as Potsdam, when healthy, is one of the best 9-12 teams in the East. The point spread has the Golden Eagles favored by a slim 2 point margin. I was fairly sure my crystal ball would predict a Brockport win here but the more I mull this one over the more I want to pick my alma mater. The Bears really have nothing to lose as every one has written them off. The Eagles have to win this game and maybe the pressure gets to them. It seemed that's what happened yesterday in Plattsburgh. Very uncharacteristic finish for Brockport, down the stretch of that game. Maybe Coach Dunne gets them back on track today but I'm going to wear my hearton my sleeve and take the Bears in another mild upset. Potsdam 80 Brockport 77. (That score didn't quite work for me yesterday, maybe it'll do better today.)


Geneseo State at Plattsburgh State  4:00 PM

Geneseo's hopes of winning the regular season SUNYAC crown is on life support with their loss yesterday in Potsdam. With 5 losses in conference play they would need to win out and hope that Cortland will lose their 3 remaining games. Frankly, I don't see that happening.  Plattsburgh chances are slightly better but still a long shot at best. So these 2 teams are essentially playing for a possible 1st round bye to the winner (and some people may feel that a 1st round might not be a good thing to have) with a possible home game in the 1st round going to the loser. As a fan I kinda like the first round home game, but as a coach I would think you'd like to get the bye and not have to play 3 games to try and win the YAC tournament. It's always tough to win three games in a row in the tournament and we've seen in the past that the crown can go to anyone in the field regardless of their seeding. Plattsburgh is in sole possession of 2nd place for the 1st time all year I believe, but if they wish to remain there it's going to take a big effort today against the Blue Knights. Geneseo like their travel partners, Brockport, does not want to make that long bus ride home stewing over an 0-2 weekend on the road. Add to the fact that the Cardinals are currently on a 3 game losing streak against the Blue Knights and this game has the potential for a variety of different outcomes. In the past 7 years the Cardinals hold a slim 7-6 advantage over Geneseo but the recent history is what's important here.  Plattsburgh lost a close 66-64 decision in Geneseo a month ago and that leads the oddsmakers to favor the Cards in this one by a 6 point margin. That game in Geneseo really wasn't as close as the final margin would indicate as the Blue knights had a 2 or 3 possession lead for nearly all of the 2nd period. They were still up by 8 points with under 2 minutes to play and up by 7 with only 34 seconds left. A layup by Plattsburgh's Shamoy McIntosh with 25 ticks left and a 3 pointer by him, after the Knights missed the front end of a 1&1 with 5 seconds narrowed the final margin to give the appearance of an extremely tight ballgame. The Cardinals are 5-0 in conference games this year on their home court. The Blue Knights are 3-4 in road conference games. It's time for Plattsburgh to end the losing streak against the Knights and I think they do it with a 76-71 win.


Fredonia State at New Paltz State   6:00 PM

Fredonia needs another conference win to avoid the last place designation, since their loss to Oneonta last night, along with the tiebreaker, puts them behind the Red Dragons. New Paltz has renewed energy as they can see a light at the end of the tunnel and a playoff bid which didn't seem too favorable 9 days ago has become attainable with their 3 wins in 4 tries since then. They've benefitted from a closing schedule that had them at home for 5 of their last 7 games. They need to take care of business this afternoon and it's possible they could be in 5th place by the end of the day. The point spread is the biggest margin of the day as the Hawks are favored to win by 12 points. The teams had a closely contested game in the first go around as New Paltz prevailed 92-87 in Fredonia. I don't think they'll score that many today but it won't be far off. New Paltz wins this one 87-77. 
           

[Bengalsrule]

I for 1 hope that each of your predictions are spot on today!  Seedings for the "Cortland invitational"could begin to shape up by tuesday night!

[hawkball]

Great wins for the north country duo tonight. Congrats.  Wish thati could saythe same for my BENGALS but the Hawks just wouldnt lay down. Creditgoes to Shareef Taylor ( almost a triple double with his 6 blocks) and Co
This 1 hurt!!

Need a win at Oneonta worse than ever.

I imagine ill hear from Hawkbill soon

Haha bengals - Simmons and epps are crazy good - S. Taylor went on a tear yesterday afternoon and it was insane. Still not comfortable though - team has been known to play great on a Friday and then blow it on Saturday (see brockport/geneseo weekend) but I hope they do it.

PS I think Simmons got his 2000th point yesterday? What an accomplishment.

[jdex]

Plattsburgh rips Geneseo 84-62. Am sure Magic will elaborate

Oneonta 72-67 over Buffalo St.
   
Brockport 73-60 over Potsdam

Fredonia taps at New Paltz at 6

[thebear]

Bears clawing back behind Curtis Pierce.  59-51 with 8:42 left.  Pierce has 22 and counting.

Buff state and Geneseo scores are shockers

[thebear]

Bears lose 73-60.  clawed back to within 7, but then went cold and 'port had a 6-0 run to end the game.

Curtis Pierce had 24 pts & 9 rebounds, Brandon Williams had 13 pts & 11 rebounds off the bench.

'port was led by John Ivy with 20 pts , Matt Lee with 18 pts & 9 rebounds, Brandon Carruthers with 17.

[jdex]

New Paltz blows away Fredonia 98-74. Hawks coast from 55-28 halftime bulge. M. Devine 32 pts .....12x15fg, 4x5 3s, 4x4ft, 6 rebs in 24 minutes

[Bengalsrule]

Toughest weekend of the season for my BENGALS . Let Oneonta get out big in the first half with 14 turnovers. Tried to right the ship in the 2nd half...but fell a little bit short!

Gotta hope for a lotta things to happen from here on in!

Go BENGALS!!