MBB: State University of New York Athletic Conference

[jdex]

Plattsburgh wins another barnburner, taking lead on D. Tangney free throws at 10:45 for 60-59 margin. Holds 67-59 lead at 8:46 but back comes New Paltz. Within 70-69 at 3:52, down 74-69 on C. Ruiz hoop at 2:32 but closes to 75-74 on H. Wichard trey at 0:14. S. Thomas hit ft pair at 0:11 and F. Thomas one at 0:01. S. Thomas 25 pts; Ruiz 23 pts, 11 rebs; E. Daniyan 10 pts, 7 rebs

Brockport has Buffalo St. in 40-25 hole with 17:17 left. Bengals still down by five at 63-58. G. Carr hoop at 2:00 and TO Jackson free throws at 1:26 square it. No more scoring in reg. BS misses at buzzer. Bengals take 67-63 OT lead on A. Samedi points. Bport's F. Lantigua gets Eagles within 67-65 at 2:53. J. Johnson wins it at 0:09. G. Williams 19 pts win win; Z. McTigue 10 pts, 6 rebs. Samedi has 17 pts, 10 rebs for BS; Jackson 14 pts; Carr 14 pts; N. Simmons 12 pts

Cortland up on Fredonia 51-47 with 6:30 left

[jdex]

Cortland sinks Fredonia 70-60. D. Marshall 25 pts(7x11fg, 6x6 3s, 5x6ft), 3 rebs, 3 stls; J. Winter 17 pts(5x7fg, 2x4 3s; B. Manning 10 pts, 7 rebs. RDragons 9x17 3s. Freds paced by J. Bryant 18 pts(5x8fg), 8 rebs; A. Billups 12 pts(3x9 3s); K. Mitchell 10 pts

[magicman]

Just back from another thriller at Memorial Hall in Plattsburgh where the Cardinals won the rubber match against New Paltz 78-74. Up tempo game right from the start that featured 4 lead changes and 2 ties until the Cardinals managed a 7 point advantage 14-7 with 5 minutes gone in the half. A Steve Thomas 3 would give Plattsburgh its' largest lead of the period at 21-13 with 12:06 to play.  The Hawks closed to within 2 at 32-30 with 5:47 remaining in the period and the teams continued to trade baskets. Plattsburgh's Errol Daniyan with an offensive rebound and putback gave the Cards a 40-37 lead with 16 seconds to play but the Hawks Ryan Sawyer with an acrobatic driving layup, followed by a Nick Taldi steal and layup on the inbounds pass with 3 ticks remaining gave the Hawks a 41-40 lead at the break.
A Carl Munnerlyn triple opened the scoring to start the 2nd half as the Cards regained the lead, but it would only be the 1st of numerous lead changes and ties as neither team could gain an advantage. 7 ties and 5 lead changes later the Cardinals shook loose from a 59-58 deficit on the strength of 2 Danny Tangney free throws and 7 straight points by Chris Ruiz to forge a 67-59 lead they would never relinquish with 8:45 remaining. New Paltz refused to fold however and closed to within 1 at 70-69 . A Steve Thomas drive and lay in followed by a Ruiz jumper with 2:28 to go restored the margin to 5 points and the Cardinals closed out the Hawks from the line despite a Harris Wichard 3 that tightened it up 75-74 with 11 seconds left.

Plattsburgh was led by Steve Thomas with 25 pts (9x15 fg, 2x3 3's, 5x8 ft) and 9 boards in 39 mins. Chris Ruiz added a double-double with 23 pts (8x23 fg, 4x11 3's 3x4 ft) and 11 boards in 38 mins. Errol Daniyan chipped in with 10 pts (5x9 fg,) and 7 boards in 28 mins. Farris Thomas contributed 7 pts and 7 rebounds in 26 mins. Cardinals shot 26x60 (43.3%) from the field 8x20 (40%) from beyond the arc and 18x29 (62.1%) from the foul line. Cards won the battle of the boards 48-30 and had 14 turnovers to 11 for New Paltz.

New Paltz also placed 3 players in double figures led by Harris Wichard with 17 pts (6x14 fg, 2x5 3's, 3x4 ft in 33 min.) and Jayquan Anderson with 16 pts (6x8 fg, 4x9 ft in 26 min.). Shareef Taylor added 13 pts (5x12 fg, 1x2 3's, 2x2 ft in 26 min). Oppong Agyemang chipped in with 8 pts 7 rebounds and 6 assists in 34 min. Hawks shot 29x63 (46%) from the field, 7x21 (33.3%) from 3 pt land and 9x15 (60%) from the line.

Plattsburgh will now host the semifinals and finals this Friday and Saturday. The Cardinals will take on Brockport St. at 8:00 PM on Friday evening following the 6:00 PM game that will feature Cortland vs Oneonta.

4 for 4 tonight in my predictions as the home court advantage proved to be too much for the dogs to overcome. My record for the season is 15-4 with my 4 loses coming on Potsdam's last 2 wins and Oswego's last 2 wins. I didn't see those coming.   

[magicman]

Oneonta tops Oswego 77-69 and will face Cortland on Friday night in Plattsburgh at 6:00 PM.

[jdex]

Oneonta rolls. Up 36-22 at half. Shoots 21x41fg, 30x46ft. B. Beckford 20 pts(12x15ft) all in second half, 10 rebs, 5 assts; B. Hooks 20 pts; K. Walsh 12; S. Gillette 11 pts; T. Talbot 11 pts. No M. Grimes. Laker C. Burridge 17 pts

[magicman]

Final NCAA Regional Rankings have been released. St John Fisher is ranked #1 for the 4th straight week. Plattsburgh St. is the biggest mover going from 6th place into 2nd. Ithaca not ranked in the last poll moves into 4th place. Stevens is the big loser as they drop out of the rankings. Medaille goes from 2nd to 5th.

East Region    In-Region Record    Overall Record
1.    St. John Fisher    20-4    21-4
2.    Plattsburgh State    17-6    18-7
3.    Oneonta State    19-5    20-5
4.    Ithaca    15-6    18-7
5.    Medaille    20-4    21-4
6.    New York University    15-8    16-8

[scooterman]

Scooterman from Florida is back amongst the living--Just  dealt with some surgery and on the recovery--puts a halt to golf for awhile---Anyway the final four is as usual up at the Burg--I think Tom Curle is a super coach,  and I think the Burg is very lucky to have him as long as they have---I remember him as a kid back at Alfred State with Kaz-- Here are my predictions for tonight Oneonta  over Cortland in a tightly contested match and my beloved Eagles with an upset over the Burg on their home court. I know the Burg is a much more individually talented group but my midget men will find a way to pull it off. Their heart and desire to succeed along with all their close game experience will show tonight!!!I know there aren't many observers that will agree but that is ok---Good Luck Eagles!!!!

[magicman]

Scooterman from Florida is back amongst the living--Just  dealt with some surgery and on the recovery--puts a halt to golf for awhile---Anyway the final four is as usual up at the Burg--I think Tom Curle is a super coach,  and I think the Burg is very lucky to have him as long as they have---I remember him as a kid back at Alfred State with Kaz-- Here are my predictions for tonight Oneonta  over Cortland in a tightly contested match and my beloved Eagles with an upset over the Burg on their home court. I know the Burg is a much more individually talented group but my midget men will find a way to pull it off. Their heart and desire to succeed along with all their close game experience will show tonight!!!I know there aren't many observers that will agree but that is ok---Good Luck Eagles!

Hey scooterman,
I figured you were making yourself scarce because of the Golden Eagles' 2nd half tailspin.
Sorry to hear about your surgery. Hope it was not to serious and you have no lasting repercussions from it. I'd have been surprised if you didn't pick your Eagles tonight but I'm afraid it's not going to happen. (I hope) What will happen though is one heck of a game I'm sure. Get Well soon, I heard all the guys at the golf course are waiting for their favorite pidgeon to tee it up!!

[magicman]

Time to take in the semifinals at Memorial Hall in Plattsburgh tonight. What a bonus for me to be able to watch the SUNYAC's without having to hit the road. I think it's only the 2nd time that Plattsburgh has ever hosted the final 4. Hopefully I won't get shortchanged and the Cardinals come out on top in their game against Brockport, so I can enjoy a finals game with the NCAA bid on the line tomorrow afternoon.

I think the favorites will both advance tonight so I like Oneonta over Cortland 68-64. Plattsburgh wins another close one over Brockport 80-77.

[jdex]

Oneonta kayoes Cortland 66-55, pulling away over the last seven minutes. OSt by 35-28 at the half and stretches to 11. Corts close to four at 7:35;  but score just five more points, two at 5:30 to pull within four, and a 3-pter by J. Winter at 0:37. B. Beckford 25 pts(9x10ft, 2x2 3s), 15 rebs, 4 assts for OSt whose T. Talbot goes for 14 pts. Winners 22x28ft to victims 8x11ft. Corts just 3x15 3s. Winter 11 pts in 16' (sees little action 2nd half); P. Oliver 10 pts, 7 rebs, B. Manning 10 pts; D. Marshall 4 pts(1x11fg), 7 rebs, 6 assts

[magicman]

Plattsburgh St.  turns back Brockport St. 70 -60 to advance to the championship game tomorrow afternoon against Oneonta St. Details to follow.

[magicman]

Two good games tonight at Memorial Hall in Plattsburgh as the top 2 seeds advance to the Championship game tomorrow afternoon at 4:00 PM.

Plattsburgh and Brockport both started slowly with missed field goals and turnovers until Derek Klein made a jumpshot after 2 minutes had gone by. Chris Ruiz hits a 3 pointer to get Plattsburgh on the board and the teams would trade leads until Errol Daniyan on a nice feed from Ketema Brooks dunks the ball and is fouled with 12:05 to play. Daniyan makes the free throw and the Cardinals claim a 12-9 lead and they would never be headed for the rest of the game. Twice they would gain a 6 point advantage but the Golden Eagles down 20-14 would come back to tie the game with 6 minutes remaining in the period. Back to back buckets by Daniyan offset layups by Francisco Lantigua and Jermaine Johnson but then Carl Munnerlyn hits a three to give the Cardinals a 5 point lead. Brockport's  Brandon Williams scores with 40 seconds left to play and the teams go into the break with Plattsburgh up 29-26
Cardinals get the early advantage at the start of the 2nd  as Munnerlyn is fouled on a 3 point attempt and steps to the line and makes all 3 foul shots. After a Brockport basket by Lantigua, Ruiz hits another 3 for the Cards and they open a 7 point lead at 35-28. Back come the Golden Eagles and tie the game at 37 but a Daniyan layup and another Ruiz 3 pointer restores a 5 point Plattsburgh  advantage. Once again Brockport comes back to tie it up at 42 on a Lantigua triple but that would be as close as Brockport would get. A Ketema Brooks 3 pointer, a Munnerlyn steal and layin, followed by another driving layup by Munnerlyn and a Ruiz jumper gave the Cardinals their first double digit lead at 56-46 with 3:29 left to play. Port would come back to get within 3 at 57-54 on a Jermaine Johnson layup with 2:07 left. A Steve Thomas jumper followed by 3 Cardinal free throws, and a Thomas layup pushed the lead back to 8 and Thomas hit 4 free throws in the closing seconds to wrap up the win.  
Plattsburgh, with 4 guys averaging double digits on the season maintained that statistic as Chris Ruiz led the Cardinals with a double double of 20 pts (7x21 fg, 3x9 3's 3x3 ft) and 10 rebounds. Errol Daniyan just missed his double double with 17 pts (8x9 fg, 1x3 ft) and 9 boards. Carl Munnerlyn scored 15 pts (4x5 fg, 2x3 3's 5x8 ft) and Steve Thomas almost had a double double with 10 pts (2x10 fg, 0x3 3's, 6x6 ft) along with 9 rebounds. The Cardinals shot 23x54 (42.6%) from the field, 7x19 (36.8%) 3's and 17x26 (65.4%) from the line. They won the battle of the boards 44-24 (12 offensive) and committed 15 turnovers to Brockport's 10.

Brockport was led by Francisco Lantigua with 11 pts (5x7 fg 1x2 3's) and Gerald Williams also with 11 pts (3x9 fg, 2x6 3's 3x4 ft). Both Jermaine Johnson and Anthony Hall scored 9 points, while Johnson and Lantigua led the team in rebounds with 5 apiece. The Golden Eagles shot 24x57 from the field (42.1%), 7x22 3's (31.8%) and 5x11 (45.5%) from the line.
The 10 point margin of victory in tonight's game was the 1st time in 9 games dating back to the 05-06 season that these two teams were separated by more than 6 points.

The SUNYAC Championship will be decided on Saturday afternoon at 4:00 PM at Plattsburgh's Memorial Hall. It will mark the 3rd meeting between Oneonta and Plattsburgh. Plattsburgh won the 1st meeting in Oneonta back on December 5th coming from behind to overtake the Red Dragons 60-58 in the final seconds. Plattsburgh won the 2nd meeting in Plattsburgh 78-56 on January 29th. I'm sure Saturday's game will be more like the 1st meeting between these clubs with a berth in the NCAA tournament on the line. There is a reasonably good chance that both these teams will make it to the dance as the loser could get 1 of the 19 at-large bids up for grabs. If St. John Fisher, who won tonight and plays Nazareth on Saturday afternoon for the automatic bid from the Empire 8 conference, wins that bid then the SUNYAC loser will be the #1 team in the East region in line for a Pool C at large bid.        

[magicman]

Oneonta looked pretty good tonight in their game against Cortland. Cortland played well at times but just couldn't get over the hump. Oneonta stretched a 9-8 advantage to 16-8, Cortland would close to within 4 and Oneonta would open up an 11 point lead at 25-14. Cortland would fight back to 27-24 and was still down 31-26 when Oneonta's Ryan Greene nails a three pointer and is fouled with 43 seconds left in the half. he makes the rare 4 pt play for a 9 point edge before 2  Cortland free throws make the halftime score 35-28. The 2nd half was a carbon copy of the 1st with Oneonta grabbing an early double digit lead and Cortland fighting back to get it within a 2 possession game on 9 different occassions. Key basket was at 1:35 mark when Corts were down by 6 at 58-52 and had not started the foul parade yet. Needing a defensive stop to try and make it a 1 possession game Oneonta's Troy Talbot hits a medium range jumper with about 10 seconds left on the shot clock to make it an 8 point advantage., Cortland came down, misfired and the fouling began. Brian Beckford certainly brought it tonight for Oneonta. Not often you see a 6'9" D3 player knocking them down from beyond the arc (2x2) and almost perfect from the line (9x10). No Michael Grimes for Oneonta as he is clearly nursing an injury. 

I would imagine that both Cortland and Brockport by finishing the year with a winning record will be able to extend their season by participating in the ECAC tournament.     

[with age came?]

Hey Magic - congrats to your Cards and good luck tomorrow (my bad- later today).  Since I look to you as a "fountain of all knowledge" - do you know when the participants in the ECAC tournament will be announced? Heard a rumor that my Knights could not go even if approached but it would be wonderful if they could play 1 more game or possibly 2. Good kid - Linton is I think something like 6 points away from a 1000 in his career and it would be a fitting thing to achieve for a deserving young man.  I can ony hope??!!

[magicman]

Hey Magic - congrats to your Cards and good luck tomorrow (my bad- later today).  Since I look to you as a "fountain of all knowledge" - do you know when the participants in the ECAC tournament will be announced? Heard a rumor that my Knights could not go even if approached but it would be wonderful if they could play 1 more game or possibly 2. Good kid - Linton is I think something like 6 points away from a 1000 in his career and it would be a fitting thing to achieve for a deserving young man.  I can ony hope??!!

With Age,
Thanks for the well wishes. I'm not exactly sure when the ECAC's are announnced but I would think it would be this Monday evening or Tuesday sometime. I'm guessing they wait until after the NCAA's are announced on Monday because some bubble teams will probably want to go to the ECAC's if they don't get a bid. I think my Cardinals are in unless a whole bunch of top 25 teams get upset tomorrow or Sunday. If Fisher wins the E8 title and Oneonta beats us tomorrow we'll be the first team on the table for consideration by the NCAA committee for a Pool C bid. Like wise if Oneonta loses to us they would be the first team on the table. Why can't the Knights go to the ECAC's?