MBB: State University of New York Athletic Conference

[jdex]

Confirmed!! These Bears in Potsdam tonight were grizzlies .....not teddys. No Potsdamer scored in double figures Friday ......all starters did tonight. What a turnaround, including Saturday! Oswego by 13 with 7' left in first half. Potsdam by 38-36 at half on S. Clement '3'. And with 10:46 left in the game Bears led by 13. OSt twice within four in waning moments. B. Siskavich answers with trey once, and B. Graney points halt second rush at 1:12. Bears then stretch it out. Oswego 10x39 in 3s, 24x80fg as T. Downing goes 2x16fg, 2x11 3s for 6 pts. Pdam 26x63fg, 6x13 3s, 17x21ft as A. Dike 17 pts(6x12fg), 11 rebs; D. Brown 15 pts(5x10fg); Siskavich 14 pts(4x12fg), 12 rebs; T. Kelso 14 pts(6x13fg, 9 rebs; Graney 12 pts(4x9fg). Bears 46-35 reb edge. OSt gets C. Burridge 16 pts(7x17fg), 14 rebs; K. Reuter 14 pts(5x17fg); S. Francois in bench role for 12 pts(4x7fg) in 32'

[thebear]

Ya gotta love the 'YAC.

Potsdam gets blown out last night, arrives home at 3 AM after a delightful trip through the Lake Ontario snow belt.

Oswego standout Tom Downing had a forgettable night, 2x16 FG, (2x11 3FG) 6 AST's but 5 turnovers

Oswego First Year Chad Burridge is following in brother Mat's footsteps with 16 pts & 14 rebounds.  He and Potsdam first year Tom Kelso (14pts, 9 rebounds, one thunder dunk) are sure to have some classic battles during the next few years.

Bears have a week off to regroup before Bear Pride night and televised (Time Warner sports) Men's & Women's games vs. Plattsburgh on Friday Feb 6th.

5 SUNYAC teams with three losses, so still anyone's regular season title to claim.

[magicman]

Magic-you, Bear & I better start praying for some wins here as our beloved Cards, Bears, & Knights seem to be marching toward oblivion.  I would hate to see the only north country marching in a positive direction to be left to the Saints!!!!

with age,
I guess "thebear" prayed harder than you or I did last night as Potsdam stops Oswego while our clubs took it on the chin.  Of the 3 teams I think the Bears have the best chance to make the playoffs. I think they go no worse than 3-3 in their remaining 6 games which would give them a 6th or 7th seed in the SUNYAC tournament. They need to have a better record than Fredonia to get the 6th seed as Freds owns the tiebreaker over them. Blue Devils have tougher schedule down the stretch and if the Bears can go 4-2 I think the 6th seed is theirs. Don't think they can get higher than that but it's not out of the question as Cortland also faces a tough stretch with 8 conference games to play including 3 teams currently in front of them. And Bears do get to play Cortland on Feb 17th in Potsdam, but have to win that game to have any chance of overtaking the Red Dragons. Revenge also will be on Potsdam's agenda, to atone for the 76-50 pasting they got last night.
As we've found out in the SUNYAC this year there is no dominant team and from what I've seen, anyone of the current top 7 teams can win it all. Everyone is struggling on the road so the home court advantage is huge and will probably determine the winner.

I didn't think your Knights would be 2-5 after the 1st half of the league schedule. But as bad as that is you're still only a game out of the 4th and final playoff spot. Needless to say must win situations when you play Union and Hobart again.  With 5 of your final 7 games at home you need to go 4-1 at Alumni Gym and 1-1 on the road. Hobart has 5 road games left  and Union 4 so they both have a real possibility of going 3-4 in the 2nd round robin and both ending up at 6-8 or worse. I think 7-7 will cop the 4th playoff spot. I'll be rooting for you.

As for my Cardinals nothing short of a miracle is needed after the disasterous results of this past weekend. Even with a weekend sweep our chances weren't great as we finish up with 5 of 6 on the road. Having 1 road win all year and that being non-conference didn't exactly have me feeling good about our chances. But 2 wins this weekend would have gotten us to 5-5 and maybe our young players would start playing with a bit more confidence. Now instead we're 3-7 and unless we go at least 3-3 down the stretch(which would give us a 6-10 conf. record) I don't see the playoffs in our future. Cardinals are currently in 10th place so the 2 teams we have to climb over are New Paltz and Brockport. We do get to play winless Morrisville twice and end the season at New Paltz, who hasn't won a game since they lost 3 of their top players for the season, 5 games ago. New Paltz currently with a 4-5 record will be hard pressed to win 3 of their final 7 games as they have to face the top teams plus Oneonta twice. Brockport with only 2 conference wins would have to go 5-3 in their final 8 games to beat out the Cards as we own the head to head tiebreaker over them. So I guess Plattsburgh is still alive but barely.                  

[thebear]

Actually, I had pretty much given up the ghost.  After the odoriferous performance at Cortland on Friday, the five hour trip in the snowstorm to arrive in Potsdam at 3AM, and playing badly enough to be behind 13 in 13 minutes on Saturday, I was convinced that you could stick a fork in the Bears and was ready to call it a night and head home.

Then the Maroon & Grey suddenly came to life, went on a 21-6 run to end the half, and extended, and answered every Oswego surge with stops at the right time.  Still didn't understand the incessant chucking by the Lakers.  With their size and athleticism, letting the guards bomb away doesn't seem to be a sound strategy.

Potsdam does catch a break in the schedule, with 4 of their 6 remaining games against the bottom four teams.  Plattsburgh is Friday night on Bear Pride night, with a regionally televised contest.  Bears also  have Cortland at home on Senior night, so there will be some pride involved, and a tough road swing vs. 'port & Geneseo, plus Home vs. Morrisville, and end the season with a singleton at New Paltz.

With four teams (NP sans top three scorers, dangerous 'port & Plattsburgh, plus Morrisville) with really poor W-L,   the conference is going to be scrambled eggs, there will be a whole bunch of teams (5,6,7) with 10-6 and 9-7 records, and with an unbalanced schedule, the tiebreakers kinda suck, e.g. Oswego only plays Potsdam once, at Potsdam, Buff St & Fredonia only play Potsdam once, but at home...

Lets face it, this is a one bid conference this year.  Any of the top 8 teams can beat anyone else, at home or on the road.  The regular season champion, assuming it makes it past round 1, will have the home court advantage and sleep in their own beds. 

February makes me shiver! & alas, I won't be at the SUNYAC this year as I have to go south for my Dad's memorial service on 2/27.

[jdex]

Cortland buries New Paltz 73-44
Geneseo shades Brockport 62-61
Plattsburgh crushes Morrisville 80-47

[jdex]

Fredonia halts streaking Buffalo St. 61-58
Oswego sees 11 pt. halftime lead disappear in 69-68 loss at Utica whose J. Patterson bucket at 0:05 decides it

[magicman]

Plattsburgh up by double digits early on, increases lead to 38-20 at the break. Extend lead to 31 with 6:00 left. Cardinals had bench players in from 10 min mark on. Brad Mader leads 4 players in double figures with 18 pts. Chris Ruiz adds 17, Josh Bruno with 11 and Errol Daniyan chips in with 10. Morrisville led by Elonzo Wilson with 11.

[jdex]

Geneseo prevails on M. Hoy layin in closing seconds after leading nearly entire game. Gens by as many as 12 in first half which ends with Knights holding 28-26 edge. Brockport takes point lead at 9:55 but Knights retake upper hand till tied at 1:35 on M. Wilkes '3'. Gens back to fore and up 60-59 on J. Howe ft at 0:39. Misses second toss. Bport's B. Brooks connects on two ft for lead at 0:35. Gens S. Morton misses ft pair but bailed out by Hoy. Morton 16 pts(6x15fg, 2x7 3s), 5 rebs, 6 assts, 3 stls in 40'; Howe 16 pts(4x6fg, 8x12ft), 9 rebs; K. Stevens 12 pts(5x8fg, 2x5 3s), 10 rebs). Knights 21x44fg, 16x25ft. Bport's Wilkes 26 pts(8x17fg, 5x12 3s), 3 stls; E. Kays 10 pts, 8 rebs; I. Mack 7 assts

Cortland coasts. Builds 36-16 lead at half and gets overall squared at 9-9. Eleven RDragons figure in points. W. Coston 14 pts(5x8fg, 2x4 3s), 4 assts in 27'; S. Manning 12 pts(5x7fg, 2x4 3s); C. Niehoff 9 pts, 7 rebs; R. Evans 7 rebs. CSt 29x61fg. Bench outscores NP 33-0. Just 8 trnvrs after season-low 4 vs. Pdam. NP 16x57fg, 2x21 3s. C. Cornine 16 pts(6x15fg) in 37'; H. Wichard 13 pts, M. Hauser 12 pts. No L. Bertram

Oswego has UC down 39-28 at half. Lakers S. Francois hits two ft for late edge .....J. Patterson layup UC winner at 0:05. Francois 19 pts(7x13fg), 9 rebs; T. Downing 15 pts(5x10fg, 3x6 3s), 7 assts, 3 stls in 40'; K. Reuter 14 pts(5x16fg); C. Brundige 11 rebs. UC's D. Herrings 12 pts, 5 assts; AJ Trahms 11 pts; J. Smith 10 pts. OSt 23x62fg, 8x23 3s, 14x15ft, outboarded 41-34

[magicman]

Updated SUNYAC standings through games of 2-3-09

1.   Oneonta 8-3   13-7
2.   Geneseo 7-3   13-6
2.   Oswego 7-3    11-7
4.   Cortland 6-3    9-9
5.   Buff. St   7-4    10-9
6.   Fredonia 7-5    13-6
7.   Potsdam  5-5  8-11
8.   New Paltz 4-6   7-12
9.   Plattsburgh 4-7  6-13
10. Brockport  2-7   6-12
11. Morrisville 0-11  2-16

[jdex]

Fredonia chased Buffalo St. a good deal. Latter led 30-28 at half. Game's 12th and final tie came with 2:02 left on Freds J. Bryant ft. Second toss gave Devils lead for keeps. BS 59-57 approach in closing moments and AJ White went make-miss at ft line. Bryant finished scoring on ft's. Freds K. Mitchell 15 pts(7x8fg) in 29'; Bryant 13 pts(4x8fg), 5 rebs, 4pf in 24'; B. Cooper 11 pts, 5 rebs. Winners 26x53fg, 2x11 3s, 7x10ft. Bengal J. Gray 19 pts(6x10fg), 5 rebs, 2 assts, 2 stls; A. Speed 8 rebs; White 5 assts, 3 stls. BS 18x47fg, 3x10 3s, 19x25ft

[thebear]

My take on how this season is evolving.

Dave

Oswego   (7-3)
Balance of Schedule at Home, Key games hosting Cortland, Geneseo, Oneonta, Buffalo St. Will have a large part in determining regular season champion

Oneonta   (8-3)
Three of remaining 5 games vs. NP & Morrisville.  Wins @ Cortland & Oswego could lock up #1 spot

Geneseo   (7-3)
Tough road games at Oswego,  Fredonia,  Brockport, Has already lost to Potsdam

Buffalo St.   (7-4)
New Paltz is only non-contender in schedule.  Loss to Fredonia slowed momentum.
Games @ Brockport, Oswego, vs. Cortland Fredonia will influence top seed

Fredonia   (7-5)
Tough remaining schedule, no weak links, will definitely influence
who gets top 4 seeds.  Along with Medici, Moore is contender for coach of the year

Potsdam   (5-5)
Most inconsistent team in the conference.  Could sweep the remaining games
or could lose 5 of 6.  Which Potsdam team will show up?  The one that beat Geneseo & Oswego or the one that lost by 26 to Cortland

Cortland   (6-3)
Brutal remaining schedule.  No sure win.  Facing the top of the conference
and 5 of 7 remaining on the road.  Could be anywhere from 12-4 to 8-8

Brockport   (2-7)
Has underachieved, but has 6 of last 7 at home, and road game at Morrisville.
Must win vs. Plattsburgh to neutralize tiebreaker.  This team has way too much talent to miss the playoffs.

Plattsburgh   (4-7)
Young team, very talented, freshmen and sophomores have a full season under their belts All of remaining schedule on the road.  Has been competitive consistently, but can't    finish off opponents.  Wins vs. Morrisville, NP & Brockport should secure #8 seed.

New Paltz   (4-6)
Has lost 5 in a row, lost 3 top players to academics, enough talent to upset someone but hasn't been competitive in last two contests

Morrisville   (0-11)
Lost by 33 in their last outing to the 9th place team. 0-16 likely.

[Pat Coleman]

Just a reminder that Oneonta coach Vince Medici will be one of our guests on Hoopsville tonight. The show airs from 6-8 ET and he will be in the second hour, along with our East Region reporter, J.C. DeLass.

http://www.d3hoops.com/hoopsville/tunein.php

[magicman]

My take on how this season is evolving.

Dave

Oneonta   (8-3)
Three of remaining 5 games vs. NP & Morrisville.  Wins @ Cortland & Oswego could lock up #1 spot

Geneseo   (7-3)
Tough road games at Oswego,  Fredonia,  Brockport, Has already lost to Potsdam

Buffalo St.   (7-4)
New Paltz is only non-contender in schedule.  Loss to Fredonia slowed momentum.
Games @ Brockport, Oswego, vs. Cortland Fredonia will influence top seed

Fredonia   (7-5)
Tough remaining schedule, no weak links, will definitely influence
who gets top 4 seeds.  Along with Medici, Moore is contender for coach of the year

Potsdam   (5-5)
Most inconsistent team in the conference.  Could sweep the remaining games
or could lose 5 of 6.  Which Potsdam team will show up?  The one that beat Geneseo & Oswego or the one that lost by 26 to Cortland

Cortland   (6-3)
Brutal remaining schedule.  No sure win.  Facing the top of the conference
and 5 of 7 remaining on the road.  Could be anywhere from 12-4 to 8-8

Brockport   (2-7)
Has underachieved, but has 6 of last 7 at home, and road game at Morrisville.
Must win vs. Plattsburgh to neutralize tiebreaker.  This team has way too much talent to miss the playoffs.

Plattsburgh   (4-7)
Young team, very talented, freshmen and sophomores have a full season under their belts All of remaining schedule on the road.  Has been competitive consistently, but can't    finish off opponents.  Wins vs. Morrisville, NP & Brockport should secure #8 seed.

New Paltz   (4-6)
Has lost 5 in a row, lost 3 top players to academics, enough talent to upset someone but hasn't been competitive in last two contests

Morrisville   (0-11)
Lost by 33 in their last outing to the 9th place team. 0-16 likely.

Bear,

I guess that big win over Oswego last week made you forget about the Lakers. Being 1 of the 4 teams with only 3 losses they have a slight schedule advantage due to the fact they get to play the other 3 loss teams at home. They actually play 5 of their final 6 games at home. However, Oneonta, as you mentioned really has the easiest finish. I think the top spot comes down to that Oswego-Oneonta matchup on Feb. 14th in Oswego.

[thebear]

OPERATOR ERROR

Actually I think the Laker's are odds on favorites to win the top spot.  As magic points out, the games vs. Oneonta will decide a lot.

When I did a cut and paste, I guess I didn't select the lakers.

My apologies

[magicman]

Another barnburner at Jerry Welsh gymnasium tonight in Potsdam as Potsdam St. comes from behind to beat Plattsburgh St. 64-60.