MBB: State University of New York Athletic Conference

[7express]

LOL Magicman definitely fooled me with the "tour of the city."

[magicman]

Some excellent games last night in the SUNYAC I will have some further comments later on in the weekend. These damn early games always have me in a rush mode. Never enough time.

Last night's scores. Went 4 out of 5 with my predictions only missing the Oswego-New Paltz game.


Plattsburgh State 86  Buffalo State 71
 
I had it 85-80 with the Cards winning. Just missed the Cards total and the 3 point shooters from the Bengals were well guarded by the Cardinals which limited their point total. I did manage to hit the "over 156" total I called for, as they combined for 157 points.





New Paltz State 80  Oswego State 71   The Hawks pull off another big surprise. Thank you Hawks. So glad to be wrong on this one.   I had the point totals fairly close as I called for a 78-69 Oswego win, just needed to reverse the teams.

Brockport State 71 Geneseo State 68   I had this mild upset as I took the Golden Eagles to win by a 75-72 final. Close with my totals and nailed the 3 point margin of victory.

Oneonta State 89 Cortland State 68    Another upset as Cortland was favored by 6. I correctly picked the Oneonta Red Dragons to win this one by a 71-68 final score. I hit Cortland's score right on the button, but didn't expect the M&M boys, Mager and McElroy to have such big nights...33 and 24 respectively. I did say they would bring their A game(along with Frankie Kelly who filled up the stat sheet),  but they brought their A+ game.

Fredonia State 65 Potsdam State 57

The 4th upset of the evening gave the Blue Devils their first conference win and their first win against a D3 opponent. I had them winning by a 70-67 final. Now I hope they don't have a 2 game winning streak, this week anyway.

   

[Bengalsrule]

LOL Magicman definitely fooled me with the "tour of the city."

Yes indeed.  Magicman is our all Sunyac host.  This was my 4th or 5th visit to Plattsburgh and he has always been the greatest of hosts. 

[magicman]

Four games slated for today in the SUNYAC all tipping off at 2:00 PM

Not a lot of time since they go off so early. Quick picks without the usual banter.

Fredonia State  at  Plattsburgh State        2:00 PM

Blue Devils hope for a winning streak. Cardinals hope they don't have a letdown. They have a bad history this year of winning on Friday and losing on Saturday. Time for that to stop. Cards favored by 18 points. Fredonia led at the half last time they played, before falling by a 67-58 score. Today I think it will be by a bigger margin. Cards win 83-64.
   
Cortland State  at New Paltz State        2:00 PM   LS V

Hawks continue to surprise bur these Red Dragons do not want to go home with an 0-2 weekend. If Cortland loses this game they could fall all the way down into an 8th place tie. Revenge is a big factor here as the Red Dragons lost to the Hawks earlier in Cortland. Point spread favors Cortland by 7 points. It should be closer but I'll Cortland by a 74-70 final score.

   
   
Buffalo State  at  Potsdam State        2:00 PM

Bengals get their mojo back by beating up on toothless Bears. Travel home to the Queen city in a better frame of mind than last night. Oddsmakers have the Bengals favored by 13 points. I'll be surprised if it's that close. Bengals won by 27 earlier this month. Today it's Buff State 86 Potsdam 65.

   
Oswego State  at  Oneonta State        2:00 PM

Can the Lakers lose 2 in a row? Can these Red Dragons win their 3rd conference game in a row and vault back into playoff contention? I think they can even though the oddsmakers have them listed as a 5 point home dog. I'm taking Oneonta in another mild upset here as they win 77-73 and split the season series with the Lakers.    

[thebear]

Half time - Potsdam 34, Buffalo State 25.  Bears have made 5 treys and outrebounded the Bengals by 10. 

Home thawing pipes.

[magicman]

Final scores from today's games.

Plattsburgh State 73 Fredonia State 41 

I had the Cards winning by an 83-64 final but they rang up such a large lead that this game was over after the first 10 minutes. The Cardinals were up by 37 points early in the 2nd half and with the score 54-17 with over 15 minutes left to play it was time to give the younger players some extra playing time. So the regulars were on the bench early and when the subs came in they worked the shot clock on every possession and ran through their offensive sets. It held the score down which  made it more respectable, because the Cardinals could have broken the century mark today if they wanted to run up the score. Coach Curle doesn't play that way, though and a number of guys saw additional floor time.

Jordan Moody was the high man for Plattsburgh with 19 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 steals. Reggie Williams and Shamoy McIntosh both had 10 points. Reggie just missed a double-double with 9 rebounds and added 2 blocks. Shamoy had 5 rebounds, 2 assists, and 2 steals. Xavier Thomas showed once again why he is called the X-Man as he had several more spectacular dunks that brought the crowd to its feet. Someone at the college needs to put together a highlight reel of his rim rockers this year. It would be one of the best in the country. Xavier finished with 9 points, 5 rebounds and 2 steals. Kyle Richardson came off the bench and was the game's leading rebounder for the 2nd day in a row.  He tied Williams for game high honors with 9 boards and added 2 points, 2 blocks and 1 assist. Mike Mitchell again had 5 assists as he ran the offense. The Cardinals had 12 guys break into the scoring column.   

The Blue Devils struggled to score today and only had 13 points at the break. They were led by probable Rookie of the Year, Ian Helps who was the only Fredonia player in double figures with 10 points. He also led the team with 6 rebounds and had 3 blocked shots. Justin Tapper had 9 points, 5 rebounds and 3 steals

Plattsburgh improves to 13-5 overall and 8-3 in the YAC and stays in 2nd place a half game behind Oswego. They return to action next Friday as they travel to Oneonta and then New Paltz.

Fredonia falls to 2-15, 1-11 in the conference. They will host Elmira College on Tuesday Feb 3rd at 7:00 PM.



Cortland State 57 New Paltz State 48

I had Cortland winning this one by a 74-70 score, but when I saw the halftime score of 23-17 I knew that wouldn't happen. Hawks put the clamps on the Red Dragon offense in the 1st half but had trouble scoring themselves. Cortland with a 2nd half reversal, outscores the Hawks 40-25. This game was tied at 44 with 3:16 to go and the Hawks RJ Rosa scored to give New Paltz the lead with 2:32 remaining. 5 straight points by Blair Estarfaa, 2 from the line, followed by a huge 3 pointer after the Hawks turned it over. That seemed to be the backbreaker. The Hawks came down and tried for the equalizer from downtown and missed, got the rebound and missed again. The Hawks retained possession after the dual misses but after a Cortland timeout, the Hawks turned it over once again and now with time running down, fouled Paul Burke who made both free throws to up the lead to 51-46 with 34 seconds left. The Hawks shot themselves in the foot once more with another turnover and fouled TJ Hefele who made both of them. New Paltz missed a 3 pointer, fouled Hefele again who made them both again to make the final a 9 point margin. A much closer game than the score indicates, however.

TJ Hefele with 19 points, Lamard Herron with 13 points and Blair Estarfaa with 11 to lead Cortland. Tefele had 4 rebounds, 2assists and 2 steals as well. Herron added 6 rebounds and 5 steals. Matt McGowan had a team high 10 rebounds.

Taylor Sowah had a double-double for the Hawks with 11 points and a game high 14 rebounds. He also had a team high 4 assists. RJ Rosa had 10 points, 5 rebounds, 5 steals and 3 assists. Kevin Roach had 7 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 points.

Cortland gets the win they needed and is now 13-4 overall and 6-4 in the YAC. They will host Brockport in a big game on Tuesday at 5:30 PM

Their win made a logjam of 3rd place as Cortland, Brockport and now New Paltz have identical 6-4 records. Buffalo State is also 2 games over .500 with a 7-5 record. Those 4 teams along with the 2 leaders, Oswego and Plattsburgh occupy the playoff positions for the SUNYAC tournament. Oneonta and Geneseo are both tied for the 7th spot with 5-5 conference records.

New Paltz drops below .500 once again with an 8-9 overall record. They will host their travel partners, Oneonta on Tuesday at 5:30 PM in another game with huge ramifications on who makes the playoffs.


Buffalo State  77 Potsdam State 74

I had the Bengals winning by an 86-65 margin and at halftime it looked like the Bears might be the team winning by double digits. Potsdam took it to the Bengals in the first half as they led at the break by a 34-25 margin. Buff State had 11 turnovers in the period and didn't score in the final 3:42 as Potsdam stretched a 3 point 24-21 lead to the 9 point halftime edge with a 10-4 finish in the period. Bengals fell behind by as many as 12 points in the 2nd half and were still down by 9 points, 65-56, with only 7 minutes left in the game. 4 minutes later after 2 Zac Adams free throws they weren't much closer as the score was 69-61. The Bengals finally broke out of their funk with 2:41 left in the game. I'm not sure if they applied flubber to their sneakers or sipped some secret potion but the Bengals scored an incredible 16 points in that remaining time to pull out the 3 point victory. Chris Thompson started that final surge with a layup to cut the deficit to 6, and after the bears Joe Estramonte made 2 free throws, Rod Epps buried a 3 pointer to narrow the gap to 5. Estramonte went to the line again and made 1 of 2 and then he fouled Epps who made both his free throws to cut the lead to 4. Potsdam then went to the line and missed both free throws and after  missed Bengal 3 pointer Chris Thompson was fouled grabbing the rebound and putback and made 1 of 2 from the line to make it a single possession game at 72-69. The Bengals fouled the right guy again who missed 2 more from the line and then Chris Cartwright was fouled and canned them both to make it a 72-71 score. The Bears then turn the ball over with 41 seconds left and Cartwright makes them pay as he buries a three pointer to give the Bengals the lead for good. After Potsdam missed on their possession, Larry Rivers gets loose inside for a dunk to put an exclamation on the Buff State comeback. Now up by a two possession lead with just 22 seconds left the Bengals watch the Bears Tom Graf score inside and Potsdam has to foul when they don't get a turnover on the inbounds pass. Bengals Kevin Marmolejos only gets 1 of 2 to go in and the Bears have a chance to tie it up but the three point attempt by Estramonte doesn't go in and the Bengals' Leon Moise grabs the rebound as the game ends. The bus ride home got a whole lot happier for the Boys from the Queen City, who were looking at 0-2 for the weekend.

Larry Rivers led the team with 18 points, 8 rebounds, 4 steals and 2 assists. Chris Cartwright followed with 15 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists. Rod Epps had 13 points, 5 rebounds and 2 assists. Lovell Smith had 9 points, 6 rebounds and 4 blocks. Chris Thompson had 9 points and 7 rebounds. Derrick Fernandez had 6 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists and a steal. Rey Jordan added 6 points, 2 assists and 2 steals.

Potsdam was led by Connor Engle with 14 points and 7 rebounds. Rishawd Hendricks had 13 points and 3 boards. Joe Estramonte filled the stat sheet with 11 points, 5 rebounds, 5 steals and 4 assists. Zac Adams had 11 points and 4 rebounds. Marquis Lee had 9 assists, 8 points and 4 rebounds. Tom Graf had 8 points with 6 rebounds, while Tariq McIntyre had a team high 8 rebounds, 4 points and 2 blocks.

Buffalo State stays in playoff contention as they are 7-5 in the YAC which puts them in the 6th and final playoff position. They are off until next weekend which will have a huge impact on their hopes for post season play, when Cortland and Oswego travel to Buffalo to try their luck in the Sports Arena.

Potsdam drops to 2-15 overall and 1-10 in the conference. They can only hope to play a spoiler role for the rest of this year and possibly throw a wrench into some well thought out plans. I hope they win every game they have left. (except the one on 2-17).


Oswego 83 Oneonta 79

I had this one going to the Red Dragons by a 77-73 final, mainly because I was rooting against the Lakers for obvious reasons. I didn't think that Oswego would go 0-2 on this road trip and I didn't think that Oneonta could go 2-0 against 2 of the tougher teams in the conference on back to back days.  But I could hope and that why I took Oneonta. And with a little luck I could have been sitting pretty with a perfect day. Incidentally my total of 150 points was exactly what these teams had at the end of regulation. I'll hang my hat on that stat. Still went 3 of 4 today and 7 of 9 for the weekend and picked a fair number of the upsets. This has to be from top to bottom one of the toughest conferences in D3. And the best is yet to come. The next 3 weekends will, as usual, provide plenty of drama, as the teams battle for playoff position and the right to host the YAC Final Four. 

Apparently the Lakers can't get enough basketball in regulation lately as they played their 2nd straight overtime game in a row. It's also the 4th time they went to OT this season, including the last time they played these Red Dragons when they needed 2 overtime periods to get the W. Tonight they only needed a single extra session though, as they outscored Oneonta 8-4 in the bonus frame. The Lakers improve to 3-1 in overtime games. Oneonta made a valiant effort as they trailed at the half by a 33-28 score and fell behind in the 2nd period by as much as 12 points. Oswego gained their first double digit lead of the period with 16:52 remaining in the game. From that point forward the Red Dragons were trailing  by a margin of 6 to 12 points until a layup by Laker Mark Candelario put the visitors up by a 64-52 margin and the largest lead of the afternoon with 7:16 left to play. On the Red Dragons' next possession Jack Dignan was fouled attempting a three pointer andhe made all three free throws to get the lead back to single digits. The Lakers misfired on their next trip down the floor and Dignan came down and this time buried the three ball. The teams would exchange baskets for the next few possessions and with 4 minutes left Oneonta's Jackson Zuvic scored to make it a 2 point deficit. The Lakers went back up by 4 and were still up by that margin after a Brian Sortino layup, when Lawrence Coleman hit a 3 pointer for Oneonta to make the score 70-69 with 1:34 left on the clock. Oswego missed but so did the Red Dragons, but an offensive rebound gave them another chance, only to be negated by a turnover. A foul sent Sortino back to the line for the Lakers and he came through making them both with 47 ticks to go. Frankie Kelly scored on a layup and Sortino was sent back to the line with 25 seconds left. Again he made them both. And again Oneonta would score on a dunk by Coleman off a feed from Kelly. Once again Oneonta fouled but this time it wasn't Sortino  at the line. Elijah McLaurin made 1 of 2 and left the door open for Oneonta to win or tie. The Red Dragons opted for the tie as Frankie Kelly drove to the hoop. I've seen that move in person back on December 6th. This time however, it didn't go in with 2 seconds on the clock like it did in Plattsburgh that day. No, he missed it, grabbed the rebound and put it back up and in with no time left in the game. OT here we come. Unfortunately for Oneonta for the 2nd time against the Lakers it wasn't to be. Mark Candelario would prove to be the difference maker in the OT as his 2 made free throws with 32 seconds left gave the Lakers a 3 point 80-77 lead. After Oneonta failed to score on their possession they fouled Kyle Covely and he went to the line for 2 shots He missed them both but on the 2nd free throw Candelario was there for the tip in which was the dagger in the heart of the Dragon. Kelly scored again to cut the lead to 3 with 10 seconds left and then Oswego turned the ball over only to have Oneonta return the favor and fail to get off a game tying shot. The Lakers' Walter Sampson was fouled with 2 seconds left and made 1 of 2 for the final points on the game.

Oswego was led by Brain Sortino and Kyle Covely with 16 points each. Alex Rawa and mark Candelario both dropped in 11. Candelario in addition to his heroics in overtime had a game high 15 rebounds and 5 blocked shots. Walter Sampson, Rashawn Powell and Ian Schupp all scored 7 points each.

Lawrence Coleman was the big scorer for Oneonta this afternoon with 24 points and a team high 8 rebounds. Frankie Kelly had 14 points, 8 rebounds and 6 assists. Zach Mager added 16 points and 3 rebounds. Jack Dignan had 11 points 3 rebounds and 3 assists. Mikey McElroy also had 8 rebounds to share team honors with Coleman and Kelley. Jackson Zuvic had 8 points, 2 assists and 2 blocks.

Oswego holds onto 1st place as they improve to 8-2 in the YAC and 12-5 overall They will host Geneseo on Tuesday in another big game.

Oneonta falls to 8-9 overall and into a 7th place tie with Geneseo at 5-5 on the conference. They will face New Paltz on Tuesday at 5:30   

[Bengalsrule]

« on: January 17, 2015, 10:49:00 pm »

"I'm predicting that the regular season champ will have at least 4 loses.  Quote me."

2 weeks later, and third of the season left (after this coming Tuesday), that prediction looks like it may be spot on! I can't remember a time, this late in the season, where the Number 8 team (Geneseo/Oneonta) is within 3 wins of the number 1 team (Oswego).

[Bengalsrule]

Moody SUNYAC P.O.W.

Jordan Moody, Plattsburgh
Yorktown, N.Y. / Yorktown HS

The scoop......

In his second and third starts of the season, Plattsburgh State senior Jordan Moody didn't disappoint as he led the Cardinals to a pair of critical victories which allowed them to keep pace with league-leading Oswego State. The final-year man out of Yorktown, N.Y., averaged 16.5 points per game while shooting 11-for-19 (57.9-percent) from the field which included a 4-for-7 (57.1-percent) showing from long range. Moody was one of four players who finished with 11 or more points in a win over Buffalo State on Friday night as he finished with 13. He led the charge in the Cardinals' domination of Fredonia State the following afternoon, pumping in a game-best 18 points to go along with five rebounds, three assists and three steals. Over the two-game stretch, Moody also averaged four rebounds, two assists and 2.5 steals per outing.


I had a chance to see him up close and personal this week. I wish he would have taken another season off .  Congrats to a very personable young man and 1 helluva ball player!  .

[Bengalsrule]

« on: January 17, 2015, 10:49:00 pm »

"I'm predicting that the regular season champ will have at least 4 loses.  Quote me."

2 weeks later, and third of the season left (after this coming Tuesday), that prediction looks like it may be spot on! I can't remember a time, this late in the season, where the Number 8 team (Geneseo/Oneonta) is within 3 wins of the number 1 team (Oswego).

Wow if I thought the race was close before, it's even closer now! 1st place tie between Plattsburgh and Oswego and a 4 way tie for 8th between Geneseo, Brockport , New Paltz and Oneonta. 2 games separating all (8-3 to 6-5).  It's gonna be a battle to the finish line. Anyone of 8 teams could finish in first place!!!!

Go BENGALS!!!

[thebear]

Sad News:

Longtime Potsdam Assistant Coach Stan Cohen, who had been on the Bears bench for 42 years passed away yesterday at his home.  Stan also coached men's and women's basketball at SUNY Canton where he taught for 30+ years.  Stan was on the bench for both of Potsdam's National Championship teams, and also for the 60 game win streak.  He played basketball and lacrosse at Hobart College.  His son, Dr. Hal Cohen played at Syracuse University, and his granddaughter Brittany Cohen starred at SUNY Cortland and was the D3Hoops 2011-12 East Region Player of the Year, and an honorable mention all american.

Will post more detail as it is available.  Jdex - know Stan was a friend.

[thebear]

There will be calling hours for Coach Cohen on Sunday, February 8th at O'Leary's funeral home in Canton, NY. As I learn more details I will share ASAP. Please keep Coach Cohen's family in your thoughts and prayers.

[magicman]

That is sad news bear, my thoughts go out to his family. I  remember all the great Canton teams that Mr. Cohen coached. I watched Hal play at Syracuse and for years after when he came to Plattsburgh and played in our PBA tournament. And followed Brittany's career at Cortland. Stan was a fixture at Potsdam for so long it will be hard to picture the Bears without him.   

[magicman]

Final Scores from last night's action.

Cortland 71 Brockport 59

Red Dragons led from the start and were never seriously threatened in this game. Lamard Herron was the game's high scorer with 25 points and 7 rebounds. Cortland takes over sole possession of 3rd place with a 7-4 conference record.


Oneonta 98  New Paltz 72

These Red Dragons take care of their travel partners again for a sweep of the season series. Oneonta has had the Hawks number this year winning each game by at least 21 points. Lawrence Coleman, 20 points, 7 rebounds and Zac Mager 20 points, 4 rebounds were the high scorers in the game. Oneonta after a 2-2 tie took the lead and won with ease.


Geneseo 59 Oswego 55

The Blue Knights held the Lakers to their 2nd lowest offensive display of the season. Oswego's lowest output came against Knights of a different color as Clarkson's Golden Knights held them to 54 points back in November. Ironically the total points in that game matched the total points in last nights game as Clarkson won 60-54.

Geneseo's Mr. Double Double, Gordon Lyons was he game's high scorer as he had 18 points and 12 rebounds to get his 17th double double in 18 games. Gordon is the leading rebounder in Division 3 with 13.1 rebounds per game. He is also right at the top of the double double list as he is 2nd in the country in that category, only because the guy in first has played more games than Gordon. There's a good chance he could end up in first place or tied for first place at year's end. He is also the 28th leading scorer in D3 with a 20.1 ppg average. In the minutes per game category he ranks 15th with an average of 36.5 minutes on the court. He was a pre-season 2nd Team All American  but his statistics are so outstanding I think he should merit First Team consideration at year's end. I don't think there is another big man who is ranked as highly as Gordon in so many categories. We shall see where he ends up.

James McKenna with a solid night as he filled up the stat sheet against the Lakers. He had 15 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists, 4 steals and a block.

With the loss the Lakers are now tied with Plattsburgh for the SUNYAC lead but the Cardinals with a win over Oswego earlier, currently hold the tiebreaker. That, of course, could change on Feb 14th, when the Cardinals travel to Oswego for the return engagement. The conference, over the next several weeks, could see wholesale changes each weekend as the teams are so tightly bunched. Here are the current standings.


Plattsburgh State     8-3 13-5
Oswego State          8-3 12-6
Cortland State         7-4 14-4
Buffalo State           7-5 11-7
Geneseo State         6-5 10-8
Brockport State       6-5 9-9
Oneonta State         6-5 9-9
New Paltz State       6-5 8-10
Potsdam State         1-10 2-15
Fredonia State         1-11 2-15
             

[magicman]

One other non-conference final from last night.

Elmira College 62 Fredonia 56

Fredonia finishes their out of conference games with another loss and fails to win a non-conference game against a division 3 school. They fall to 2-16 and will be hard pressed to win another game this season. Tough year for the Blue Devils. The good news is with all the young talent on the team they can only improve and should have a much better season next year. We've all been there when our favorite schools have a down year. Keep the faith Blue Devil fans.

[thebear]

Nice tribute to Stan Cohen from Dallas Mavs Coach Rick Carlisle in today's Watertown Times.   

During his 42 years as a Potsdam assistant the Bears won 696 games, as a head men's & women's coach at SUNY Canton recorded an additional 326 wins in his own right.  His coaching career spanned 57 years.