MBB: State University of New York Athletic Conference

[magicman]

Down the stretch they come. Only 2 weekends left in the regular season. For the playoff contenders every game is huge. Seven teams still alive for a playoff berth. One of them will be disappointed. All ten teams in action tonight.


Geneseo State  at    Fredonia State      8:00 PM

The Knights tried to lay a claim for the regular season crown on Tuesday. Instead of tightening up the teams at the top, the loss to the Golden Eagles basically gave Brockport the regular season crown. Now Geneseo will duke it out with Plattsburgh to see which team gets a first round bye...if they even want one. Fredonia comes into this game having won 2 of their last 3 conference games. That's as close to a winning streak as the Blue Devils have had all year. Oddsmakers have listed the Knights as 15 point favorites in this game and the Blue Devils will be hard pressed to keep it that close. Geneseo wins this one 82-68.

         
   
Oswego State  at    Potsdam State      8:00 PM

Lakers have a leg up on the other teams for the #4 seed and the right to host a playoff game. Tonight is a game they have to put in the win column to keep that advantage. The Bears are just playing out the string here but could spring the upset if the Lakers take them lightly. Can you say, Fredonia? The point spread has Oswego on top by 11 points. The last time they met Oswego won by 29 but Potsdam had some injury problems. This time it's the Lakers that have a top player out with injuries. Will that make the outcome a different story? No it won't, but the Bears keep it closer than the last meeting. Lakers win 76-64.

     
   
Brockport State  at   Buffalo State      8:00 PM

The Golden Eagles stretched their winning streak over the Bengals to 6 games with a win back on January 21st. That game was much closer than the final 15 point margin indicated. Buffalo State needs a win this weekend against either Brockport or Geneseo to keep pace in the playoff race.  Brockport may have already clinched the top spot for all practical purposes but I don't see them easing off the throttle. The oddsmakers have made Brockport a 9 point road favorite, but I think this one might be closer than that. The Bengals could win this game by 15 points...or lose it by 15 points. At least 7 different times this season, when I thought they would win, they didn't. Tonight I don't think they will win, lets see if they can prove me wrong again. Eagles take this one 87-82.       

 
   
New Paltz State  at  Oneonta State      8:00 PM

Oneonta has 3 games left and is currently sitting all alone in 5th place, just ahead of Cortland and Buffalo State. Their remaining two games are on the road against Geneseo and Brockport next weekend. I don't see any wins there, which means tonight's game against the Hawks is a must win situation. Failure to do so could see them tied for the final playoff spot and would necessitate a play in game, or even worse, miss the playoffs altogether. New Paltz is another team looking toward next year. Losers of their last 8 games the Hawks have been an enigma all season. Losing at home on Senior night to Fredonia, yet beating 4th place Oswego on the road. Hard to figure the Hawks out. The point spread has Oneonta favored by 8 points and the Red Dragons are my pick here as well. Final score will be something like Oneonta 80 New Paltz 75.

 

Cortland State  at  Plattsburgh State   8:00 PM

These Red Dragons invade Memorial Hall hoping to gain a split with the Cardinals in their season series. Going into this season the Red Dragons had won 5 of the previous 6 matchups. Plattsburgh won a close game earlier this season at Cortland 64-61.  Cortland entered that game undefeated at 4-0, while the Cardinals came in at 3-2. The teams  have gone in different directions since that meeting. Cortland is 8-8 since that loss and has an overall record of 12-9. They are just 7-7 in the SUNYAC and are in danger of missing the playoffs just a year after winning it all. Plattsburgh has gone 12-2 since that first meeting and with an overall 16-4 record (10-3 YAC) is one of the top teams in the East Region. The Cardinals will look to get back on the winning track after a loss at Geneseo to gain a  split of last weekend's big road trip. The oddsmakers have made the Cardinals an 11 point favorite but it wouldn't surprise me if this game is closer than that. Ill take the Cardinals to win it by a 78-70 margin.   

[Bengalsrule]

         
I sure hope your predictions aren't perfect tonight!!

[scooterman]

Bengal-Scooterman and Magic were both off by about 12-14 points. Blowout city-- 4 Bengals scored all but about 7 of your points. I said the Eagles were not going to put it in cruise, and they sure didn't tonight. Another all around team performance with 4 in double figures and 11 in the scoring column. Great Job Eagles and Coaching Staff!!!!!

[Bengalsrule]

Congrats on a good win!

[magicman]

Final scores in the SUNYAC tonight:

Plattsburgh 88    Cortland 71

Geneseo 77      Fredonia 56

Brockport 94   Buffalo State 74

Oneonta 87   New Paltz 75

Potsdam 68  Oswego 66

[magicman]

Plattsburgh State 88   Cortland State 71

I said the Cardinals would win this one 78-70. Hard to predict a team's going to shoot 66% from downtown and 65% from the field in the first half. The Cardinals were on fire, especially Eddie Correa and Ezra Hodgson who combined to go 11x13 from the field and 7x9 from long distance. It only took Correa 4 seconds after the opening tip to see if the heater was on as he drained his first three pointer. Hodgson didn't waste any time either as he buried one from downtown to give the Cards a quick 6-2 lead. Shavar Fields hit a jumper, then in rapid order came Correa with a jumper, Hodgson with another 3 pointer, Correa with a 3 pointer, Hodgson with a jumper and Correa finished off the 17-4 run with an other jumper and three pointer. Suddenly it was 23-6 and this game was all but over. Plattsburgh continued to pile on and stretched their lead to 27 points at 46-19 with 3:43 left and went into the half still up by that 27 point margin at 52-25.

Coach Spanbauer must have had a few choice words to say at halftime because it was the Red Dragons who came out of the break with intensity. After Fields hit a layup for the Cardinals to give them their largest lead of the game at 29 points, Cortland, led by sophomore Blair Estarfaa, went on a 19-5 outburst and narrowed the gap to 15 points at 59-44 with 13:42 remaining. Estarfaa scored 11 points during that run and Lamard Herron added 6. Plattsburgh took a time out to regroup, built the lead back to 20 points and maintained that comfort level over the next 10 minutes of the contest. The Red Dragons had one last push that narrowed the gap from 20 down to 13 with 2:45 to play but that was as close as they could get. A layup by the Cards John Perez, who followed that up with a 3 point play, put to rest any hopes Cortland had for a miracle ending.

Plattsburgh had 5 players reach double figure and the man with the hot hand, Eddie Corea was their leading scorer with 20 points. Eddie was 7x11 from the field and 5x8 from long range. Shamoy McIntosh didn't start tonight's game but came in and scored 16 points (3x6 fg, 2x5 3's, 8x12 ft) with 3 steals, 2 rebounds and 2 assists. Ezra Hodgson was almost perfect tonight as he totaled 15 points. Ezra was 6x7 from the field, 3x4 from behind the arc and 1x1 from the line. John Perez also had 15 points (4x8 fg. 7x7 ft) and a team high 6 rebounds. Shavar Fields had 10 points (5x11 fg) 4 rebounds and 3 steals. Point guard Chris Manning had 7 assists and 5 rebounds.

Plattsburgh ended up shooting 53.8% from the field (28x52), 47.6% from the 3 point line (10x21) and 64.7% from the stripe (22x34). They enjoyed a substantial margin off the glass 39-29 and had 17 turnovers to 16 for Cortland.

The Red Dragons shot 40.3% from the field (25x62), only 15.4% from long range (4x26) and 73.9% from the foul line (17x23).

Cortland's Blair Estatfaa was the game's high scorer with a career high 22 points (7x12 fg, 3x7 3's, 5x5 f). He added 3 rebounds, 2 steals, a block and 1 assist. Kevin McMahon was held scoreless in the first half but the big guy ended up with 13 points (4x12 fg, 0x4 3's, 5x5 ft) and a game high 7 rebounds. Lamard Herron added 12 points (5x12 fg, 1x5 3's, and 1x1 ft).  Red Dragons with only 32 points from their starters and 39 points from the bench.

Plattsburgh improves to 11-3 in the YAC and 17-4 overall. They will host Oswego this afternoon at 4:00 PM. The Cardinals who sit at #13 in the Massey Ratings and #36 in the D3hoops poll are still tied for 2nd place  with Geneseo in conference play.

Cortland drops to 7-8 in the conference and 12-10 overall. The Red Dragons are still tied for the final playoff spot with Buffalo State, They head over to take on Potsdam this afternoon at 4:00 PM, and what looked to be a game they could put in the win column got a bit tougher as the Bears got some of their growl back with a 68-66 win over Oswego last night....an Oswego team that handled Cortland last week 60-41. This is a must win situation for Cortland if they hope to have any chance for a playoff berth.

[NYHOOPS8]

The 5th and 6th spots for the conference tourney looks like it may come down to the final weekend; barring any upsets. The Cortland/Oswego matchup on the last day should be for the 5th spot and the loser may be in a tiebreaking situation with Buffalo State. Oswego has to face Brockport and Plattsburgh in their next two which would lead to the must-win finale vs. Cortland. If Cortland or Buffalo St can pull a win over Geneseo, that would put them in a great for a berth in the playoffs.

[thebear]

Bengals expecting huge props for last night, staying alive.  Witherspoonesque 3 at the buzzer.

[magicman]

Potsdam 68  Oswego 66

Upset special of the day as the Bears get a buzzer beating 3 pointer by Joe Estramonte to  take down Oswego 68-66. I'm sure the Laker faithful didn't see that one coming. I know I didn't. I had Oswego winning this one by a 76-64 margin and figured if Potsdam kept it that close it would be a big improvement over the 29 point shellacking the Lakers put on the Bears back in December. Good job by Potsdam to finally get a decent win.

The game was closely contested throughout, with 10 ties and 5 lead changes, and for most of the contest Potsdam had the slight lead while the Lakers were the ones playing catch up. The largest lead in the first half was a 6 point Potsdam advantage of 17-11 at the 12:34 mark. The Bears equaled that margin in the 2nd half went they went in front 49-43 on a pair of Zac Adams free throws with 14:16 left in the game. Three minutes later the score was tied yet again and the teams would trade leads, fight through 3 more ties until the Lakers Rashawn Powell scored to put them in front at 57-55. Daniel Ross followed with a 3 pointer, the Bears Rob Duquette scored inside, but Powell and Keith Tyson had back to back buckets for Oswego and suddenly they were in front with the largest lead of the game at 64-57 with 4:31 left in the game. That's been the point, it seems all year, where the Bears have failed to make something happen... down the stretch. But not today. Potsdam got a three pointer from Joe Estramonte, Oswego scored inside, and the Bears' Tom Graf buried a trifecta to make it 66-63 with 2:17 left. Both teams missed scoring opportunities and with 1:30 left the Lakers went to the line with a chance to extend the lead. They missed both free throws however and that led to a Rob Duquette layup for Potsdam to close the deficit to a single point with just 10 seconds remaining. Duquette was fouled on the made basket but missed the free throw and it looked like the Bears' chances were short circuited once again. Oswego collected the rebound off the missed free throw and the Bears fouled with 6 seconds to play. Oswego with a chance to guarantee, at worst, an extra session missed the front end of a 1&1. The Bears' Colin Peterson grabbed the rebound, passed to Estramonte who became the hero with his game ending long three pointer at the buzzer.

Joe Estramonte led the Bears with 20 points (6x11 fg, 6x10 3's, 2x2 ft).  Zac Adams had 18 points, 4 rebounds, 2 steals and 1 assists. Colin Peterson and Rob Duquette both had 10 points, while Peterson had a team high 8 rebounds.

Daniel Ross had 13 points to lead the Lakers. Rashawn Powell had 10 points and a game high 10 rebounds. Jamel Mosley came off the bench to score 10 points and grab 7 rebounds. Mark Candelaria had 12 points and 3 rebounds.

Lakers inability to make clutch free throws cost them this game and may have cost them the opportunity to host a playoff game. It doesn't get any easier for them today as they take on 2nd place Plattsburgh in Memorial Hall at 4 PM.

The Bears try for a winning streak and the spoiler role once again when they host Cortland  who desperately needs a win to make the playoffs. That game will also tip off at 4 Pm.

[magicman]

4 games on tap for today. Three of them with huge playoff implications. Pressed for time  so just some predicted scores today.



Oswego State      Plattsburgh State      4:00 PM

Cards will win this one 78-66 to avenge the loss down at Oswego in December.
 
   
   
Cortland State      Potsdam State      4:00 PM

Red Dragons regroup and take down the upstart Bears 70-65

 
   
Brockport State      Fredonia State      4:00 PM

Golden Eagles just keep rolling as they win by a 86-62 final score.

 
   
Geneseo State      Buffalo State      4:00 PM

Hope I get this one wrong but I think Gordon Lyons will be too much to handle for the Bengals. Knights win this one 85-80.
   

[scooterman]

I watched the Fredonia-Bport game on u-stream. The Eagles took no prisoners again today. They were up by 20 at halftime using their 10-11 rotation system. They even threw a Christian Lattner  three quarters court pass with a couple seconds left in first half to Coyle for a short jumper. The third team played most of last 10 minutes of game. Wow-I felt sorry for the undermanned Fredonia squad. Congrats, to my beloved Eagles--Keep it going!!

[magicman]

Final scores:

Plattsburgh 82   Oswego 72 in overtime.   I was fairly close with my 78-66 prediction. Needed OT though as the halftime score was only
                                                              27-26


Geneseo 81  Buffalo State 67                   Thought the Bengals would  keep it a bit closer. They were doing fine only down 48-43 with
                                                             16:20 left in the game. Then the Knights exploded with an 18-0 run. I had it 85-80 Knights.



Brockport 93  Fredonia 61                       I had this one 86-62 so the final score was fairly close to what I anticipated.



Cortland 79  Potsdam 67                          The Bears scored about what I thought they would as I had this one 70-65.  4 for 4  today
                                                              8 for 9 on the weekend.


Updated Standings:

1.   Brockport          14-1
2.   Plattsburgh        12-3  Holds the tiebreaker over Geneseo
3.   Geneseo            12-3
4.   Oneonta             9-7
5.   Oswego              8-8  Holds the tiebreaker over Cortland
6.   Cortland             8-8
7.   Buffalo State       7-9
8.   New Paltz           3-13
8    Fredonia             3-13
10. Potsdam              2-13

[magicman]

Plattsburgh 82  Oswego 72   in Overtime

The Cardinals seem to think they can turn it on and off at will. Today that attitude almost cost them. They opened up this game much like they started yesterday's game only it was the inside game of John Perez that got the Cardinals off and running. JP hit the first 3 Plattsburgh baskets and Shavar Fields added another layup to give the cards an early 8-2 lead. After Shamoy McIntosh hit a jumper, Perez came back with 2 more buckets in the paint and when Ezra Hodgson also scored inside the Cardinals had opened up a 16-5 lead with 11:06 left in the half. Plattsburgh  would extend that margin to 21-9 a short time later on a 3 pointer from Hodgson and that would be the largest lead of the game for either team. There were 9 minutes left in the period at that point but the Cardinals must have thought the halftime buzzer went off because it certainly looked like they stopped playing. They were getting beat to the basket on defense, getting beat off the glass especially on the defensive end, and lazy passes were leading to turnovers, all of which led to an Oswego resurgence that carried the Lakers from that 12 point deficit into a 4 point lead as they outscored Plattsburgh 18-2 and went in front 27-23 with 6 seconds left in the period. Ed Correa's buzzer beating trifecta brought the Cardinals within a point as they went into the break down 27-26. All Plattsburgh managed to do in the last 9 minutes of the period was attempt 6 shots and they only made 2, with one being the buzzer beater. They did however manage to turn the ball over 9 times without getting a shot off and they committed 6 fouls in an absolutely pitiful display after playing so well for the first 11 minutes of the half.

The second half would prove to be so tightly contested that more time was necessary to resolve the outcome. Neither team could open much daylight and the largest lead was only 5 points by Plattsburgh at 2 different times in the period. Both times Oswego quickly tied the contest back up. There were 8 ties and 9 lead changes in the period and it looked like the Lakers would be the team coming out on top as they grabbed their largest lead of the period at 68-64 with only 37 seconds left to play. It only took the Cardinals point guard Chris Manning 6 seconds to drive the length of the court and make an acrobatic layup and Plattsburgh called time out with 31 ticks left. Plattsburgh chose to foul Daniel Ross on the inbounds pass and sent him to the line for a 1&1. For the 2nd night in a row the leading scorer for the Lakers missed the front end and Plattsburgh got the rebound. The Cardinals didn't take a timeout but pushed it up the floor looking for the equalizer or the win. Shamoy McIntosh took it to the hoop and was fouled trying for the layup. He calmly swished both free throws but there was still 16 seconds on the clock and plenty of time for Oswego to hit the game winner. Plattsburgh's Coach Curle called a timeout to set the defense knowing full well the Lakers were certain to go to Ross. The Cardinals were up to the challenge though as they denied him a path to the basket and forced him into taking a three point attempt at the buzzer that failed to draw iron.

The overtime period was an inside job so to speak, as both teams attacked the interior. First John Perez scored in the paint for the Cards and then Keith Tyson did likewise for the Lakers. After another Cardinal turnover, the Lakers went inside again, this time to Elijah McLaurin, but the Cardinals got a hoop and one from Shavar Fields and his free throw gave Plattsburgh a 73-72 lead. It was the final lead change of the game. After both teams missed several chances, Fields scored in the paint once more and after an Oswego miss, Perez was fouled on his inside move. He made 1 of 2 to make it a two possession game with 1:53 to go. Ross made a move to the hoop for the Lakers but couldn't get the roll and Shamoy McIntosh got the rebound and was fouled seconds later. He made 1 of 2 and after the teams played the turnover game, Oswego came up empty again. Chris Manning went to the line for Plattsburgh and made 1 of 2 but Fields was in the right place, grabbed the missed free throw and put it in for an 80-72 lead.  Seconds later after another Oswego miss the Cards had a breakaway that resulted in a Fields dunk that ended the scoring.

Plattsburgh placed 4 players in double figures led by their 2 forwards John Perez and Shavar Fields. Both players had double-doubles, and were unstoppable tonight when they got the ball down low. Interestingly enough, their stat lines were very similar. John scored 21 points (8x12 fg, 5x7 ft), had 10 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 blocks in 38 minutes. Shavar also scored 21 points (10-16 fg, 1x1 ft), had 10 rebounds, and 3 assists in 37 minutes. Eddie Correa had another good night shooting the rock as he had 16 points (5x9 fg,3x7 3's,3x3 ft) and 5 rebounds in 41 minutes. Point guard Chris Manning had 12 points (4x6 fg, 1x3 3's, 3x5 ft) 6 steals, 3 rebounds, 3 assists and a block in 40 minutes. Shamoy McIntosh had 5 points, 6 rebounds and a steal. Ezra Hodgson had 5 points in the first half but took a bad fall right before the half ended and the coaches gave him the rest of the night off. he assured me he was OK though so i expect to see him back in the lineup next weekend. The Cards have several players with some nagging injuries that they are playing through right now so some time off would be welcome. Unfortuately the last week of action features a Tuesday road game against Potsdam before the weekend invasion of Buff State and Fredonia.

Plattsburgh shot 31x55 from the field (56.4%), 5x14 from downtown (35.7%) and 15x20 from the line (75%). That marked the 2nd night in a row Plattsburgh shot better than 53% from the field. I hope those numbers keep coming. The Cardinals enjoyed a big rebounding margin in the 2nd half and overtime as they ended up with a 41 boards to 33 for the Lakers. At halftime the Lakers held a 20 to 18 advantage. Turnovers were a big problem for Plattsburgh in this game as they had 24 giveaways to 16 for Oswego.

Oswego's Daniel Ross was the game's high scorer with 28 points (9x16 fg, 1x4 3's, 9x12 ft). He also had 4 rebounds, 4 steal and 2 assists while playing the entire game. Rashawn Powell had 15 points (6x12 fg,1x1 3's, 2x2 ft) and 9 rebounds in 43 minutes. Keith Tyson added 12 points (5x7 fg, 2x5 ft) and 4 rebounds.

The Lakers shot 26x67 from the field (38.8%), 5x21 from long range (23.8%) and 15x23 from the line (65.2%) as they trailed the Cardinals in all 3 categories.

Plattsburgh improves to 12-3 in the conference and 18-4 overall. They remain in 2nd place and will travel to Potsdam for an 8 PM game on Tuesday night. They are still #13 in the Massey Ratings and should see some upward mobility from the #36 spot they currently occupy in the D3hoops Top 25 poll when the new poll comes out on Monday evening.

Oswego drops to 8-8 in the YAC and 14-9 overall. This was a lost weekend for the Lakers as they were hoping for a 1-1 split at worst. Not only that but the Laker women went 0-2 as well on their trip to the North Country. The good news however is that the Lakers still have a chance to end up with the #4 seed and host a playoff game. The bad news is they have to win their final 2 games to keep that hope alive as they host Brockport on Tuesday and travel to Cortland on Saturday.

[magicman]

The new D3hoops Top 25 Poll is out and Brockport State is ranked #14 as they check in with 279 points. The Golden Eagles had a 3-0 week and a win at Geneseo which helped move them up the ladder. They were #19 last week with 189 points. The #14 spot is their highest position this season.

Geneseo with a 2-1 week got a few more points than they had last week as they go from 21 points to 29 points but actually dropped from #31 to #33.

Plattsburgh despite a 2-0 week only got 1 more vote than they did last week and fell from the #36 spot with 8 points to the #42 spot with 9 points. With an 18-4 record the Cardinals do not have a bad loss on their resume.

No other teams in the East Region received any points.   

I believe when the Regional Rankings come out this Wednesday, that Plattsburgh will be ranked ahead of Geneseo. Plattsburgh went 1-1 against Brockport handing the Golden Eagles their only loss on their home court. Geneseo lost twice to Brockport. Plattsburgh also has a better SOS, better win percentage, and better record vs regionally ranked opponents. Plattsburgh and Geneseo split their series, each winning at home. 

The Massey Ratings as of 2-17 had Brockport ranked at #5...Plattsburgh ranked at #11 and Geneseo ranked at #21. Plattsburgh has a stronger SOS than either of the other 2 teams.

Here's a link to the complete Top 25 Poll:

http://d3hoops.com/top25/men/2013-14/week11   

[magicman]

The SUNYAC Player of the Week for the week ending 2-16 is Gordon Lyons from Geneseo. This is the 3rd time that Gordon has been selected as the POTW this year. Congratulations to Gordon for the outstanding season he's putting together.

Here's the writeup from the SUNYAC website:


Gordon Lyons, Geneseo
Amherst / Canisius

Lyons averaged a double-double 21.3 points and 12.3 rebounds while shooting a sizzling 65.8% for the Knights last week. Lyons was on fire in Geneseo's duel with Brockport, scoring 25 points and grabbing a SUNYAC single-game season high 17 rebounds. He also added 28 points, including the 1,000th of his career, and totaled 16 boards in a victory at Buffalo State on Saturday.