MBB: State University of New York Athletic Conference

[magicman]

So any guesses as to which SUNYAC team now possesses the longest winning streak among conference teams. You guessed it and yes they do, as the magic continues for my Alma Mater, the Potsdam State Bears, who go on the road and win their 3rd straight to start the season. (4th in a row counting last year, as "thebear" will be so quick to remind me if I didn't mention it)

Tonight the Bears traveled to Mount St. Mary and defeated the Knights by an 84-81 final score. I had their number pegged as I said it would be 84-72 but the Knights put a few more on the board than I thought they would.

This one was a close affair throughout as there were numerous ties and lead changes and it looked like the Knights were going to have the upper hand as they forged a halftime lead of 43-35 which was the largest lead of the game. But the Bears scored the first 11 points of the 2nd period (that hasn't happened in a while I don't think ) and took back the lead at 46-43. Three ties and five lead changes would follow over the next 3  minutes until Potsdam went back in front 60-59 on a Dante Viskovich 3 pointer with 10:30 left to play. The Bears would maintain a slim lead for the next 9 minutes until the Knights finally caught them at 78-78 with 1:28 remaining. Reigning Player of the Week, Nosa Onabor, went to the line and knocked down a pair of free throws but the Knights scored inside to knot it up once again. The Bears went back to Onabor and again he was fouled and again he made both shots to give Potsdam the lead for good. The Knights had a chance to tie it from the line with 5 seconds left but missed the first free throw and made the 2nd. Potsdam went back to the line and made 1 of 2 to make it 83-81. The Bears committed a foul with 2 seconds left and gave Mount St. Mary one last chance to steal this game but they missed both free throws and the Bears got one more from the line to make it 84-81.

Danny Delsol-Lowry led the Bears with 14 points. He was also the team leader in rebounds with 8, assists with 4 and steals with 2. Nosa Onabor had 13 points, 3 rebounds, and 2 assists. Dante Viskovich also had 13 points, 3 rebounds and 2 steals. Tyreke Guthrie had 8 points and 7 rebounds.

Mount St. Mary was led by Tyler McDine with 23 points and 5 rebounds. Connor Bacci had 17 points and 7 rebounds. Gerard Nocera had 13 points and a team high 8 rebounds.

The Bears haven't been 3-0 since November 22nd 2008, nine years ago. They are only 56 wins from tying the DIII record that a previous Potsdam State team owns. (OK I can dream can't I) I would settle for winning the next 3 games. 

The Bears will return to action on November 28th when they take on crosstown rival Clarkson College at 8:00 PM.

[All-Time]

The SUNYAC was rocking last night.
Couldn't be Happier for Potsdam on a 4 game winning streak and New Paltz.
Hopefully those 2 programs are on the mend.
Have a Wonderful Thanksgiving and Enjoy the time with your Families.
Let's GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

[magicman]

The SUNYAC extended their winning streak to 6 games when Fredonia beating Waynesburg 89-81 last Wednesday night to break into the win column. The Blue Devils are the only team in action again today with a 3:00 PM tipoff.

Nov. 25   
Medaille  @ Fredonia State  3:00 PM

I think the Blue Devils will have a harder time of it against the Mavericks today and will find themselves on the short end of the scoreboard. The oddsmakers have Medaille favored by 4 points and that seems about right. The Mavericks hung with Nazareth only losing by a 100-97 score. The Golden Flyers had their all star playe,r Tyler Stenglein, playing in that game and he went off for 30 points. Buffalo State won a hard fought game over Nazareth and they didn't have Stenglein.

Medaille wins this game by a final score of 78-71, but I hope I'm wrong and Fredonia keeps the YAC winning streak alive.     

[magicman]

Medaille defeats Fredonia State by a 78-65 final score.

I got half of it right as I had Medaille winning 78-71. The Mavericks played a little better defense than I thought they would and the Blue Devils came up empty in their final 4 possessions.

Medaille trailed early on but finally took the lead at 12-10 at the 13:49 mark of the first half. They exended the lead to 22-13 with 11 minutes to go and when the Blue Devils narrowed the gap to 25-22 at the 8:24 mark, the Mavericks  used an 8-2 run to open up more daylight and went into the half up 35-29.

The teams traded buckets for the early part of the 2nd period and Medaiile, up 42-37 then used another burst to open up a double digit 50-39 advantage, with 13:52 to play. They increased that margin to a game high 14 points at 60-46 with 8:49 left to play, but the Blue Devils responded with a 12-4 run to cut it to 64-58 with 3:46 to go. 6 unanswered points built the lead back to 12 and this one was over. The Mavericks hit 6 straight free throws en route to the final 13 point margin of 78-65.

The Blue Devils had 4 guys in double figures. led by Dante Williams with 16 points and 8 rebounds. Ian Helps had 14 points and 6 rebounds, while Kay Jackson had 12 points, 3 steals, 3 rebounds and a pair of assists. Isaiah Ice had 11 poins and 3 helpers.

Medaille got a game high 22 points from Justice Fagan. Fagan also had 3 sreals, 2 assists and 2 rebounds. Kirk Hawkins added 14 points, 5 steals and 3 assists.

Fredonia won the rebounding battle 40-30, but turned the ball over 19 times to only 14 for Medaille. The Mavericks had 10 three pointers to 6 for the Blue Devils. Medaille got plenty of help from their bench players who scored 34 points while Fredonia's reserves only scored 12 points.

The Blue Devils are now 1-4 on the season and will be be back in action on Friday, December 1st when they travel to Plattsburgh to open conference play against the Cardinals at 7:30 PM.

 

[magicman]

I wanted to write up a bit about New Paltz getting their first win on Tuesday night November 21st but ran out of time with the holiday approaching. So here is a brief summary of that game.

The Hawks were 4 point underdogs against local rival Vassar College  but managed to come away with a 79-72 victory. I predicted that one to be 71-67 win by the Hawks, so I wasn't far off on the outcome.

The first half was tightly contested as the teams went back and forth for the entire period resulting in 9 lead changes and 7 ties. Vassar up 35-34 made a pair of free throws with 22 seconds left in the half to take a 37-34 lead into the break.

The 2nd half was more of the same with the teams trading punches for the first 7 minutes and Vassar holding a slim 50-49 lead. The Hawks then put together a 13-4 run to give them the largest lead of the game at 62-54. 5 different players scored during that run led by a pair of dunks from Brandon Guest and a 3 pointer by Dylan Balducci. Vassar used a couple of 3 pointers to claw back into the game and only trailed 64-62 with 7:26 left to play, but the Hawks held onto and extended the lead back to 73-66 with just over 4 minutes to go. New Paltz the hit 6 of 8 free throws down the stretch to hold off the Brewers and come away with their first win of the season and first win since November 29th of 2016.

Dylan Balducci came off the bench and made 5 of 7 shots from downtown to lead all scorers with 25 points. He was 10x15 overall from the field. Corey Garcia and Tristan Wissemann had nearly identical stat lines as they both had 14 points, 4 rebounds and 2 assists. Nick Arthur had 9 points and a team high 8 rebounds.
Brandon Guest filled up the stat sheet with 7 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, and 2 steals.

Vassar was led by Jesse Browne with 22 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists. Paul Grinde had 17 points and a  game high 9 rebounds.

The Hawks won all 3 shooting categories but were outrebounded by a 42-33 margin. Vassar had 17 turnovers to only 10 for the Hawks.

New Paltz, now 1-2,  returns to the hardwood on Tuesday Nov. 28th when they travel to Hamilton College for a 7:00 PM tipoff. 

[magicman]

Nov. 27   Only 1 game on tap today and it's just under way even though it was a 5:30 start.   

Brockport        Medaille        5:30 PM

The oddsmakers have the Golden Eagles favored by a slim 2 point margin in this one. I think they win it by a larger margin than that. Medaille handled Fredonia 78-65 the other night, but they won't be so lucky tonight. Final score... Brockport 77 Medaille 67. 

[magicman]

Brockport defeats Medaille by a 90-75 final score.

The Golden Eagles scored a few more than I predicted of my 77-67 final score. but it's not surprising since the Mavericks were allowing almost 84 points a game. Port only averaged 69.5 ppg going into this contest but put up some numbers tonight. Five players hit for double digits led by Hamed Shamseldin who found himself with a Triple Double of 26 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists, all game highs in each category. That's the kind of night most players can only dream about. That should be enough to get him SUNYAC Player of the Week honors even if he didn't play another game this week. Funny thing is he has 3 MORE games this week. Not often you have a 4 game week on your schedule. Coach Dunne must have been making out this schedule in the wee hours of the morning and was undergoing some serious sleep deprivation. Up next is undefeated Hobart (who has just knocked off 2 Top 25 Teams to open the season and will probably find themselves ranked in the Top 25 when it comes out later today). The Golden Eagles end this stretch with a weekend set, on the road, against New Paltz State and Oneonta State.

Sophomore Justin Summers just missed his own double-double with 16 points and 9 boards. Josh Nelson had 16 points as well and Tyler Collins added 13 points. Starter David Clark had 10 points and 5 boards also.

The Golden Eagles jumped out to an early lead and quickly built it to double digits 7 minutes into the contest at 16-5. The lead continued to grow and reached a first half high of 20 points at 46-26 with 2:28 to play. The 2nd half was more of the same as the Mavericks could never get the lead back into single digits. They did manage to close within 11 points briefly at 69-58 but on Port's next possession Shamseldin buried another 3 pointer and the Eagles built the lead back to 20 points once again.

Brockport won all 3 shooting statistics, and shot 60% from the 3 point line hitting 15 of 25 from downtown. Medaille was also pretty good from deep as they shot 40% hitting 12 of 30 from the arc. Usually 12 made three pointers translates into a win.

Medaille was led by Meghale Ford with 19 points, 4 boards and 3 assists.   Joe Piotrowski chipped in with 14 points, while Mike Hollenbeck had 13 points and 6 rebounds.

Brockport improves to 2-1 overall and will take on visiting Hobart in Tuttle North Gym tomorrow at 7:00 PM.
 

[magicman]

Just checked the D3hoops Top 25 page and a new poll has been released.

Rochester with 181 points moves up a spot from the Preseason poll to occupy the #15 ranking. The Yellowjackets lost to Hobart but are still ranked ahead of the Statesmen who check into the poll for the first time at #19 with 158 points. Hobart also defeated St John Fisher to open the season when the Cardinals were ranked  #19.

Skidmore picked to come in 2nd place behind Hobart in the Liberty League moves from #28 in the ORV category to #20 this week with 154 points a gain of an even 100, after getting 54 votes last week.

St John Fisher tumbles out of the Top 25 and is now in the Others Receiving Votes category with just 6 points.

Plattsburgh State and Oswego State are not mentioned at all this week and no other team from the SUNYAC made the list.

Here's a link to the Top 25:  http://www.d3hoops.com/top25/men/2017-18/week-1

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

I'd have to go check my ballot to be sure, but all six of those SJF votes might've been from me.  I had the chance to see them in person twice and take an extra look at their results, having been at the Great Lakes Invitational.  I think they're better than their record and I was willing to give them the benefit of the doubt early.  Consistency will be their issue - if they can avoid the bad losses, I'm willing to keep riding with them, at least near the bottom of the poll for now.

[fisheralum91]

Hoops fan,
Thanks for the votes 
I think that Fisher rebounded from a tough opening non conference schedule with a solid (blowout)  win over Wooster.
Here is hoping that they have righted the ship and we ride this team to an E8 title!

[Dave 'd-mac' McHugh]

I'd have to go check my ballot to be sure, but all six of those SJF votes might've been from me.  I had the chance to see them in person twice and take an extra look at their results, having been at the Great Lakes Invitational.  I think they're better than their record and I was willing to give them the benefit of the doubt early.  Consistency will be their issue - if they can avoid the bad losses, I'm willing to keep riding with them, at least near the bottom of the poll for now.

I certainly considered Ryan's thoughts on the team as he has shared them with me. However, I just couldn't find a spot on my poll for them right now. I will look forward to see the consistency come together and they improve. I certainly think they could be a Top 25 team, but the start of the season was a bit rougher than I expected.

[fisheralum91]

Lets see how they fare in the coming weeks and would love to re evaluate!

[magicman]

Nov. 28       Nine games on tap in the YAC tonight   

SUNY Delhi  @  Buffalo State        7:00 PM

The Bengals take on another non D3 school and look to extend their winning streak to 3 games.  The oddsmakers have made the Bengals a 20 point favorite in this game but I'm not sure why. Hard to gauge these non D3 schools but Delhi and Buff State both lost to Villa Maria by about the same margin (5 and 6 points respectively). I think the Bengals win this one but the score should be closer than the 20 point spread. Buffalo State 90 Delhi 81.
   
New Paltz State  @  Hamilton        7:00 PM

The Hawks won't get a chance to savor their win the other night over Vassar College for very long, as the Continentals bring them crashing back to earth. The oddsmakers have made Hamilton a 24 point favorite in this one. Hard to bet against them when they already own wins over Oswego State and Western Connecticut.
Hamilton wins this one but I think the Hawks keep it closer than a 24 point margin. Hamilton 84 New Paltz 71. 


Oswego State  @  Nazareth        7:00 PM

The Lakers are hoping they get the same luck as the Bengals did the other night and discover the Golden Flyers are without their top player Tyler Stenglein tonight. If they do face off against Stenglein  and his teammates I think that Nazareth will prevail in a hard fought contest, 84-80. The point spread favors the Golden Flyers by a slim 2 point margin, so without Stenglein, I'll take Oswego to walk off with the win, 83-80.
                                                                                                                                                                                                               
Geneseo State  @  Alfred        7:00 PM

The Knights travel to Mayberry to take on the Saxons and will find themselves in a close contest. The point spread favors the Knights by a 3 point margin and I can see this one coming down to the wire. Geneseo wins 75-72.

Hobart  @  Brockport State        7:00 PM

The Golden Eagles play their 2nd of 4 games this week and this should be the toughest one they face as the Statesmen have opened the season with a pair of wins over ranked opponents and now find themselves ranked at #19 in the country. The oddsmakers only show Hobart favored by a single point so they think this game could go either way. I really hope Brockport wins this game but I think they will come out on the short end. Hobart has a deep team and they have won both of their games by a double digit margin. The Statesmen remain unbeaten as they ground the Golden Eagles by a 78-70  final score. Hope I'm wrong though.   
   
St. Lawrence  @  Plattsburgh State  7:30 PM

Last year the Saints put a licking on my Cardinals over there. It was their first win over the Cardinals in 8 years. I don't think they will be starting a winning streak. The Cardinals come into this game looking for their first win of the season after losing a pair of games to ranked opponents. The Saints also opened with a pair of losses before defeating Canton last week. The oddsmakers have the Saints listed as 2 point favorites in this one but I think the Cardinals will win and by a few more than that. Plattsburgh State takes this one 86-78.

Oneonta State  @  Hartwick        8:00 PM

Local rivals battle it out for regional bragging rights. Last year's game went right down to the wire as the Hawks pulled out an 85-83 win. Hartwick has won 7 of the last 10 meetings and I think they might be a bit too much for the Red Dragons again this year. The point spread favors Oneonta by a slim 2 points but The Hawks played Skidmore 10 days ago and they were a single point from the lead with 2:49 left in the game.
I'm picking the Hawks to win this track meet by an 89-85 final score. But I sure hope I'm wrong.
 
Potsdam State  @  Clarkson        8:00 PM

The Bears are hot and the Knights are not. And since Clarkson has won the last 5 games and 9 of the past 11 the Bears will be looking for some payback. Can Coach Bechtel get his troops up for this crosstown rivalry? I think he does and I'm picking the Bears to extend their winning streak and remain undefeated. Seeking their 4th straight win this season and 5th overall dating back to last year's finale, the Bears will  come into the game as 9 point underdogs. I think the experts are reading the wrong set of tea leaves. Potsdam State 81 Clarkson 76

Cortland State  @  Ithaca        8:00 PM

Cortaca Bowl II because the two coaches didn't get enough of each other 2 weeks ago. Usually these teams meet once a year having done so for at least the past 11 years. Cortland held a 6-5 lead in those games and moved in front by 2 games with a victory on 11-15 by a 70-66 score. The Bombers want revenge but will be a 4 point underdog at tip off time. Both teams with only 2 games under their belt, a game against each other and they both thrashed Canton by wide margins. Tonight could get interesting as rivalry games have a tendency to do, but I'm picking the Red Dragons to double their pleasure this year and double their fun...Cortland 82 Ithaca 74

[amh63]

Magicman...see you are going full bore here, as usual!  Rumor has it that you are  slowing down...Retired?.  Let me know so I will not call you at work to chat.
In any case, there is a post from Old Guy on the Nescac board.....wondering if you will "grace" the Middlebury game.  Your Midd admirers miss you .

[middhoops]

Not sure which admirers you speak of amh63.  Vandy74 and I made a semi-pilgrimage to Saratoga Springs last week to take in a Skidmore/Plattsburgh game with the magicman.