MBB: State University of New York Athletic Conference

[magicman]

Brockport State 84 New Paltz State 70

The Hawks gave the Eagles a much tougher time than they did in their previous matchup. They lost that game by 52 points They were 38 points better tonight. That's a victory all by itself.

Hawks took the lead a few minutes into the game and led for most of the first half, several times by as much as 6 points. Brockport finally went in front with 4:44 to go when Devonn Gavin made a jumper. The Eagles stretched the lead to a 40-34 margin at the half.

Brockport scored the first 6 points of the 2nd period to go up by 12, but New Paltz didn't fold and fought back to within 5 points. Brockport then put together an 11-2 run to open up some daylight and the Hawks could never get within single digits the rest of the way.

Clifton Lyerly who didn't get the start tonight came off the bench and scored 19 points to lead the Golden Eagles. Hamed Shamseldin had 13 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals. Marcus Blythers had 12 points and a team high 7 rebounds. Devonn Gavin had 10 points and 3 steals.

The Hawks' Dylan Balducci captured scoring honors with 21 points and 4 assists. Andrew Seniuk had 19 points and 7 rebounds. Corey Garcia only scored 3 points, but led everyone with 9 rebounds and also had a game high 9 assists.

Brockport ups their overall record to 17-5 as they remain all alone in 2nd place with a 12-3 mark in the conference. They will visit Oneonta tomorrow for a 2:00 PM game in a battle for a first round bye.

The Hawks will try and gain a win in the YAC when they play Geneseo tomorrow at 2:00 PM.

[magicman]

Buffalo State defeats Cortland State 78-70

The Bengals led almost the entire first half and established a sizable lead at 25-15 with 8:33 remaining in the period. The Bengals gradually built up that lead and when Lovell Smith hit back to back layups in the final 40 seconds of the half, Buffalo State had a 50-33 advantage at the break.

The Bengals scored first in the 2nd half to create their largest lead of the night at 19 points but the Red Dragons hung in there and slowly began to whittle that big lead down. Zach Lydon scored 10 straight points for the Red Dragons to keep his team in the game and his 12th point of the 2nd half cut the lead to 59-50 with 12:17 left to play. Cortland continued to close the gap and eventually got within a single possession at 69-66 on a Nicky Bonura 3 pointer with 5:23 left. The lead was 4 when the Bengals got a triple from Jordan Glover to stretch the lead to 7 with just under 3 minutes remaining. It was the dagger as the Red Dragons couldn't recover. They came up empty on their next three shots and had to foul allowing the Bengals to build the lead back to 9 points with just 38 seconds left.

Jordan Glover captured scoring honors as he had 19 points. He was 6x13 from the field and all 6 of his baskets were from long distance. He added 3 rebounds, 2 steals and 1 assist.
Mike Henry had a double-double of 15 points and 10 rebounds. He had 3 steals and 1 helper.
Nico McLean had 12 points, 5 assists and 2 boards.
Lovell Smith had 11 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 blocks.
Dom Grayer and Rey Jordan came off the bench to score 10 and 8 points respectively.

Zach Lydon was the high man for the Red Dragons with 15 points. He just missed a double-double with 9 rebounds.
Justin Cooper did have a double-double with 10 points and 12 rebounds. He also had a game high 7 assists.
James Morales had 10 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists and a steal.
Nicky Bonura had 10 points, 3 rebounds and 2 assists.

The Bengals improved to 15-7 overall and 9-7 in the YAC. They firmed up a playoff spot with the win but haven't clinched one yet. They could do that on Saturday with a win over visiting Oswego State in a 2:00 PM start.

Cortland falls to 15-7 overall and 10-5 in the YAC. They still have sole possession of 4th place and will look to hold onto that seeding so they can get a first round home game in the playoffs. They will invade Fredonia on Saturday afternoon for a 2:00 PM start.

[magicman]

Fredonia State 76  Oswego State75

It looks like the Lakers got caught looking ahead to the Buffalo State game on Saturday. It is also reminiscent of at least 4 or 5 games this year that the Lakers have played down to the competition.

In fairness to the Blue Devils, they shot the ball well, 49.2% (32x65) and the rebounding battle, 34-32 in favor of Oswego, was also close.

Oswego led the entire first half and despite opening up 5 and 6 point leads they couldn't pull away and create daylight as they have done so many times this year. They led 36-29 at the break, which equaled their largest lead of the game. They were still up by 5 points with 14:42 left in the game after a Mykelle Krecko layup made the score 45-40. The Blue Devils were the ones that put together the big run as they erupted for a 15-3 burst that carried them to a 55-48 advantage. 6 of those points came from Nicc Johnson and after Oswego scored to cut the lead to 55-50, Fredonia scored 7 more unanswered points, 5 of those came from Johnson as well. The score was 62-50 and it was the largest lead of the game.

Oswego went to their go to guys as Brian Sortino with 10 points and Jamir Ferebee with 7, scored 17 of the next 21 Laker points. It brought them all the way back and into a 71-70 lead with 1:45 left in the game. The teams traded baskets down the stretch and the lead changed 6 times with the last one coming on a jumper by the Blue Devils' Dante Williams with 8 seconds left on the clock. Plenty of time for Oswego to hit the game winner and everyone in the house knew it would be Sortino. He drove to the hoop as the clock wound down but his layup wouldn't fall and Fredonia had pulled off the upset of the year in the SUNYAC.

Ian Helps led Fredonia with a double-double of 24 points and 10 rebounds.
Dante Williams had 17 points and 5 rebounds.
Nicc Johnson had 15 points and 6 rebounds.

The Lakers Brian Sortino led all scorers with 34 points. He added 3 rebounds, 2 assists and a steal.
Mykelle Krecko had a double-double of 15 points and 14 rebounds with 2 blocks.
Jamir Ferebee had 9 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals, and a block.

Fredonia improves to 10-13 overall and 7-9  in the conference. They will play Cortland on Saturday at 2:00 PM. The win over Oswego gives the Blue Devils a tiebreaker edge over both Plattsburgh and Geneseo should they tie for the 6th playoff spot.

Oswego falls to 17-5 overall and 13-2 in the YAC. They will visit the Queen City on Saturday for a 2:00 PM game against the Bengals.                 

[magicman]

Oneonta State defeats Geneseo by a final score of 83-79.

The Knights grabbed the early lead and moved in front by as many as 6 points until Oneonta finally caught them with 9:09 left in the period on a jumper by Mikey McElroy to tie it at 23. The teams traded leads and then the Red Dragons went in front by as many as 7 points on their way to a 4 point, 46-42, halftime advantage.

Oneonta remained in control through the first part of the 2nd period and stretched their lead to 10 points on several occasions, the last time with 17 minutes left and the score at 56-46. Slowly the Knights crept closer until they finally tied the game at 62 each on a layup by Justin Ringen with 10:44 on the clock. From that point on the game was a dogfight and it was just a question of who would make the critical play in crunch time. 8 lead changes and 5 ties would take place over the 8:44 until the two minute warning arrived with the Red Dragons in front 76-75 on 2 free throws from McElroy.

Geneseo missed from long distance on their next possession and the Red Dragons came down and buried a threeball by Kevin Mackin to make it a 2 possession game with 1:10 to go. That was the big play and when Geneseo turned it over McElroy scored inside to make it a 6 point lead. Another turnover by the Knights and McElroy went to the line to make 1 of 2 free throws to make it a 7 point lead with 15 seconds left. and this one was history.

Mikey McElroy had 25 points, 3 rebounds and 3 assists to lead Oneonta. Kevin Mackin had 22 points and a game high 7 rebounds. Lawrence Coleman had 18 points and also grabbed 7 boards.


Justin Ringen had a game high 27 points and tied for high with 7 boards. C.J. Burke had 13 points, 7 rebounds, 4 steals and 2 assists.  John Decker had 14 points.

Oneonta improves to 14-8 overall and 11-4 in the SUNYAC. They can still end up in first place or grab a first round bye. If they win out they would clinch 2nd place, but will need help to capture the top spot. They host Brockport tomorrow at 2:00 PM in a game that will go a long way in determining who will get a first round bye.

Geneseo falls to 12-10 overall and 7-8 in the YAC. They still occupy 6th place but Fredonia and Plattsburgh are in hot pursuit. The Knights take on New Paltz tomorrow at 2:00 PM and need to take care of business in that game. The Hawks gave Brockport a pretty good battle tonight.       

[magicman]

Plattsburgh State defeats Potsdam State 99-78.

The Cardinals opened up a double digit lead 25-14 lead with 11:38 left in the first half and the Bears never threatened after that. Plattsburgh led by 20 at the break and by as much as 26 points in the 2nd half. Potsdam was never closer than 18 the entire 2nd period. 

Plattsburgh's Jon Patron with 36 points and 15 rebounds to capture game honors in both categories.
Brandon Johnson with 15 points and Eli Bryant with 14 points.


Danny Delsol-Lowry led the Bears with 13 points. Dante Langley and Nosa Onabor with 11 points each. Jayquan Thomas with 10.

Cards shot 50% from the field, 39.1% from long range (9x23) and were a perfect 12x12 from the line.

Plattsburgh improves to 7-9 in the conference and is now a half game behind Geneseo for the 6th and final playoff spot. The Knights lost to Oneonta tonight and fall to 7-8 with 3 games left.

Fredonia with a big upset of Oswego is now just a half game out of the final playoff spot and by virtue of their win over the Lakers now has the tiebreaker in their favor over Geneseo and Plattsburgh.

Tomorrow's games and the final weekend will be chaotic, to say the least. 8 teams still alive for 6 spots.   

[Bengalsrule]

Good luck to the Plattsburgh Cards as they take on #13 Middlebury!  If ever there was an opportunity for a conference to get a boost from a late season non conference win, then this is it!  I have always said that the Yac is at min a 3 bid league!  Let our conference win vs the cream of the crop from the NESCAC, and I'm preaching 4 teams from the Yac!

Go Cards!!

Go BENGALS!!

[All-Time]

Some Great games today

Let's start with the easy game, Geneseo all over New Paltz. Right now they are the 6th seed and need this win. Fredonia and Plattsburgh are right on their heels.

Fredonia over Cortland, Fredonia is smelling the playoffs and should use last nights upset win over Oswego to upset the Red Dragons. Plus they are playing at home and it's not exactly a good shooters gym.

Buffalo State over Oswego. I thought the Lakers were going to win the regular season but last nights loss opens the door for Brockport or Oneonta. Look for the Bengals to come out fast and furious.

The Red Dragons of Oneonta over Brockport. Brockport away from home is a different team and have shown they can be beat on the road. New Paltz gave them a run for their money last night. Look for the BIG 3 and a little home cooking for a BIG RED DRAGONS WIN to make things more interesting going into next weekend.

Enjoy the Games

[magicman]

Feb. 11 Eight teams in action with 4 conference games on tap   

Geneseo State  at  New Paltz State    2:00 PM

The Knights have lost 4 conference games in a row and 7 of their last 9. They went from a first place tie to hanging onto the 6th and final playoff spot. They get a break today with the last place team on tap but the Hawks are playing these last few like there's no tomorrow (Cause for them there ain't). The oddsmakers have made the Knights an 18 point favorite. I think the Hawks can cover that spread. Geneseo 86 New Paltz 71.


Oswego State  at  Buffalo State        2:00 PM  Co-Featured Game of the Day

The Lakers won the first meeting 71-70, on a Brian Sortino 3 pointer, with 12 seconds left in the game. The Bengals had a chance to react to that Sortino basket but missed two free throws with 1 second to go. They will be looking to atone for that loss today but the Lakers will try to hang onto sole possession of first place. The oddsmakers have made Buffalo State a 4 point favorite in this one. That seems about right. I think the Bengals pull one out here by an 82-79 final score.     

   
Cortland State  at  Fredonia State    2:00 PM

The Red Dragons can't afford a stumble here if they want a home playoff game. The Blue Devils, after their big win yesterday, can smell the playoffs, and the fans in Fredonia haven't been this excited since the discovery of sliced bread. The oddsmakers have made Cortland an 8 point favorite. I think they win by a bit more. Cortland takes this one 85-74.

Brockport State  at  Oneonta State     2:00 PM  Co-Featured Game of the Day

This is a huge game for both teams with a first round bye at stake and possibly the top seed in the tournament as well. Brockport won the first meeting on their home court, now these Red Dragons look for the reversal, to temporarily vault them into 2nd place, since they hold the tiebreaker over the Golden Eagles at the moment. I need Oneonta to beat Brockport so my Cardinals can hold the tiebreaker over Geneseo should that be necessary. The oddsmakers have made Oneonta a slim 2 point favorite. I'm taking the Red Dragons who are firing on all cylinders right now. Final score Oneonta 88 Brockport 84.       

[magicman]

Good luck to the Plattsburgh Cards as they take on #13 Middlebury!  If ever there was an opportunity for a conference to get a boost from a late season non conference win, then this is it!  I have always said that the Yac is at min a 3 bid league!  Let our conference win vs the cream of the crop from the NESCAC, and I'm preaching 4 teams from the Yac!

Go Cards!!

Go BENGALS!!

Bengalsrule,
Thanks for the cheer in the Cardinals game with Middlebury. That game is scheduled to be played on Tuesday Feb. 14th at 5:30 in Plattsburgh. The Cardinals will be up against it, as Middlebury is one of the top teams in the NESCAC conference and may be the best of all of them. The NESCAC stands a good chance of getting 4 teams into the NCAA tournament. It's not out of the question that 5 teams could come out of that conference. Middlebury, Tufts, Amherst and Wesleyan all look to be in good shape for at large bids if they don't win the conference. Williams is still alive as well.

In the East Region the chances of the YAC getting more than 2 teams into the dance are slim. It was slim before yesterday but now that Rochester lost to Chicago and fell 2 games behind Washington University it looks like the automatic bid from the UAA conference will be going to Wash U. Remember there is no tournament in that conference so the regular season champion gets the bid. That means that Rochester, the #1 team in the East Region will surely get the first at large bid from the East. Skidmore won yesterday over Hobart which kept them in 1st place in the Liberty League. At the moment they will host the Liberty League tournament. St. Lawrence, should they lose the automatic bid to Skidmore, will be in line for an at large bid from the East. They will get the 2nd bid from the East Region. St John Fisher may not win the Empire 8 conference and if they don't, they will be in contention for an at large bid. With Oswego's loss last night to Fredonia, I believe St. John Fisher will move ahead of Oswego in the next Regional Rankings this coming Wednesday.  Even if they do get the automatic E8 bid, that will leave the SUNYAC with the 3rd at large bid from the East. I'll be surprised if the East Region gets any more than 3 at large bids. The Northeast region will get a bunch as will the Central region. The other regions will get their fair share. With 8 regions and only 21 at large bids (2 more than last year, I believe) the chances of the East Region getting 4 at large bids are slim and none. We may not even get 3.

I certainly hope I'm wrong and you're right, but the numbers game just doesn't work in our favor. Maybe...possibly...there is the slimmest, and I do mean slimmest, chance that if this scenario (or something similar takes place) that we might get a 3rd team into the Dance. If Brockport wins out and loses in the semifinal game they will finish 20-6. If Oswego wins 2 of their last three (they lose to Brockport in the final game of the regular season) and then loses in the championship game of the YAC tournament they will finish 20-7. A third team, say Oneonta or Buffalo State, wins the conference tournament and gets the automatic bid. Then we may get both Oswego and Brockport receiving at large bids, but there is no guarantee that, even then, those two teams will get in.           

[magicman]

Updates:

Buffalo State leads Oswego State 55-50 with 9:23 left.

Oneonta leads Brockport 49-48 with 13:52 left.

Cortland leads Fredonia 62-51 with 7:48 left.

Geneseo leads New Paltz 62-48 with 7:41 left.

[magicman]

Oswego State defeats Buffalo State 69-68.

Controversy at the end of the game. Buffalo State was down 69-68 with 35 seconds to go and had the ball. They took a 3 point shot with 6 seconds left and the shot clock winding down. The ball appeared to hit the bottom of the rim and was rebounded by the Bengals' Jordan Chateau with 4.3 seconds left in the game. One of the refs blew his whistle and called a shot clock violation which didn't seem to be the case. And it was a late whistle. One of the other refs huddled with him but the call stood and Oswego got to take the ball out of bounds underneath the Bengals' basket. Bengals had to foul Brian Sortino who broke free and caught a long downcourt pass. He tried to dribble the clock out but was fouled with a second left. He missed the first free throw and looked at his bench for instruction on what to do for the 2nd free throw. Coach Leone gave him the "don't make it" sign and he intentionally missed it to tick off the final second and the Lakers won the game.

[magicman]

Brockport State 89  Oneonta State 86

Another nail biter that came down to the final shot. Brockport was up by 3 points at 87-84 with 14 seconds left. Oneonta tried to get a good look at a 3 pointer to tie the game but the Golden Eagles defended the 3 point line and Harrison Deegan broke to the basket for a layup to bring them within a point but only left 3 seconds on the clock. Oneonta immediately fouled on the Brockport inbounds pass sending Hamed Shamseldin to the line. He made both free throws with 2.4 seconds on the clock. Oneonta tried a long pass downcourt that was knocked out of bounds by Brockport. That gave the Red Dragons 2 seconds to inbound the ball at halfcourt and attempt a 3 point shot for the tie. The ball came to Frankie Kelly who was under heavy pressure. He did manage to get a shot off that went in and out at the buzzer (I did hear him call the bank shot ). Tough loss for the Red Dragons.

[magicman]

Geneseo 82  New Paltz 57

The Knights were up early in this one and never threatened. The R&D show carried the day.

[magicman]

Cortland 75  Fredonia 56

The Red Dragons were up early in this one and were never threatened. Zach Lydon again the high man for the day 

[AllStar]