MBB: State University of New York Athletic Conference

[Bengalsrule]

9. I think Plattsburgh State will be duking it out with the Bengals once again.   

Some great observations there my friend. yes our youngsters stepped up in the face of their first real college "bullets"! This team has the most freshman of any that I can remember, but they all come from winning programs (2 from McKinley Hs. - NYS Class A champs 2013, 1 from Hutch Tech - Class A-2 champs Section 6 , Amherst High -  A-1 runner-up Section 6, St Joe's Colleigiate - Catholic school runner-up and the Park School-Private school contenders). Scrappiest freshman crew that I have ever seen.

Both Miles and Castern (combined 11.5 pts per game and 5.4 rebs per) should be ready for action by the time SUNYAC rolls around (Oneonta/New Paltz). Both were starters at some point last season!

I'm excited about this seasons team. A complete review will follow soon!!

Go BENGALS

[magicman]

Potsdam State hangs on to beat Algonquin College from Canada by a score of 89-85. Bears lead by 11, 83-72 and have the ball with 3:30 left in the game but get sloppy and almost hand the game to their Canadian visitors. Bears commit 4 turnovers, miss 4 shots and foul twice over the next 2:30 and allow the Thunder to close to within a single point at 83-82. Bears' newbie,Jr. transfer Rishawd Hendricks, is fouled and hits 2 free throws for some breathing room. After the Thunder miss a triple attempt, Potsdam's Zac Adams cans 2 more free throws to stretch the lead to 87-82 with 16 ticks left. Algonquin guard Tyrelle Samuels scores with 10 seconds to go and then the Thunder guard promptly steals the inbounds pass with 4 seconds left, gets fouled and makes the 1st one to make it 87-85. He misses the 2nd but the Bears corral the rebound and Zac Adams is fouled. With a chance to seal the deal Adams misses both free throws, however the Bears end up with the ball (not sure why but they take it out under their basket, think a foul was called on the rebound) and Hendricks makes a nice inbound pass to Rob Duquette who scores a layup for the game's final points.

Duquette led the Bears with a double-double of 18 points and 12 rebounds. Newcomer Josh Blagrove had 15 pts and 6 rebounds in only 12 minutes of floor time. Hendricks had 10 points, 3 boards and a pair of assists. Adams just missed a double-double with 9 pts and 12 boards. Guards Joe Estramonte and Tom Graf both had 9 points. Big man Colin Peterson had 8 pts and 7 boards in 12 minutes.

Algonquin has already played a handful of games and their record was at least 9-0 with the results of a recent weekend tournament not posted. They were very athletic didn't commit many turnovers (only 9 to a whopping 21 for the Bears) The Bears outrebounded them 54-42 and had better shooting percentages from all 3 areas. Most telling was from behind the arc where the Bears went 8-17 and the Thunder hit only 4 of 30 attempts. Fortunately for Algonquin the Bears committed a number of turnovers before they got the ball over halfcourt and that resulted in a lot of easy baskets for the visitors. The Bears will definitely need to work on their inbounds passes and getting the ball up the court better. Lots of positives for Potsdam though. Duquette looks good and will be a force in the paint. He's stronger than ever. The new faces that saw court time all contributed. I think the Bears will make the SUNYAC playoffs this year, which will be a nice step up from last season.

Side note to thebear:

The video feed was decent however the the audio was poor quality. I tried 2 different computers and had a good deal of trouble trying to get clear audio. Even had external speakers that I plugged in to 1 computer. That only made the bad audio feed louder. Don't know if it was background noise, bad cables with feedback, a bad jack but it should be looked into. Don't think it was on my end as I listened to a few other games recently and had no problem with the audio feeds.

[NYHOOPS8]

I am hearing some good things about Buffalo State. Height in the frontcourt and rebounding may be an issue but the talent is apparently there for a possible NCAA tourney berth this year. Games against Fisher in the opener and the North Central game in December will be good barometers to see what their potential is this year.

[Bengalsrule]

I am hearing some good things about Buffalo State. Height in the frontcourt and rebounding may be an issue but the talent is apparently there for a possible NCAA tourney berth this year. Games against Fisher in the opener and the North Central game in December will be good barometers to see what their potential is this year.

  1st let me welcome you to the SUNYAC boards! I see this is your first time posting here and as always its good to have some knowledgeable folks here to match withs with Magicman, Ethelred and others.

  Yes the BENGALS are looking like there may be something special brewing at 1300 Elmwood! What they lack in height they more than make up with guts and defense. There was 1 stretch early in the 2nd half @ D1 Niagara, where they, Niagara,  couldn't get the ball past half court in 5 consecutive tries ( or maybe it was 4  ). The front court is led by seniors Chris Castren and Justin Mitchell. These 2 guys are also the last remaining members of the 10-11  team that won the SUNYACS and then went on to NCAA's at Ramapo and beat Gwynned Mercy and Johnson & Wales to get to the Sweet 16! Many expect them to be leaders both on and off the court. Justin with his shotblocking and rebounding and Caz with his calm demeanor a sweet jumpshot. Add multi-purpose junior Maurice Miles ( who was a starter last year until his season ended at Potsdam) and new comers Chris Thompson ( read Magicmans review of Chris..'nuff said) and Legree Kirkland (a top 10 shot blocker in junior college in 11-12) and you have the makings of a decent, to very good,  front court !

  When you add the R.D.O.T.Y "Rodney Dangerfield Of The 'Yac" ("doesnt get any respect") Rod Epps then you have a the makings of something special. All Rod did last year was finish in the top 10 in 4 'Yac categories..4th in scoring, 6th in 3 pt fgs made, 8 th in FT %, 9th in 3 pt fg% and and yet he doesn't even make 3rd team? Check the archives of the 'Yac and you won't find anyone with similar stats to be shunned as Rod was last year. But....that was last year and this season he is "on a mission"! Add soph Bradley Doyley who is taking over the pg  position from graduated senior Ant Hamer. Bradley has shown that he is ready for such a challenge in a tough PG conference. With guards like Manning at Plattsburgh and Ivy at Brockport, Bradley will face top notch competiton each week in the 'Yac! I believe that he is up to the task!

  Youth is being served at Buffalo State. This statement has never been truer than it is today. The strength of this bench begins with sophomore Chris Boyd. This tough minded defender, who has a lethal "J" and hops that can still be seen on Youtube (@ Geneseo last season), appears to be ready to step up his role on a BENGALS team that has 8 underclassmen (6 frosh, 2 sophs) on its roster. This supporting class also includes Frosh Jordan Glover who's father was Coach Ansari's very first point guard in High school (Turner carroll - 2 State Champioships in the 90's). So you know that the bloodlines are in sync with Coach Ansari's thinking. He  started vs. Niagara and showed that he can man the pg position when called upon. To say that this graduate of St. Joes Collegiate is ready for the college game is an understatement. Another PG is Freshman Johnathon Belton who, like Jordan, comes from a winning program (Amherst H.s.) and is a tough defender who does not mind going into the paint  nor doing whats required. They probably don't get any tougher than Freshman Rey Jordan. This dual all WNY football & basketball player could have probably started for the BENGALS football team at safety. However he chose to try out for the BENGALS basketball team with no guarantee of making it. I believe that time will show this kid to be 1 of the toughest defenders this conference has ever seen. (Quote me Magicman). He's fearless! His fellow McKinley HS and All WNY  teammate is Freshman Lovell Smith. Lovell plays much bigger than his size. This freshman slasher has a nose for the basketball (and hops to match) and a desire to be 1 of the better multi position players that we have seen in recent memory at Buff State. Last but certainly not least is Sean Buckley. This 6'6 frosh is still growing. The last 6'6 freshman at Buff State was Captain Seth Runge (who graduated this past May) and this kid is farther along as a freshman than Seth was when he first arrived. "Coachable" is the 1 word to come to mind when I think of Sean. Add new assistant Coach Mark Gross, who was also a member of that famous 10-11 team and you have the makings of a truly special team if things jell right and they stay injury free.

  The BENGALS Non-Conference schedule is the toughest that I can ever remember! They begin with a trip to St John Fishers (17-9 last season). If you go over to the E8 boards you can see that the Cardinals are clearly the preseason favorite to win the E8. Next stop is at Medialle college (18-11 last Season in the AMCC). Because Medaille is located less than 3 miles from Buffalo State, it gives this game a little added "Umpf" when it comes on Nov 19th! First home game is versus  Ohio Northern. This team made it to the semi-finals of the always tough OAC (Ohio Athletic Conference). They return their top 5 scorers from last season and look to challenge Baldwin Wallace and Capital for the conference crown. The next day the BENGALS then face John Carroll who is also from the tough OAC and they too play a tough brand of hoops down in Cleveland Ohio. And thats just November!

  December begins with a visit from the defending Liberty league Champ and NCAA playoff participant (the past 2 years),  Hobart...'Nuff said! After a "Yac visit from Oneonta and New Paltz then its off to sunny Orlando Fla. The first opponent there is Carthage College which comes from the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin. The Conf of Ill/Wisc is  the 2nd ranked Conference in all of Div 3 (according to todays Massey ratings - SUNYAC is ranked 17th)! Carthage is ranked 45th (out of 412 D3 schools) in those same massey ratings. If that is scary then consider the 2nd BENGALS opponent in the tournament is North Central Illinois which is ranked 4th amongst all D3 schools. And they too come from the Ill/Wisc conf. With Hobart ranked 56th and St John Fisher ranked at 102, Massey predicts that the BENGALS will be lucky to get 3 wins before the 1st of the year. But then...that's why they "Play the games" ( I can't remember who said it but it sure seems appropriate now).

  I can't wait until the season kicks off for real next weekend! I'm predicting that the 'Yac will have 3 teams in the NCAA's. Thats right magicman...3!!!! Good luck to all.

    And NYHOOPS8... we hope to hear from you again!

Go BENGALS!!!

[magicman]

Bengalsrule,

Massey actually predicts that Buffalo State will have a 4-5 record by January 1st and will lose their next 3 games to sit at 4-8 through January 14th.

I think Mr. Massey's computer ran into a virus and has caught a cold. I believe Buffalo State will be no worse than 7-2 and possibly 8-1
heading into the new year. The Bengals should be, at the very least, 12-3 by January 24th when they host Plattsburgh and it's not impossible to find them at 14-1. Even the game against North Central in Florida on December 21st, which could be their only loss at that time, is a game that the Bengals could win. Massey has them losing that game by a predicted score of 82-68. North Central lost some top players off that Final Four team from last year and the CCIW coaches poll only has them picked to finish 4th in their own  league despite the fact that the D3hoops Top 25 preseason poll has them ranked #6. They will still be a very good team as the CCIW conference is loaded this year, but Buffalo State will hang with this team and could pull off the upset against the Cardinals. Now that game on January 24th against the other Cardinals,  Plattsburgh State, is the game that the Bengals really have to worry about. That one could have far more implications on post season play than some holiday tournament game in Florida in mid December.    

Mr. Massey's computer doesn't give Plattsburgh State any more respect than it gave the Bengals. He has the Cardinals 4-4 heading into the New Year. I think we could be undefeated or at the worst 6-2. By the time we take on the Bengals on Jan. 24th we could be 11-3 or better. Of course injuries or eligibility issues could always impact the teams but I think the Cards and Bengals could both have decent seasons. I see 2 teams from the conference getting into the NCAA tournament. Having 3 teams get in seems to be quite a stretch.     

[magicman]

D3hoops preseason All America team was released today. here are the players from the East Region that were honored:

Jared Suderley            2nd Team    Senior forward from Hartwick

John Ivy                     3rd Team    Senior guard from Brockport State

Richie Bonney             4th Team    Senior forward from Hobart

Here's the link to the complete list of All Americans:  http://d3hoops.com/awards/all-americans/men/preseason-2014

[thebear]

I see 2 teams from the conference getting into the NCAA tournament. Having 3 teams get in seems to be quite a stretch.   

Magic, I agree, the only way you would get three is to have two teams with solid records and top regional rankings heading into the conference tournament, and then an unranked lower bracket seed winning the whole thing.

SUNYAC with their 18 game double round robin, and long road trips, tends to saddle everyone with a few losses, which hurts their regional ranking credentials, as invariably a top team has a Saturday let down far from home and gets hurt on strength of schedule.

Not that we've won a lot of games lately, but every year one or two teams come into our place, and get upset, either after a tough game at your place, or looking ahead to playing Plattsburgh.

I also think that Cortland and Brockport both have talent, and can beat anyone on a given day or night.

Can't wait for next Friday night.

[dcahill44]

Preseason SUNYAC rankings
1. Plattsburgh State Returns most starters from an NCAA Tournament team.
2. Brockport State One of the fastest teams in the state and John Ivy returns Preseason SUNYAC POY
3. Buffalo State Hearing lots of good things about this team. led by Rod Epps.
4. Geneseo State Returns most starters and good fundamental team from last year
5. Oswego A very young team with a LOT of Talent expect this team to improve greatly throughout the year
6. Cortland State Losing Almost all of there starters I think they beatout New Paltz for a bid in the Conference
7. New Paltz I think this team misses the YAC tournament by a game very young and on the rise. Coach Rejniak and Coach Hack will develop a serious contender in less than 3 years.
8. Potsdam I have heard good things about them im just not ready to put them in the conference tournament yet.
9. Oneonta I think Oneonta will win more games this year and be better
10. Fredonia State Coach Seymour is going to do a great job at Fredonia. but it will take time to rebuild the program

[jdex]

Yup, plenty of new faces dotting Cortland roster. No surprises there. RDragons' 24-5 championship campaign was senior-led, J. Winter inspired. Is among the departed along with J. Smith, now in ass't coaching slot. Were two of seven players appearing in every game. Two players from those ranks return -- 6-6 sr K. McMahon (13ppg, 7.6rpg) and 6-1 jr L. Herron (7.5ppg). Roster of 17 lists three seniors, eight frosh. Four-year performer McMahon, Herron and four-year player M. Kearney captains. The 6-4 Kearney started as a frosh but has seen court time shrink along with stats. Never much of a scorer. Third senior is 6-5 four year player G. Spendjian who saw role duty in 25 games last season. Three-year performer is 6-7 jr M. McGowan, a 15 game spot participant last winter. Two backcourt vets with limited playing time are sophs B. Ferguson and TJ Hefele, the latter the brother of key graduating cog Harrison H.

Incoming talent should be noticed quickly. Long Island fr guard Tyree Glascom has West Hempstead all-star pedigree and 6-4 fr J. Morrow paced Albany Academy to a stellar independent season in the state. Fr 6-3 Michael Kelly of Monroe was a force for state finalist Burke Catholic. A scholastic rebounding hound was 6-6 fr C. Joseph from respected LI Deer Park. From the JC ranks comes guard J. Guzman of Suffern. Other frosh: g T. Felder of Mount Vernon, g M. Russo of Liverpool, 6-5 f A. Golden of Oxford, swingman C. Williams of the Bronx.

Catching our attention on the just released roster is B. Estarfaa, a 6-3 soph g who in '10-11 earned all-western NY status at Maryvale and went on for scant play at Medaille the following season. Anyone from those precincts remember him? Corts open new chapter Saturday at 1 with Medaille in Buffalo

Certainly challenges on the horizon for 19th year coach Tom Spanbauer  .........

[NYHOOPS8]

I am hearing some good things about Buffalo State. Height in the frontcourt and rebounding may be an issue but the talent is apparently there for a possible NCAA tourney berth this year. Games against Fisher in the opener and the North Central game in December will be good barometers to see what their potential is this year.

  1st let me welcome you to the SUNYAC boards! I see this is your first time posting here and as always its good to have some knowledgeable folks here to match withs with Magicman, Ethelred and others.

And NYHOOPS8... we hope to hear from you again!

Go BENGALS!!!

Bengalsrule, I appreciate it. I will probably be checking in throughout the year and hope to provide some content for the boards. Retirement provides me much more of an opportunity to post and get involved with the site. Hope to catch a few more games live this year than in the past.

[Bengalsrule]

Bengalsrule, I appreciate it. I will probably be checking in throughout the year and hope to provide some content for the boards. Retirement provides me much more of an opportunity to post and get involved with the site. Hope to catch a few more games live this year than in the past.

Let me know if you plan on attending a game at Buff State. I know the coach in charge of comp tickets and I can leave a ticket (or 2) for you !

Cant wait till this weekend!

[jdex]

And at the starting gate .......

For Friday:
---Fredonia tips off vs. Union at 6 p.m. in Nazareth tourney (Naz vs. Sage Colleges at 8)

---New Paltz in Calif. vs. Whittier at 6(EST)

--- Oswego hosts tourney foe Lancaster Bible  at 8 (Manhattanville vs. Neumann at 4)

--- Potsdam home to Canton at 8

---Oneonta at tourney host Rochester at 8 (D'Youville vs. Tufts at 3)

For Saturday:
---Cortland at Medaille at 1

---Oswego tourney consi (2), final (6)

---Fredonia at Naz tourney consi(2), final (4)

---Potsdam home vs. Farmingdale at 3

---Oneonta at Rochester tourney consi(3), final (8)

---Plattsburgh vs. Bridgewater St. at R. Stockton(Galloway, NJ) at 5

---Buffalo St. at SJ Fisher at 7

---New Paltz at Redlands, CA at 10(EST)

For Sunday:
---Plattsburgh at Richard Stockton at 1

For Wednesday, 11/20:
---Geneseo home vs. Morrisville at 7

For Saturday, 11/23:
---Brockport at St. Lawrence at 4

Any updates??

[magicman]

November 6th through November 12th has been a heck of a week for the Plattsburgh State sports scene.

The men's soccer team defeated the top 2 seeds in the conference on the road to claim the SUNYAC crown and the automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. The Cardinals will take on Wheaton College (Mass.) on Saturday at 1:30 PM at St. Lawrence.

The women's hockey team won twice to improve to 4-0 and once again was ranked #1 on D3hockey.

The men's hockey team also won twice to improve to 3-0 and was also ranked #1 on D3hockey as they overtook St. Norbert to edge out the Green Knights by 1 point.

SUNYAC Men's Hockey Player of the Week was Kevin Emmerling of Plattsburgh State.

SUNYAC Men's Hockey Goalie of the Week was Mathieu Cadieux of Plattsburgh State. He has only allowed 1 goal in 3 games.

Women's Hockey Goalie, Sydney Aveson of Plattsburgh State, was named ECAC Goalie of the Week for the 2nd straight week. Sydney hasn't allowed a goal this year and has 4 shutouts in 4 games.

Men's soccer player, senior Matt Hamilton, was named the SUNYAC Player of the Year. Matt was also named the MVP of the SUNYAC tournament and was the SUNYAC Offensive Player of the Week. Matt was named to the All Conference 1st team, earning All Conference honors for the 2nd year in a row. 

Men's soccer player, freshman Nick Economou, was the SUNYAC Rookie of the Year. Nick was also named to the All Conference 2nd team.

Men's soccer players, senior Tom Greene, junior Nick Parrella and sophomore Fabian Chaparro were all named to the All Conference 2nd team. For Parrella it was the 2nd time he has won an All Conference award  while Greene and Chaparro were 1st time honorees.

Men's soccer player, freshman Alexis Archilla, who led the team in scoring with 10 goals and 23 points, was named to the All Conference 3rd team. Alexis was 1 of only 4 rookies to make the All Conference teams.

Women's volleyball player, Rosi Cummings, was named as the SUNYAC Player of the Year. She was selected to the All-SUNYAC 1st team which marked the 3rd time she was honored as an All-SUNYAC selection having been a two-time 2nd team selection. She leaves the Cardinals as one of the greatest volleyball players they have ever had.

Now the Men's basketball team opens the season on the road with games at the Richard Stockton tip off tournament and we have to follow that.   Hope our good fortune can continue.

We take on  Bridgewater State Saturday afternoon at 5 PM and then have to face the hosts on Sunday at 1 PM. Richard Stockton, of course, has a day off between games as they play Friday at 4 PM against Bridgewater, get to watch us play Bridgewater on Saturday and we get to face them 18 hours later. Nothing like loading the tournament for the host team.          

[magicman]

Think the SUNYAC race may look something like this at year's end. Lots of new faces this year, with a number of transfers along with plenty of new recruits, anything can and probably will happen. It's always tough to win on the road in the YAC so as usual, the teams that protect their home court will be the ones that make the playoffs. Here's my take. I think the top 4 teams are solid teams with a lot of talent and any one of them could claim the SUNYAC crown. Also think Potsdam, Cortland and Oswego are interchangeable with some tough battles being waged there for the final playoff spot.                                     


1. Plattsburgh State
2. Buffalo State
3. Brockport State
4. Geneseo State
5. Potsdam State
6. Cortland State
7. Oswego State
8. Oneonta State
9. New Paltz State
10. Fredonia State
   

[magicman]

SUNYAC games on tap today.

Fredonia State vs Union at Nazareth. 6:00 PM

Union scrimmaged Plattsburgh State last weekend and we beat them by double digits in each half. The Dutchmen won't be that hard to handle. Unfortunately for the Blue Devils they lost 3 of their top 4 scoring threats from a team that was only 7-17 a year ago. I don't think they have the firepower to pull off a season opening victory. Oddsmakers have Union favored by 9 points. I think it might be a little closer but Fredonia goes down 71-65. Would love to see the Blue Devils prove me wrong here.

New Paltz State vs Whittier College at Redlands. Pick a time 3:00 PM or 6:00 PM.

Depending on which website you go to this game could start at 3 PM or 6 PM. I'm guessing it's the 6 PM time despite the D3hoops scoreboard and Whittier College website claiming it's a 3 PM EST start. New Paltz lost a ton of talent with the departure of Matt Devine and Shereef Taylor. Last season's  SUNYAC Rookie of the Year Deveino McRae was supposed to be a bright spot in the Hawks lineup this year, but he's no longer listed on their roster. Hawks need to replace over 50 points per game. I don't see where that will come from. The Whittier Poets return a large part of a team that went 14-12 last year. East coast teams never seem to do well when they travel to the left coast. Tomorrow the Hawks will face tournament host Redlands in the 2nd and final game of their California trip. I think they will be 0-2 when they head back east. The point spread has Whittier favored by only 2 points but I think they will win by a 75-67 score. Sure hope I'm wrong on this one though. Like to see the Hawks come home with 2 wins but they seem up against it.

Lancaster Bible at Oswego State. 8:00 PM

The Lakers found a bigger cupcake that the ones they've been munching on the past few years. Need that guaranteed free pass into your tournament championship game and the Chargers will certainly give them that. Lakers are favored by 25...anything less than that margin should constitute a loss. Lakers win 80-58.

SUNY Canton at  Potsdam State  8:00 PM

See above comments regarding Oswego vs Lancaster Bible. I know that Potsdam and Canton are only 10 miles apart and are looking at the possibilities of sharing some administration positions (at least they were the last I heard) to help cut costs but I'd just as soon pass on the sharing of athletic contests between the 2 schools. At least wait until they have transitioned into D3. It is what it is I guess. At least it's a win, and like the Lakers Potsdam will get an easy pass into the championship game of the North Country Invitational. I wonder if they flipped a coin with Clarkson to see who would get Canton and who would get Farmingdale Sate.  The Bears are favored by 18. Don't think the Kangaroos will keep it much closer. Potsdam 85 Canton 68.

Oneonta State at Rochester 8:00 PM

The Red Dragons will be a better team than last year's edition. Would be nice if Zach Mager's brother who is a new recruit on this year's team is as talented as Zach. Lots of returning players but still not ready for prime time. Rochester lost the D3 Player of the Year but still returns enough talent to win this one. Oddsmakers have favored the Yellowjackets by 17 points. I think Oneonta can keep it closer than that but will fall by a 75-65 final.

Good luck to all the SUNYAC teams. I wish we could win them all. Hopefully throughout the year the stronger teams in the conference will more than hold their own against the tough out of conference matchups that we'll see this year.