MBB: State University of New York Athletic Conference

[magicman]

D3hoops has released their 2014-15 preseason men's All-America team. Gordon Lyons from Geneseo State is the only player from the East Region to gain that honor as he was listed as a forward on the 2nd team. Here's a link to the complete list of preseason picks:

http://www.d3hoops.com/awards/all-americans/men/preseason-2015

I've got a pretty good feeling that Mr. Lyons will be on the year ending list of  All-American players as well.   

[magicman]

The SUNYAC is off and running with 7 teams in action on the opening day of the 2014-15 Hoops season.

Here are the games for Saturday, Nov. 15th.

Rhode Island College  vs  Brockport State        1:30 PM   
@ Marymount

This is a hard game to pick. Brockport lost a lot of talent including All American, John Ivy, and All Conference, Brandon Caruthers, their starting backcourt. They also lost 2 starting forwards, Matt Lee and Dorian Hayden. In addition they lost two of their best bench players which included 6'11" Patrick Coyle, who was their top rebounder and shot blocker, along with guard Bobby Bell, who averaged 18 minutes per game. They return starting center Olusola Adeniran along with promising sophomores Clifton Lyerly and Aaron White, but 57 points per game are gone with the loss of the 6 seniors that graduated. Coach Greg Dunne will need to once again pull a few rabbits out of his hat, but if anyone can pull off some magic tricks, Coach Dunne, the reigning National Coach of the Year, should be able to do so. It could take some time for the new players to learn Dunne's system, though and in the meantime the team could struggle. I think this game against Rhode Island will be one of those struggles. The Anchormen lost some top talent, like Brockport, through graduation, and also lost a top notch coach when Bob Walsh left to coach Division I University of Maine. The Anchormen return 3 starters however off a team that had 20 wins last year. I'd like to think that Coach Dunne can outcoach a rookie in his first year as a head coach but the Rhode Island coach, Mike Byrnes, has been an assistant at DI Robert Morris and was a very successful prep school coach for a number of years as well.
The oddsmakers have installed Brockport as an 8 point favorite but I think that Rhode Island will come away with a narrow victory by a 75-71 score.  But I sure hope I'm wrong on this one.         


   
SUNY-Canton    vs   Fredonia State        2:00 PM   
@ Allegheny

The Blue Devils are once again headed for a long season. If they can't get by the Canton Kangaroos it will get even longer. The Roos almost took down Potsdam State in their season opener last year, so being competitive against Fredonia shouldn't be a problem. The Blue Devils won 6 games last year and I don't see many more than that in the win column this year. This is one of the 6 or so they can win but it should be a close game. The Blue Devils win it by a 67-62 score. 

   
Hamilton at New Paltz State        4:00 PM

These teams played each other last year and the Hawks came away with a 75-69 win. It was one of only 6 wins New Paltz managed to capture despite the fact they opened the season by winning their first 2 games against Redlands and Whittier on the west coast. The Hawks return everyone except 2 players and have added 9 new faces. They should show a slight improvement  on last years record. Hamilton lost 3 players to graduation but the biggest loss was leading scorer Matt Hart who transferred from Hamilton to Division I George Washington University. Hart was one of the top scorers in the country averaging over 20 ppg  and was the top 3 point threat that Hamilton had, shooting over 41% from downtown. The Continentals have lost over 60% of their points and will need a lift from last year's bench players to pick up the slack. The oddsmakers have Hamilton winning this game by a 3 point margin. Homer that I am, I think it could be a 3 point margin, but I'll take New Paltz to win this one by a 69-66 final.
   
Morrisville State  vs  Potsdam State        5:00 PM   
@ Clarkson    North Country Classic Tournament

Morrisville made it to the quarterfinals of the NCAA tournament last year and lost to Amherst for a chance to make the Final Four. Potsdam won a grand total of 5 games last year and the future doesn't look much better. However Morrisville, who received votes in the preseason Top 25 poll, lost almost their entire team. (I'm wondering what those voters saw in the Mustangs that merited Top 25 points)   They only return 3 players from last years' squad and 2 of those players barely got off the bench all year long. Potsdam returns quite a bit losing only 3 seniors so despite the fact that the oddsmakers have made Morrisville a 9 point favorite I'll take the Bears to pull off a the upset here, 71 to 68.

   
Medaille at Buffalo State        7:00 PM

Usually a close game when these Queen City rivals get together. Medaille returns the AMCC conference preseason Player of the Year in Jammal Coleman but the Mavericks lost their 6'8" center, and another one of their top rebounders. The Bengals have 7 new faces on the roster but they should win the battle of the boards and are more athletic than the Mavericks. Rod Epps and Chris Thompson will be hard for Medaille to contain. Bengals win this matchup by an 82-72 final score. 



   
Plattsburgh State  vs  Elizabethtown        8:00 PM   
Dutch Burch Tip-Off @ Williamsport, Pa.

Both teams return a ton of talent. The difference is Plattsburgh returns a ton of talent from a team that went 24-6 last year. Elizabethtown  returns their talent from a team that went 8-17.  Still this matchup should be the best game in the Lycoming Tournament. I think the Cardinals are more athletic, deeper, and will control the tempo of this game.  I believe Plattsburgh will walk off the court with the W and can see them placing 4 guys in double figures with their balanced offense. The final score should be something like 76-67.

Elmira at Oswego State  8:00 PM

Forgot about this game but Oswego should have a relatively easy time with Elmira  The final score should be something like 75-60 and it could be worse if all the players that didn't play in the exhibition against Binghamton suit up for this game.

[Bengalsrule]

Knock knock knock....! That's the 'Yac at the door letting everyone know that in less than 24 hours, the 2014-15 season will begin!

THE BEST IS YET TO COME!!

   With that thought in mind, and the BENGALS preparing to take the court vs. crosstown rival Medaille tomorrow night at 7, I thought that i'd jot down a few things about my beloved BENGALS! First and foremost is the return of 2nd leading scorer Rod Epps (15.5 pts per game). If there was any way to describe how Rod, and the BENGALS squad, has looked this pre-season it would be "The Best is yet to come" (from several BENGAL observers!) Many feel that Rod is poised to lead the BENGALS to a considerably better record than last years 12-13 (8-10 conf). The 3rd leading scorer (9.7) and 2nd best rebounder (7.0), Chris Thompson,  looks quicker and stronger than last years version. 1 observer says that the 6'5 senior should be 1 of the best big men in the conference if he continues to play like he has so far this pre season. Both he and Rod can count on junior Bradley Doyley (5'11") to get them the ball! Bradley was 2nd in assists and 1st in Turnover to assist ratio but got no love from the 'Yac voters  last season . Sophomores Jordan Glover (6'2") , Rey Jordan (5'11") and Lovell Smith (6'2") all contributed healthy minutes last season. Undoubtedly more will be expected of them as 2014-15 season begins tomorrow. Returning sophomore Sean Buckley (6'7" and growing) has the potential to be a consistent contributor!

  The newcomers this year is what has many at 1300 Elmwood all abuzz!! Lets start with junior Derrick Fernandez. This lightening quick guard should immediately compete for playing time in the crowded BENGAL backcourt! Wing men Justin Best and Kevin Marmolejos present unique threats from the wing, with their quickness and strength. Frontcourt players Larry Rivers, Luke Jenkins and Akeem Williams give the BENGALS the most size that it has had in years! Add Leon Moise (6'8") (who returns to the BENGALS after a 1 year absence) and you can see why many BENGAL faithful are as giddy with excitement,  as a kid is on Xmas Eve!

  Personally, I cant wait till tomorrow night. Medaille is less than 2 miles from Buff State so its a natural rivalry that has grown over the years. last years game at Medaille went down to the wire with the BENGALS winning 87-82. Many feel that this 1 wont be as close but that's why they PLAY THE GAME! Rumor has it that Santa may have some more gifts in his bag for my BENGALS, but I don't believe in Santa so lets get this season underway!!!

Lets go BENGALS!!!!!


(edited to add...)
Dammit...I hate it when i post at the same time Magicman does!!!!

[magicman]

Hey my friend,

You didn't post at the same time I did....you posted 37 minutes after I did.

[7express]

Ha Magic.  Your a SUNY guy and pegged Brockport to lose.  I'm the LEC guy and pegged Brockport to win     At least one of us will be happy at 3 or so tomorrow afternoon 

[magicman]

Ha Magic.  Your a SUNY guy and pegged Brockport to lose.  I'm the LEC guy and pegged Brockport to win     At least one of us will be happy at 3 or so tomorrow afternoon 

Earlier, I saw your post of the games, 7 and I thought I was going to agree with you, but I think that Rhode Island returns more than the Golden Eagles do. It was the toughest game for me to pick and I hope I'm wrong and you're right. 

[magicman]

The first result of the year is in and it's not good news for the YAC.

As I suspected the Rhode Island Anchormen proved to be a stiff test for Brockport as they defeated the Golden Eagles 72-62. I had projected a Rhode Island win by a 75-71 margin. I wanted to be wrong with my prediction, but I think it will take time for Coach Dunne to get all the new faces and new starters to put it together.

Never did get the live stats between Brockport and Rhode Island but got the results off the Brockport website.

Brockport had the early lead and went up 17-9 which was the Golden Eagles largest advantage but the Anchormen came back with a 13-0 run to go in front 22-17 with 6:32 left in the half. Rhode Island was never headed after that. They went into the break up 32-28 and a pair of free throws to open the 2nd period boosted the lead to 6 points. The Golden Eagles did tie the game up at 34 apiece but the Anchormen went on another 7-0 spurt and the closest that Brockport could get the rest of the way was 4 points. Rhode Island opened up a 57-44 lead, the largest of the game by either team with 6:40 left to play. Brockport came fighting back and got it to within 4 points once again after a pair of 3 pointers by Clifton Lyerly with 4:56 to go but the Anchormen hit 10 of 11 free throws down the stretch to thwart any hope of a Brockport comeback.

The Golden Eagles were led by Lyerly with 21 points. Danny Aiello with 10 points was the only other player in double figures for the Eagles. Port got killed off the boards losing that battle 43-26 and Rhode Island scored 30 points in the paint to 20 for Brockport. There's the 10 point difference in the score.

Rhode Island got a big game from 6'6" forward Chris Burton with 21 points and 13 rebounds. This guy was the reason I thought Rhode Island might win the game as he was their best returning player. Another returning 6'6" player that averaged double digits last year, Victor Smith, didn't play in this game. Senior Patrick Matthews who transferred into the program this year had an excellent first game for the Anchormen with 16 points and 7 rebounds off the bench. Point guard Eric Alleyne had 11 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists. Brockport will face off against Roanoke College tomorrow afternoon at 1:30 PM. Roanoke lost to host Marymount today by an 86-57 final score.     

[magicman]

Another score:

Canton defeated Fredonia State 80-72. Going to be a long year for the Blue Devils if you're losing to a provisional D3 school. Haven't seen a box score yet.

[thebear]

Potsdam Started out ugly, down 0-14 and 2-19 to a reloaded Morrisville Squad.  Freshman Tishsean Emmanuel [Brooklyn NY/Nazareth] explodes for 15 second half points, and the Bears eke out a 64-61 win, only leading for the last two minutes.

More detail later, [stats not up yet] game at Clarkson, and they have a second game/ D-I Hockey and a women's volleyball team in NCAA tournament.

[magicman]

Plattsburgh State with a comfortable 43-28 halftime lead over Elizabethtown at the break. The Cardinals were led by Ezra Hodgson who was a perfect 4x4 from the field including a pair of 3 pointers to reach double figures. Ezra was also one of 3 Cardinal players to grab 4 rebounds in the half. Jordan Moody who came off the bench to hit 4 of 5 shots from the field also scored 10 points with 3 quick moves to the hoop, for a pair of layups and a dunk. He also hit a triple. With the score 15-12 in favor of the Cardinals, Moody and Xavier Thomas scored 13 straight points (8 from Moody and 5 from Thomas) to build the Plattsburgh advantage to a 7 point lead at 28-21. A nsteal and layup by Shamoy McIntosh gave the cardinals a double digit lead and shortly after a layup and 3 pointer by Hodgson boosted the lead to 13. Zach Coleman hit a pair free throws to make the final margin a 15 point edge. Eddie Correa also had 4 rebounds and 7 points in the first half.

[magicman]

Potsdam State made me look like a true prognosticator as the Bears upset last year's NCAA quarterfinalist, Morrisville State, by a 64-61 final score.

Potsdam was down by 16 points at the break but outscored the Mustangs 40-21 in the 2nd half. I had the Bears winning this game by a 71-68 final score. I didn't hit the total but had the spread right on the money...and the Bears were a 9 point underdog.

Glad to see my alma mater getting off the schneid in the first game of the year.

C'mon Bear lets have the wrap up!!     

[magicman]

Plattsburgh State holds on to their 15 point halftime lead and comfortably coasts to a 73-58 win over Elizabethtown. The Cardinals had a 15 to 22 point lead for much of the 2nd half but got a little sloppy when they were up 64-43 with 7:30 left in the game. Missed field goals, missed foul shots, and 4 turnovers allowed the Blue Jays to cut the margin down to 13 points at 64-51 with 5:42 to go. Ezra Hodgson then hit his 4th 3 pointer of the night and Reggie Williams followed that with a hoop and harm for another 3 points to build the lead back to 19 once again. The Cards then looked to keep the score down by using some clock for their final possessions.

Hodgson was the game's leading scorer as he pumped in 21 points on 8x10 from the field. He was 4x5 from long distance and 1x2 from the line with 6 rebounds in 30 minutes of work. Jordan Moody had 14 points (6x9 fg, 1x4 3's, 1x2 ft) with 3 boards and 2 steals in 23 minutes off the bench. Reggie Williams took up where he left off 2 years ago when he last put on a Cardinal uniform..The big guy finished with 10 points (4x6 fg, 2x3 ft) 6 rebounds, 2 steals and 2 blocks in 18 minutes. I said 4 Cardinals would hit double figures in this game and Eddie Correa almost made it happen as he had 9 points (2x3 fg, 1x2 3's, 4x4 ft) 5 rebounds, an assist and a steal in only 14 minutes. Shamoy McIntosh had 7 points, led the team with 8 rebounds, had 4 assists and a steal. Point guard Mike Mitchell had 7 assists and scored 4 points. New Cardinal players Kyle Richardson and Zack Coleman both broke into the scoring column in their first game. Cardinals shot 25x47 from the field  (53.2%), 8x24 from behind the line  (33.3%),  and 16x21 from the stripe (76.2%). They outrebounded the Blue Jays 35-29 but had 20 turnovers to 15 for Etown. Overall a good opening game for the Redbirds as they got the butterflies out of their system and won a game on the road against a veteran team that returned  lot of talent. They were considerably quicker than the Blue Jays and their athleticism proved to be the difference as it will be throughout the year in a great deal of their contests.

The Blue Jays were led by their big man, Lee Eckert, who poured in 18 points (9x18 fg, 0x1 ft), with a team high 7 rebounds. Joe Bodnar was next with 9 points (4x8 fg, 1x4 3's) and 5 rebounds. The Blue Jays shot  22x64 from the field (34.4%), 6x9 from downtown (31.6%) and 9x13 from the stripe (69.2%).

Plattsburgh will take on Lycoming tomorrow afternoon 3:00 PM in the Championship game of the Dutch Burch Tip Off Tournament.

It's my birthday tomorrow and I told the players before they left that I expected a birthday present. They promised to bring me back a Tournament Championship. We shall see!!
                                     

     

[magicman]

Well here's an upset I didn't predict...Oswego loses to Elmira 57-56.  Hard to fathom how the Lakers can go from almost beating D1 Binghamton without 3 key players and yet lose to the E8's perennial 2nd division team, Elmira, with 2 of those 3 missing players back in the lineup.

I had the Lakers winning this game 75-60 and I figured it could be worse if Brian Sortino and Mark Candelario played any significant minutes. Sortino didn't start and neither did the Candy man but they played 29 and 16 minutes respectively. Sortino had 10 points and 5 assists while Candelario had 6 points and 5 rebounds. Newcomer Dustin Pond led the Lakers with 13 points (5x6 fg, 3x3 3's) and 4 rebounds. Kyle Covely added 11 points (48 fg, 1x4 3's, 2x2 ft) and 4 rebounds. Rashawn Powell just missed a double double with 9 points and 11 boards.

Against Binghamton last week the Lakers hit 15 three pointers in 26 attempts. Tonight they only went 5x14. This game was won by the Soaring Eagles at the foul line as they were 13x17 and the Lakers were only 5 of 14. Oswego lost the 1st half 25-24 and both teams scored 32 points in the 2nd half.

Oswego gave up a 6 point lead halfway through the 1st period and found themselves trailing by 4 points before a Duston Pond layup at the buzzer cut the deficit to a single point.

Some early back and forth action to start the 2nd period and the Lakers got a nose in front of the Eagles at 28-27. Elmira closed a 3 point deficit to tie the Lakers at 32 but then Oswego opened up with a 12-0 run to go ahead 44-32. They increased the lead to 14 at 50-36 and were still up by 12 points with 6 minutes left to play at 52-40. 3 missed field goals, a turnover, along with 2 missed 1&1 opportunities and Elmira found themselves right back in the game. Then when Oswego missed the front end of that 2nd 1&1, the Eagles rebounded the miss, came down and scored to once again have the lead at 53-52.They had reeled off 13 unanswered points and the Lakers were in trouble at home. Sortino hit a pair of free throws to break the spell and put Oswego back on top. Elmira misfired on their next trip down the floor but the Lakers couldn't come up with the rebound and a foul  by Pond sent Elmira's Hayden Harkins to the line where he made them both. Trailing by a point with under 2 minutes to play the Lakers went to their go to guy and Sortino hit a layup and was fouled with 1:38 to go. He missed the free throw however and Elmira gained possession. Twice Elmira attempted a shot for the lead and twice the shot was blocked, 1st by Elijah McLaurin and then by Matt Crockett. Sortino grabbed the rebound with 1:06 to play and the Lakers worked the ball for a shot to increase their leads, They missed a 3 point attempt with 38 seconds left and Elmira got the rebound. They couldn't get off a shot and called time out with 4 seconds on the clock. Tyler Dibble then hit the game winning layup with no time on the clock to put a dagger in the Lakers. The Soaring Eagles ended the game on 17-4 run to claim the victory. Oswego will now face Hartwick at 6:30 PM tomorrow night. Hartwick defeated Farmingdale State by an 82-65 score earlier on Saturday.         

[magicman]

Balance of the scoring from Friday's games.

Buffalo State went to the races as they topped the century mark in a track meet with Medaille. Final score was the Bengals 102 and Medaille 86.

I had the Bengals winning by an 82-72 margin. Didn't realize they were playing this game with a 24 second shot clock.

I'll let my friend from Buffalo write up the stats....but the usual suspects, Rod Epps (23 pts),  Chris Thompson (11 pts, 6 reb), Jordan Glover (19 pts) got into the act and were joined by newcomers Kevin Marmolejos (12 pts) and transfer Derrick Fernandez (4 pts, 5 rebounds and 5 assists in his first start).


Hamilton stops New Paltz in overtime 58-55.

The Bengals almost scored as many points as these 2 teams did and they had an extra period. New Paltz had a chance to win this game in regulation but only made 1 of 2 free throws with 23 seconds left. With a tie score Hamilton missed a shot at the buzzer and the game went to OT. Hamilton scored first and then hit a pair of free throws. That was all they needed as the Hawks could only muster a pair of free throws in the 5 minute extra session.

Both teams couldn't hit the broad side of the proverbial barn as they shot poorly from the field, from long range and from the line. Hamilton's percentages were 30.8% (20x65) from the field, 17.4% (4x23) from long range, and 63.6% (14x22) from the line.

New Paltz was 29.0% (18x62) from the field, 23.5% (4x17) from downtown and 57.7% (15x26) from the line. I think both of these teams are in for some tough times this year.

New Paltz was led by Alex Perlman with 17 points (7x10 fg, 34 ft) and 6 rebounds. Taylor Sowah had 13 points (2x9 fg, 0x1 3's, 9x16 ft) and 14 rebounds to open the year with a double double.   

 

[magicman]

Opening Day scores

Brockport State 62   Rhode Island 72 

Oswego State 56    Elmira 57

Fredonia State 72  SUNY Canton 80

New Paltz State 55  Hamilton 58 OT

Potsdam State 64  Morrisville State 61

Buffalo State 102  Medaille 86

Plattsburgh State 73  Elizabethtown 58

The YAC goes 3-4 and 2 of those losses...Oswego and Fredonia were pretty bad and will drag us down in the conference SOS. 

My record was 4-3 as I lost both of the barnburners ,Oswego and New Paltz, plus the Fredonia game.