MBB: State University of New York Athletic Conference

[magicman]

Plattsburgh St. and Geneseo traded early leads until an 11-3 Blue Knights run gave them the advantage at 17-11 with 9:07 gone in the 1st period. Cardinals switch to a zone defense and  return the favor with a 13-0 run of their own to go up 24-17 with 3:35 left in the half. Up 26-21, with a minute to play, the Cards Chris Ruiz buries a three and Carl Munnerlyn follows with a driving layup to take the Cardinals into the break up 31-21. Plattsburgh opens up the 2nd half with 6 quick pts after a Geneseo basket extending the lead to 14 at 37-23 and forcing a Blue knights time out. Cardinals continue to maintain a double digit lead and are still up by 12 at 55-43 with 10 minutes left to play. Geneseo led by Brandon Simpson with 10 points comes charging back and closes to within 1 at 63-62 with 4:23 remaining. The teams exchange baskets and the Cardinals up 67-66 gain the upper hand on a Ruiz jumper with 2:58 left. Both teams go cold over the next 2:34 and the score remains 69-66 until Geneseo misses a 3 point attempt and Errol Daniyan grabs the rebound and is fouled with 24 seconds left. Daniyan hits 1 of 2 to make it a 2 possession game. Blue Knights miss another 3 point attempt and Daniyan is fouled again and this time makes both shots to extend the lead to 72-66. Geneseo's Mike Hoy hits a 3 with 2 seconds left for the games final points.

Cardinals were led once again by reigning SUNYAC PLayer of the Week, Chris Ruiz, the game's high scorer with 20 points (6x18 fg, 4x8 3's 4x5 ft), 6 rebounds 2 assists and 2 steals. Carl Munnerlyn with 19 points was a perfect 5 for 5 from beyond the arc with 4 of them coming in the 2nd half. He finished 7x11 from the field. Errol Daniyan added 18 pts (7x11 fg, 4x6 ft) and grabbed 8 rebounds along with 4 blocked shots. Steve Thomas had an off night shooting the ball (2x11 fg, 1x5 3's 2x7 ft) and only scored 7 pts, well below his 16.9 average but grabbed 8 boards and 5 assists. For the game the Cardinals shot 25x58 (43.1%) from the field, 10x18 (55.6%) from beyond the arc, thanks to Munnerlyn, and 12x20 (60%) from the line. Plattsburgh was out rebounded 37-33  and had 13 turnovers to 15 for the Blue Knights.

Geneseo also placed 3 players in double figures led by Brandon Simpson with 19 pts (7x22 fg, 5x7 ft). Abe Miller and Kyle Stevens both had double-doubles. Miller scored 16 pts (7x9 fg, 2x3 ft) with 11 rebounds and 2 blocks. Stevens had 13 pts (6x13 fg, 1x4 3's,) and 12 boards. Blue Knights shot 27x61 (44.3%) from the field, 5x11 3's (45.5%) and 10x13 (76.9%) from the charity stripe.
     

[magicman]

The showdown in Plattsburgh tomorrow afternoon with Brockport has lost a little of its' luster as the Golden Eagles can no longer claim the top seed if they beat the Cardinals. The Oneonta Red Dragons will be rooting real hard for the Eagles  to feast on the Cardinals. A Plattsburgh win would give the 13-5 Cards the top seed, followed by 13-5 Oneonta (Burgh holds the tiebreaker over them with 2-0 head to head record.) Cortland with a win at Fredonia would be 11-7 and the 3 seed by virtue of the 2-0 head to head record against Brockport who would end up as the 4th seed. A loss by Cortland would give Brockport the 3rd seed and Cortland the 4th seed.

A Brockport victory tomorrow would give Oneonta the top seed with a 13-5 best record in the conference, Brockport would be the 2 seed with a 12-6 record and hold the 2-0 head to head tiebreaker over 3rd seeded 12-6 PLattsburgh. Cortland at 11-7 or 10-8 would be the 4th seed whether it wins or loses  tomorrow since they hold the tiebreaker over both Buff St. and Fredonia. (If Cortland loses they are all 1-1 head to head and Cortland is 1-1 against Oneonta while the other 2 are 0-2 against Oneonta.)

   

[with age came?]

Magic - let us hope our "talented teams" show up for tomorrow's contests!!     Hey Bear they (daBears) exceeded expectations- good win to build on for next year!!

[magicman]

Magic - let us hope our "talented teams" show up for tomorrow's contests!!     Hey Bear they (daBears) exceeded expectations- good win to build on for next year!!

with age,
The Cardinals need to show up better than they have in their past few games. Their inability to put teams away at home has nearly cost them what they have worked so hard to attain. To go from a 3-4 league record on January 22nd and seemingly no chance to challenge for the top spot to a 12-5 record and be 1 win from the regular season crown has been fun to watch but a stumble now could be costly in their goal to get the automatic bid. I'm expecting another barnburner against Brockport that will probably come down to the final few possessions. I hope I'm wrong though. We need to exploit our height advantage and keep pounding the ball inside to Daniyan. If he gets his touches I think we'll be ok. He went for 27 and 18 against them in the 1st game. No reason to change that strategy. We just have to take care of the ball and limit the turnovers that Brockport is so capable of causing.

And yes, to "thebear",  congratulations to Potsdam (Alma Mater of mine and Mrs. magicman)  for the big upset tonight against Brockport. The Massey Ratings will have this as one of the 10 biggest upsets in college basketball this year. It's been a rough year for Coach Dobbs and the Bears but I know they'll be back. With everybody returning next year and hopefully a couple of big men recruits, they'll return to the playoff picture.   

[magicman]

Plattsburgh State wins another close one over Brockport 75-74. Details to follow

[jdex]

Cortland 56, Fredonia 50
Oswego 68, Buffalo St. 61
Potsdam 68, Geneseo 66

Oswego takes 7th seed for upcoming tourney (at Oneonta) and New Paltz winds up 8th (at Pburgh)

[jdex]

And believe third seed Cortland hosts No. 6 Fredonia, and No. 4 Bport entertains No. 5 Buffalo St.  Buffs and Freds both 9-9. Believe Buffs get tiebreaker, yes?

[magicman]

jdex,
Yes you are correct.

Oswego upsets host Buffalo State 68-61 and secures a playoff berth which would be the 7th seed since Geneseo lost.

Visiting Cortland knocks off Fredonia 56-50 and relegates the Blue Devils to the 6th seed in the upcoming playoffs. With the Cortland win and Brockport's loss to Plattsburgh today, the Red Dragons earn the #3 seed and the Golden Eagles fall to #4. Cortland will host Fredonia on Tuesday in a rematch of this afternoon's contest.

Brockport will host the Buffalo St. Bengals who ended up with the 5th seed despite their loss to Oswego today.

New Paltz owes Potsdam a big thank you as the Bears spring their 2nd beartrap in 2 nights and eliminate the Blue Knights from post season play. Potsdam, out of the playoffs and finishing dead last caused more shakeups in the playoff races than anybody with this weekend's play. Great way to end the season on a high note. Not quite sure I'm happy that the Cards now have to face New Paltz. Thought for sure it would be Geneseo or Oswego coming to the Burgh on Tuesday. I guess it doesn't matter. As a Plattsburgh player's father said to me today after watching another close game at Memorial Hall, "The entire SUNYAC conference is within about 5 points of one another".

[Bengalsrule]

Buffs and Freds both 9-9. Believe Buffs get tiebreaker, yes?

Yes! Tiebreaker going in favor of BENGALS who split with Cortland while Fredonia went 0-2 vs the Red Dragons. And trust me anyone in their right mind would rather travel to Brockport, who have gone  1-5 in their last 6 games after starting the SUNYAC season 10-2! That or at Cortland with it's Spanbauer mystique. I like the BENGALS chances Tuesday night.

  hmmmmm  some SUNYAC Playoff thoughts while trying to figure out if the Bills trade Marshawn to the Eagles for McNabb, or Vick.....

Quarterfinals
  Bengals over BPort ( a repeat of last Tuesdays game at BPort)

  Cortland Over Fredonia (a repeat of today)

  Plattsburgh over New Paltz ( although New Paltz beat the Cards in their last visit to Plattsburgh- do I hear UPSET ALERT magicman?)

and last but not least ...

  Oneonta over Oswego (but again another close 1- last game went double OT!)   Having listened to Oswego yelling and cheering as they approached their locker room after today's clutch win, they may just be traveling to Oneonta still overjoyed for having qualified for the playoffs today and not really focused on the red dragons.

Semi's
  Buff State gets revenge for buzzer beater at Plattsburgh 2 weeks ago! (I'm glad D3Hoops finally took it off their top videos). Fear not Plattsburgh gets an at-large birth!

  Oneonta easily beats Cortland

Finals
BENGALS....... (need you ask!)

CONGRATS magicman on your CARDS taking the regular season title! (Just like you predicted!!)

You gotta love this time of year!

[magicman]

Plattsburgh State completed their near worst to first finish by clinching the top seed in the upcoming SUNYAC tournament with a nail biting win over Brockport.
Both teams seemed a little tight as numerous turnovers and missed shots resulted in a 4-4 tie after nearly 6 minutes of play. After 5 ties and several lead changes the Cardinals forged a 23-16 point lead with 6:13 remainig in the half. The lead increased to 9 at 30-21 but Port's Anthony Hall hit a 3 and Zack McTigue scored seconds later to cut the lead to 4, 30-26 at the break.
The 2nd half was more of the same as Plattsburgh maintained a slight advantage through the first 5 minutes of play. The Cards were up 39-37 when Plattsburgh's Steve Thomas scored on a drive, Ferris Thomas grabbed an offensive rebound for the putback and Steve Thomas followed with a 3 pointer to match the Cardinals' largest lead of the night at 46-37 with 12:05 to play. The Golden Eagles would then outscore Plattsburgh 20-10 over the next 5 minutes and retake the lead for the 1st time since the start of the game on another Hall 3 pointer that made the score 57-56 with 6:55 remaining. After another lead change and several ties the Cardinals shook lose from a 59-59 deadlock on 2 Steve Thomas free throws, a Chris Ruiz bank shot, followed by a steal and driving layup by Ketema Brooks that resulted in a bucket and one, which made the score 66-59 with 3:39 left in the game. Port closed to within 3 but Cards S. Thomas with a driving layup followed by a  F. Thomas dunk made it 73-66 with 27 seconds remaining. Port did close the gap with a pair of buckets by Hall and a 3 pointer by Jermaine Johnson just as the buzzer sounded to make the final score of 75-74 seem a bit closer.

Plattsburgh placed their entire starting five in double figures led by Steve Thomas with a double double of 18 pts (4x9 fg, 1x2 3's 9x10 ft) and 10 rebounds. Chris Ruiz was next in the scoring parade with 14 pts (5x10 fg, 1x3 3's, 3x4 ft) and grabbed 8 rebounds  along with 4 assists. Errol Daniyan foillowed with 13 pts (6x10 fg, 1x1 ft) and 6 rebounds. Carl Munnerlyn added 11 pts (3x7 fg,1x3 3's 4x4 ft) along with 4 assists and Farris Thomas on Senior Night came through with 10 pts (4x6 fg, 4x8 ft)  and 9 boards. The Cards shot 24x47 (51.1 %) from the field, 4x10 (40%) from beyond the arc, and 23x30 (76.7%) from the line. Cards enjoyed a huge edge in rebounding as they had 14 offensive rebounds among their total of 41 boards and the Eagles only had 18 rebounds. Cardinals, as all Brockport opponents, had more than twice as many turnovers, with 23 give aways to  Brockport's 10 turnovers.

Brockport placed 4 players in double figures led by Jermaine Johnson with 13 (4x11 fg, 2x5 3's, 3x3 ft) and Andy Marchand  with 11 (5x9 fg, 1x3 3's). Both Gerald Williams (4x9 fg, 2x5 3's) and Zack McTigue (5x8 fg,) added 10 points each. Eagles shot 29x61 (47.5%) from the field, 9x23 (39.1%) from 3 point land and 7x7 ft (100%).  

Plattsburgh after missing the playoffs last year and finishing in ninth place has returned to the top of the standings  by winning their last 7 conference games and 10 of their last 11.  

[jdex]

Cortland halts Fredonia behind timely shooting of B. Manning who scores 19 pts(6x13fg, 3x7 3s). RDragons in 30-21 control at half but see Freds make serious approaches -- within three at 7:30 before a Manning hoop, and four at 0:47 before Manning and D. Marshall free throws clinch verdict. Marshall 10 pts; J. Winter 12 pts(4x6fg, 3x5 3s); B. Nagle 7 rebs. Corts 17x47fg, 7x24 3s, 15x21ft. Freds J. Monahan 10 pts(3x12fg); J. Bryant 10 rebs, 3 stls. Unload  at 16x44fg clip, 8x17 3s, 10x15ft

Potsdam shoots down 38-31 Geneseo halftime lead. Bears on top with 10:45 to go as B. Walker connects. Two free throws from B. Simpson have Gens within a point at 1:25. Pdam's A. Williams finishes scoring with trey at 1:05. Williams 18 pts(5x10fg, 3x5 3s), 6 rebs, 6 assts; Walker 13 pts(5x8fg). Bears 26x53fg, 6x20 3s, 10x20ft, 24 rebs, 7 trnvrs. Gens led by K. Stevens 26 pts(8x12fg, 5x7 3s), 14 rebs in 32'. Knights 24x50fg, 6x15 3s, 12x14ft, 38 rebs, 16 trnvrs

Oswego lights it up early and assumes 38-24 halftime bulge, shooting 15x28fg.  Stretch to 18 before Buff St rallies within 48-45, then sees Lakers regain balance. OSt 45-35 board difference. H. Ward 14 pts(6x11fg); S. Francois 13 pts, 11 rebs; S. Michele 11 pts; C. Burridge 9 pts(4x19fg), 10 rebs, 6 assts, 5 blks. Lakers 24x60fg, 1x3 3s, 19x27ft. Bengal A. Samedi 17 pts(8x11fg), 7 rebs, 4 blocks; G. Carr 12 pts, 7 rebs; J. Simmons 10 pts; TO Jackson 10 pts. BS 25x58fg, 2x11 3s, 9x18ft

[magicman]

The latest East Region Rankings released last Wednesday by the NCAA had Oneonta St in 3rd place and Plattsburgh St in 6th place. I believe the NCAA has made a mistake in Plattsburgh's regional record and instead of a 13-6 in-region record it should have been 14-6, which would put them in 5th place ahead of NYU.

The reason I mention this is Stevens is currently in 4th place but has just lost 2 games in a row and now has a regional record of 17-7. Plattsburgh has just finished a 3-0 week and now has a regional record of 17-6 if the NCAA makes the correction.(I believe they are not counting a game that Plattsburgh won against Lyndon St from Vermont as a regional game, when in fact it comes under the 200 mile rule). NYU had a 1-1 record this past week and now has a 15-8 regional record. Medaille also lost the only 2 games they played this week and with their strength of schedule it's possible that Oneonta who went 2-0 this week and now has a 19-5 regional record might move into the 2nd spot in the rankings. St John Fisher went 2-0 this week and will remain in 1st place in the regional rankings.

This is what I think the final Regional Rankings will look like when they are released this coming Wednesday:

Regional Record followed by Overall Record

1.   St John Fisher   20-4         21-4
2.   Medaille            20-4         21-4
3.   Oneonta St       19-5         20-5
4.   Plattsburgh St   17-6       18-7
5.   Ithaca               15-6       18-7
6.   SUNYIT              16-4       21-4

As mentioned above Medaille and Oneonta may switch positions based on how Medaille's strength of schedule changed in the past week. SUNYIT with a 3-0 record this past week, will I believe, move into 6th place, but despite their better in-region winning percentage, their weak SOS will keep them from a higher ranking. Both Stevens and NYU will drop off the list.

If St. John Fisher and Medaille both win the automatic bid for their respective conferences and should Oneonta and Plattsburgh meet in the SUNYAC championship game, the loser of that game could possibly be the 1st East Region team under consideration for an at large bid. A loss by Fisher will probably result in only 1 Pool C bid going to the East and Fisher would get it. 
 

[with age came?]

Congrats to "magic's" cards!!  The talent is there and they finally are playing like it.  Went to the Laker/Bengal game yesterday (partial to Stockwell) and that Oswego team will be a force in future years.  The are extremely young ( only one senior with any appreciable playing time) and their bigs are solid.  Need a "rainmaker" guard and they will challenge.  Lakers just seemed to want the game more than the Bengals (back to the wall etc). Believe me when I tell you that the Bengals had more talent but they kind of were going through the motions for a large part of the game until late in the second half.  Lakers had some tremendous interior passing, good offensive rebounding, and played pretty solid d.  No real threat for the Lakers outside that I saw. When Bengals finally got serious they took an 18 point lead down to 3 and 4 and 5 several times but Oswego shot pretty well from the line down the stretch to hold on.

[magicman]

I think the four higher seeds all come out on top tonight. Plattsburgh, Brockport, Cortland, and Oneonta all advance to the next round. One possible upset is Buff St over Brockport but I think the Golden Eagles win the rubber match tonight. Would love nothing more than to be wrong and have Fredonia and Oswego win. 

[jdex]

Plattsburgh shades New Paltz 78-74 after 41-40 NP lead at half. Cards S. Thomas 24 pts(9x15fg), 9 reb. NP J. Anderson 16 pts(6x8fg)

Brockport edges Buffalo St. 68-67 in OT on J. Johnson conventional 3-point play at 0:09

Cortland tops Fredonia at half 27-23