MBB: State University of New York Athletic Conference

[scooterman]

I can see why Geneseo might not drop in the rankings with an OT loss to Bport at Bport; but don't understand the fickledness of the Burg dropping out all together. Hey, they control their own destiny with a big weekend at the Port and Geneseo. My prediction is 0-2 for the Burg. Sorry Magic but looooooong trip is going to do them in. Go Eagles!!!! Keep them rolling Coach Dunne!!!!

[NYHOOPS8]

Count me in as being surprised Geneseo received more votes than Plattsburgh. Nothing against Geneseo, just hard to figure out how you can put them ahead of someone in their own conference that beat them and has a better resune,

[magicman]

I can see why Geneseo might not drop in the rankings with an OT loss to Bport at Bport; but don't understand the fickledness of the Burg dropping out all together. Hey, they control their own destiny with a big weekend at the Port and Geneseo. My prediction is 0-2 for the Burg. Sorry Magic but looooooong trip is going to do them in. Go Eagles!!!! Keep them rolling Coach Dunne!!!!

Well, scooter, I can't say you will be wrong because the Cardinals have went 0-2 on that long trip in the past. They have also gone 2-0 on that same long trip. I told Coach Curle I'd be happy if the team came home 1-1 after the weekend, but ultimately I'd like the Cardinals to host the SUNYAC Final Four. In order to do that, they have to win both of these games, then have Geneseo beat Brockport when the Golden Eagles visit Geneseo a week from today on Feb. 11th. We'll then hold the tiebreaker over Brockport if we both end up with 2 losses. Another loss by the Cardinals this weekend, especially if it's to Brockport, will leave the battle for the top spot between the Golden Eagles and Geneseo. And if Plattsburgh should lose to Brockport and beat Geneseo then I think that Brockport will have just about clinched the regular season title. An awful lot on the line this weekend with my Cardinals right in the middle of everything. 

[Pat Coleman]

I can see why Geneseo might not drop in the rankings with an OT loss to Bport at Bport; but don't understand the fickledness of the Burg dropping out all together. Hey, they control their own destiny with a big weekend at the Port and Geneseo. My prediction is 0-2 for the Burg. Sorry Magic but looooooong trip is going to do them in. Go Eagles!!!! Keep them rolling Coach Dunne!!!!

When you only appear on a couple of ballots in the first place (or in this case, only one), it doesn't take much to knock you out. Each person is not voting for almost 400 teams. If one of them impresses enough to take that last spot on the one ballot, that's it ...

[magicman]

The SUNYAC Player of the Week was named yesterday afternoon and Plattsburgh State's senior forward Shavar Fields was chosen for the week ending Feb. 2nd. It was the first time in Shavar's career that he has earned this honor. I thought the award was between Fields or Shamoy McIntosh who also had a good week as the Cardinals went 2-0. Shamoy won this award 2 weeks ago so it was Shavar's turn this week. Here's the write up from the SUNYAC website.

Shavar Fields, Plattsburgh State
Albany, N.Y. / Bishop Maginn


"Senior forward Shavar Fields helped the Plattsburgh State men's basketball team move into second place in the SUNYAC standings last weekend. The Albany, N.Y., product nearly averaged a double-double (17 points, 9.5 rebounds per game) and shot 54.5 percent from the field in another pair of conference triumphs for the Cardinals. His free throw percentage of 72.4 is the ninth-best in the SUNYAC so far this season."


 
Shavar had game highs in both points (15) and rebounds (7) in the win over Oneonta last Friday. The Cardinals were so dominant in that game that the starters were on the bench early as they built up a 30 point lead and the game was turned over to the reserves. Shavar only had 22 minutes of floor time in the game.

The next day against New Paltz, Shavar scored 19 points and completed his double double with a career high 12 rebounds. For the 2 games he was 12x22 from the field and 10x14 from the line. He also had several dunks over the weekend that were quite impressive and one of them would have made the plays of the night on ESPN if they had it on film.

Friday marked the 5th time that he has led the Cardinals in scoring this year. Congratulations to Shavar who has had an outstanding season to date.
   

[magicman]

A quick recap of the games that took place on Saturday night.

Plattsburgh State 90 New Paltz 78         

The Cardinals opened up big leads in this game but the Hawks wouldn't go away. Twice they came back from 14 point deficit in the 1st half to get as close as 5 points but were down by 8 at the end of the period. Shavar Fields had a big 1st half for the Cards with 16 points.

The Cardinals opened the 2nd half and it looked like they were going to run the Hawks out of Memorial Hall. An 18-5 burst opened up a 21 point lead at 64-43 but the Cardinals got careless, started firing up 3 pointers that were off the mark, giving up easy baskets on the interior and the Hawks fought back with a run of their own. Over the next 5 minutes New Paltz went on an 18-2 spurt that brought them within 5 points at 66-61 with 9:06 to play. Plattsburgh went back up by 9 but the Hawks cut it to 4 with 6:35 to play. Shamoy McIntosh then caught fire and scored 8 of the Cardinals next 13 points as Plattsburgh once again opened up a double digit margin. This time the Hawks could only foul and hope but Plattsburgh went 6x6 from the stripe down the stretch to close the game out.

Shamoy McIntosh led the Cards with 23 points. Shavar Fields had 19 points and 12 rebounds. Ed Correa and Ezra Hodgson both had 11 points. Chris Manning had 7 rebounds, 6 points, 4 steals and 4 assists. Plattsburgh had 11 three pointers in the game.

New Paltz was led by Sowah Taylor who had a game high 24 points along with 10 rebounds. Keegan Donovan had 17 points and Kevin Roach had 13.

Plattsburgh is now 15-3 and has won a season high 7 games in a row. They improve to 9-2 in the conference and move into 2nd place, one half game ahead of Geneseo. Plattsburgh will travel to western New York this weekend for the big showdown with Brockport on Friday night and Geneseo on Saturday afternoon. 

New Paltz falls to 6-13 overall and 3-9 in the YAC. Their failure to win a game this past weekend has pretty much eliminated them from playoff contention, barring some kind of unbelievably wild finish, involving the 4 teams above them that all have a 3 game lead on the Hawks.

I had this one 84-64 Cards and it would have been fairly close to that if the guys had kept their focus, but the 21 point lead led them to forget some of the basics of the game. I'm sure that will be addressed in practice this week.           

[scooterman]

Magic--Even though the Bport-Geneseo trip is long for Plattsburg and Potsdam; it isn't as difficult for them coming down here because of the close distance between Bport and Geneseo(approximately an hour ride depending on accomodations). In the north country it is a hike between games. Get in late and play early. I think much more difficult for Bport and Geneseo to make trip. Just my thoughts--another good reason to bring SUNY schools into East-West divisions.

[magicman]

Brockport State 73 Geneseo State 68   in overtime on Saturday

The game of the week was all of that as these two teams battled back and forth for the entire contest. They were tied at the end of the 1st half, and tied at the end of the 2nd. Geneseo enjoyed the largest lead of the 1st half at 9 points 22-13 only to have the Golden Eagles come all the way back as the Clifton Lyerly show made its way, front and center.  Clifton scored 9 straight points for the Eagles as the Knights could only manage a single score and Brockport got the lead down to 24-22. With 30 seconds left in the half and Geneseo setting up for 1 last shot, Lyerly stole the ball and raced downcourt for the jam to tie it up at 24 going into the break.

The 2nd half was a replay of the 1st. The first 7 minutes of the period was back and forth action with Geneseo maintaining a slight lead. Tied at 34, the Knights got a pair of free throws from Gordon Lyons, 6 straight points from Devon Anderson, a long bomb by Andy Drescher and the 11-0 run gave the Knights the largest lead of the game at 45-34 with 10 minutes left to play. Four minutes later, the Eagles, on the strength of back to back 3 pointers by Matt Lee, had the lead at 46-45, as Brockport one upped the Knights with a 12-0 run with 5:45 remaining. The remainder of the period would see 4 lead changes and 4 ties and when Brockport couldn't score on the final possession of regulation the teams headed for overtime.

Gordon Lyons opened the extra session with a layup to give Geneseo the quick lead, and after another trifecta by Matt Lee put Brockport up by 1, Lyons would make back to back trips to the charity stripe. He made 1 of 2 each time to put the Knights up 62-61 with 3 minutes to play, but it would be the last time the Knights enjoyed that distinction. The game turned into a free throw contest at that point and Brockport got a pair from Lyerly, plus a pair from Patrick Coyle, while Geneseo was turning the ball over on 2 consecutive  possessions. Down by 3 with 36 seconds left the Knights were forced to foul and John Ivy made them pay. Ivy was fouled 4 times in those final 36 ticks and he went 7 of 8 from the line to salt this one away.

Brockport got 19 points from Matt Lee who had five 3 pointers. Lee also had 6 rebounds 3 steals and 2 assists. Clifton Lyerly came off the bench and had 18 points on 6x10 from the field and 6x7 from the line. He had 4 rebounds 1 steal and 1 assists. I didn't look it up but I'm guessing the 18 points was a career high for the freshman who looks like he has an outstanding future at Brockport.
John Ivy was held scoreless in the first half but came back to lead all scorers in the final 25 minutes of action as he ended up with 13 points, 3 steals, 2 rebounds and 2 assists. Brandon Caruthers only had 5 points but had 6 assists and 6 steals. Patrick Coyle only had 4 points but was a force on defense, as he had a big game with 9 blocks and 8 rebounds. 9 blocks is not something you generally see in a D3 box score. Brockport took almost as many shots from 3 point distance in this game...31 as they did from inside the arc....38 (16x38). Both teams shot 22% from downtown, the difference was Port made 7 of their 31 attempts and Geneseo was 2 x9.

As usual, Geneseo was led by Gordon Lyons with 22 points and Connor Fedge with 18. In addition to his game high in points Lyons also was the leading rebounder in the contest with 14 boards. Matt Curry had 8 points, 8 rebounds a block and a steal. Surprise stat of the game...Geneseo only had 4 assists for the entire team. 1 each by 4 different players. For a team that passes the ball as well as the Knights do that's a strange statistic.

Brockport stretches their winning streak to 15 games, one of the longest in Division 3. They improve to 16-1 overall and 10-0 in the YAC. Their streak will be tested this weekend when North Country rival Plattsburgh State arrives at Tuttle North. The Cardinals have won before in Brockport and revenge will be on the minds of the Cardinals, as they let one get away earlier in the season, in Plattsburgh.

Geneseo falls to 14-3 overall and 8-2 in the conference. They now trail the Cardinals by a half game and the Knights saw their longest unbeaten streak in over 6 years come to an end after 8 straight wins. Their previous loss was at the hands of Plattsburgh back on January 10th in the 'Burgh and the longest winning streak the Knights have had in recent memory was at the start of the 2007-08 campaign when they reeled off 9 straight wins to open the season. Geneseo will have a chance at payback against the Cardinals as first Potsdam, then Plattsburgh, invade the Alumni Fieldhouse this weekend.

I had this game 84-80 with Brockport winning. A little less offense than I thought would happen but a much closer game than the point spread indicated.         

       

[7express]

Magic--Even though the Bport-Geneseo trip is long for Plattsburg and Potsdam; it isn't as difficult for them coming down here because of the close distance between Bport and Geneseo(approximately an hour ride depending on accomodations). In the north country it is a hike between games. Get in late and play early. I think much more difficult for Bport and Geneseo to make trip. Just my thoughts--another good reason to bring SUNY schools into East-West divisions.

How would you go??  Someone in the middle of the state whether it be Brockport/Geneseo/Oswego/or Cortland is going to get screwed being placed in the East.  Heres's how I'd place them:

West:
Buffalo
Brockport
Geneseo
Fredonia
Oswego

East:
Potsdam
Plattsburgh
Cortland
Oneonta
New Paltz

Think Cortland is slightly further east than those others.

[magicman]

7,
Did you get my personal message on the spreads? And did it help?

[magicman]

Magic--Even though the Bport-Geneseo trip is long for Plattsburg and Potsdam; it isn't as difficult for them coming down here because of the close distance between Bport and Geneseo(approximately an hour ride depending on accomodations). In the north country it is a hike between games. Get in late and play early. I think much more difficult for Bport and Geneseo to make trip. Just my thoughts--another good reason to bring SUNY schools into East-West divisions.

I don't buy it scooter, I make that Plattsburgh to Potsdam trip all the time for my business and it only takes me 80 minutes. You must have had bus drivers that took the scenic ride on route 11, instead of the quick trip via route 11B.

[7express]

7,
Did you get my personal message on the spreads? And did it help?

Yah.  Thanks a lot Magic!

[scooterman]

I think we did take the scenic route from Potsdam. I remember hopping on that bus to the Burg and never pulling in before 1 in the morning. It seemed like a long trip. I think they should bring back more of the SUNY teams to play in the conference. SUNYIT, Morrisville, Purchase, Old Westbury, etc. make 2 -10 team conferences and playoffs. This already had a little discussion but not sure of all the positives and negatives.

[magicman]

Buffalo State 90 Cortland 83   on Saturday

This one certainly was a close second for the YAC game of the week. Both teams needed to win this game but after dropping a last second heartbreaker on Friday night to Oswego the Bengals needed it more than the Red Dragons did.

The Red Dragons hustled to the front as they quickly opened up a double digit lead after 6 minutes of action at 14-4. Cortland would eventually increase the lead to a 24-10 for the largest lead of the period before the Bengals got their act together and narrowed the margin to a 5 point 34-29 deficit at the half.

The teams traded baskets through the early stages of the 2nd half but Cortland continued to lead but never by more than  2 possessions. Buffalo State would get to within a point or 2 but couldn't get in front despite numerous opportunities to do so. With Cortland up by 1 at 43-42 the Red Dragons caught a break when Blair Estarfaa was fouled on a 3 point attempt. He went to the line and made all 3 free throws and after the Bengals Maurice Miles hit a jumper to cut it back to a 2 point game, T J Hefele hit a pair of free throws to make it 48-44. Justin Mitchell got a hoop and harm to cut it to one and Miles hit a jumper on the Bengals next trip down the floor and the big cats had their first lead of the game with 11:17 left to play. Five more lead changes and five ties would occur, with the last one coming on a 3 pointer by Rod Epps, to make it 74 all, with 19 seconds left to play, that sent it into overtime.

In the extra session, Buff State drew first blood and then got a steal and a dunk by Epps to make it 78-74. After another Cortland miss, offensive rebound and a turnover the Bengals got a pair of free throws from Jordan Glover. The Bengals went up by 7 after another turnover and foul by Cortland, and the Red Dragons could only counter with a single free throw of their own. Down by 6 with 1:26 left the foul parade started and the Bengals went 7 of 10 from the line to claim the hard fought win.

Chris Thompson led all scorers with a game high 22 points and a team high 7 rebounds. Rod Epps had 21 points, 5 rebounds, 2 steals, 2 blocks and 1 assist. He also had the biggest shot of the day with his 3 pointer to send it to overtime. Justin Mitchell, as usual had a solid all around game with 15 points, a game high 7 assists, 5 rebounds, 2 steals and a block.

Maurice Miles came off the bench with 16 points 3 rebounds and 2 dimes. Miles outscored the entire Cortland bench by himself and the contribution by the Bengal reserves may have been the biggest reason they got the W here. The bench for Buff State had a total of 32 points, 8 rebounds, 6 assists and 5 steals. They were 12x19 from the field, 2x4 from long distance and 6x8 from the line, with only 4 turnovers. The reserves got a total of 98 minutes of court time, nearly half of the teams total. All benches should be this good.

By contrast the Cortland bench only played 47 minutes, scored 8 points, had 5 rebounds 3 assists, and a steal They committed 5 turnovers in half the court time as the Bengals reserves and were 3x7 from the field 0x2 from distance, and 2x5 from the line. The Cortland starters all scored in double digits but they had to have been a bit more fatigued than the Bengal starters and that clearly worked to the Bengals' advantage once the game got into an extra session.

Kevin McMahon and Lamard Herron both had 17 points to lead the Dragons in scoring. McMahon added 8 rebounds, 2 assists a steal and a block. Herron had 7 assists, 5 rebounds, 2 steals and a block. Matt McGowan had a double double with 11 points and 10 rebounds. TJ Hefele had 16 points and 3 rebounds. Blair Estarfaa added 14 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals.

The Bengals got beat off the boards by a 37-30 margin but only had 15 turnovers to 19 for Cortland.

With the win, the logjam that existed before the weekend action started, has created another logjam between the same 4 teams (Buff St., Cortland, Oswego, and Oneonta) only they are now 6-6 instead of 5-5.

Buffalo State ups their overall record to 10-9 and will have 2 must win games this weekend when they travel east to take on New Paltz and then Oneonta. Two wins on the weekend will put them on the doorstep of the playoffs. The way I see it they would only need, at most, 1 more victory, to clinch a post-season spot, so with 4 games remaining and a game against last place Potsdam still to be played these 2 game upcoming will be huge for the Bengals. I know 9 wins will get you into the playoffs. Eight will do it if you own the tiebreaker over the other team with 8 wins.

Cortland drops to 11-8 overall and will host New Paltz tonight at 8 PM. They will then head on up to Oswego for their first matchup of the year against the Lakers. That game could have a major impact on where the playoff teams end up for seeding purposes.       

I had this game as a Buffalo State  win by an 86-82 score. Pretty close with the margin, the actual score and the total. I didn't count on the OT, though.     

[magicman]

Only two games on the docket for tonight but both will have playoff ramifications.


Oneonta State  at  Oswego State      8:00 PM

These Red Dragons are slip sliding away as they have only 1 win in their past 6 conference games. Four of those losses however have come against the 3 top teams, not only in the SUNYAC, but in the entire East Region...Brockport, Plattsburgh twice, and Geneseo. Now they tackle a team that is tied with them for 4th place in the conference. They defeated the Lakers earlier 75-69 at Dewar Arena in what was considered a mild upset at the time. That gives them, for the moment the tiebreaker over Oswego should they finish in a tie. The Lakers cannot afford to lose tonight's game since that would effectively give Oneonta a 2 game lead over the Lakers. The oddsmakers have made the home team a 5 point favorite but I don't think the oddsmakers know that Oswego's exciting point guard, freshman Brian Sortino is out with what I've been told is a broken arm, I believe. Still the Lakers were able to go into Buffalo State last weekend and steal a win there without Sortino, before being upset by lowly Fredonia the next day. The Lakers will miss Sortino no doubt about it, but it's tough to go into Laker Hall and come away with a win. I'll go with Oswego to win a tight one here in a must win situation 70-67.
         
   
New Paltz State  at  Cortland State      8:00 PM

The Hawks have been stuck on 3 wins in the YAC for the past 5 games and getting swept last weekend put a freeze on their playoff hopes, colder than the Polar Vortex, we've been hearing so much about. The last team they beat was Potsdam, when the Bears traveled to New Paltz. When the Hawks went to Potsdam last weekend, they couldn't duplicate that effort. So despite owning a win over these Red Dragons, also in New Paltz, I don't have much faith that they can replicate that win again either. The point spread has Cortland favored by 9 and the Red Dragons need a win here to keep pace with the other teams locked in that 4 way tie. I think they get it by a 78-71 final score.