MBB: State University of New York Athletic Conference

[FranElia]

FYI - my apologies to the loyal fans for no live stats from the Cortland game tonight. We're probably going to go a while without them. Long story that I can't get into here, but the decision was out of our hands.  We at least will hopefully have video for most of the games.  -- Fran

I couldn't get video either.

I'm sorry about that. The video seemed to be fine for most, however. We had more than 200 viewers at one point, from what I've been told. We stream on YouTube Live, which tends to work on most devices.

[magicman]

Cortland gets the YAC in the win column with a tough 70-66 win over Ithaca in the Cortaca Bowl hardwood version to avenge the football loss on Saturday.

I expected the Red Dragons to put up close to 90 points since Ithaca wasn't known for their defense and with the Bombers returning just about everyone from last year I expected a more competitive game than last year's 38 point  blowout.  The Bombers gave Cortland all they could handle and very nearly won this game. Cortland had an early lead but Ithaca went in front and held the lead for most of the first half. Cortland finally caught them at 20-20 but still went into the break down 29-26.

The Bombers wouldn't go away in the 2nd half either and maintained the lead until Cortland finally drew even with 5 minutes gone by in the 2nd period. Several ties and lead changes would follow until the Bombers down 44-42 would score 8 straight points to go up 50-44 with 8:49 to play. A slew of 3 pointers by the Bombers, including 3 treys by Riley Thompson gave them a 56-47 advantage. On the other side, the Red Dragons Nicky Bonura entered the game and kept the Cortland contingent alive by hitting 5 straight shots, 4 of them from behind the arc, to pull the Red Dragons within a point at 56-55. When Bonura finally missed a shot, big man Zach Lydon was  there to grab the rebound for a putback and the lead at 57-56.  The lead would change hands two more times before Cortland would seize it for good and this time it was James Morales who would go streaking as he made 4 straight buckets beginning with a 3 pointer, followed by a jumper, a layup and another jumper. His 9 straight points gave Cortland a 66-62 lead with 27 ticks on the clock. Thompson made a pair of free throws for the Bombers that were countered by a pair from the line by Lydon. The Bombers got a layup with 8 seconds left to get within 2 points but Justin Cooper closed the door with 2 points from the line to make it a 2 possession game with 6 seconds left. Ithaca missed a 3 pointer and the Cortaca Jug belonged to the Red Dragons.

James Morales led all scorers with a game high 28 points, hitting 12x19 from the field. Nicky Bonura was next with 16 points getting all but 2 of them in that 6 minute stretch in the 2nd half. Justin Cooper had 8 points and a team high 8 rebounds. Zach Lydn also grabbed 8 boards to go along with his 4 points. Good to see Carrell Joseph return to action as the big guy had 3 points and grabbed 7 boards in 19 minutes of floor time.

Ithaca was led by Riley Thompson with 21 points and Marc Chasin had 16 points. Peter Ezema was the game's top rebounder with 11 boards.

Shooting stats were almost even with a slight edge going to Cortland and both teams had 37 rebounds and 10 turnovers. Cortland had 7 threes and Ithaca had 8 but the Red Dragons were 13x15 from the line while Ithaca was 6x8.

Cortland will be back on the court on Saturday when they host the  SUNY-Canton Kangaroos at 2:00 PM     

[Bengalsrule]

Welcome back my friends to the show that never ends... to steal a phrase from Emerson, Lake and Palmer. For all you young ballers out there that have never heard of Emerson Lake and Palmer here's a clip from their 1970 hit single Lucky Man: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fn_1d_DUE08

There will be a Lucky Man come Saturday evening,  February 24th when a YAC coach gets to hold the trophy that signifies the winner of the Conference Tournament. Who will that be? Will it be Coach Dunne from Brockport, or will Coach Leone from the Oswego Lakers get to hoist it once again. Coach Spanbauer likes his chances, but probably won't tell you that he does. And what about Coach Curle who missed the playoffs completely last year in somewhat of a shocker. (I know I was shocked even if he wasn't) Will the Cardinals be able to turn things around and get back to the playoffs?

How will 2nd year head coach Cameron Conover follow up his successful debut as he led the Oneonta Red Dragons to the championship game of the SUNYAC, against Oswego and came within a whisker of winning the big prize as they trailed the Lakers 72-70 with 16 seconds left in the game. The Lakers hit their free throws to win 75-70 but Oneonta proved they belonged in the big game. Now Coach Conover is faced with the loss of the Red Dragons scoring triumvirate of Frankie Kelly, Lawrence Coleman, and all time scoring leader, Mikey McElroy. Losing any one of those players hurts, but losing all 3 in a single year  certainly makes one wonder where the offense that was ranked  #1 in the YAC and 28th in the country will come from this year.

Where does Buffalo State fit into the picture. They lost 4 of their 5 double digit scorers from last year. They do have Justin Henry back and if you're going to get just one of your starters back, he's a good one to get. But there are 10 new faces on the 15 player roster. They brought in several new big men, a 6'7" freshman and a 6'8" sophomore, but they are unknown factors at the present time. I think Coach Ansari and the rest of the Bengal staff may be in for a long cold winter. With 7 freshman on the team it has "a rebuilding year" written all over it. But there's a lot of talent in the Queen City area and I'm sure the Bengals coaching staff went out and found some players. How soon can this team come together will be the question. 

Geneseo suffered some big losses as well with the departure of Justin Ringen, John Decker and Jack Eisenberg...3 starters that accounted for nearly 60% of their offense. Coach Minton will be working overtime to get the Knights up to speed. Senior guard Kevin Crockett is the only returning double digit scorer and he will get help from  junior big man Jack Manke and sophmore guard Tommy Eastman who showed promise last year as a freshman scoring 175 points and grabbing nearly 4 rpg while averaging 19 minutes of floor time per game.  The Knights do return 6 players that averaged double digit minutes last year but they need to figure out where the offense will come from and who the go to guys will be. A problem they haven't had for the last few years.

Fredonia almost made the playoffs last season and they did manage to win 3 games against some of the better teams in the conference. Most impressive was their win over conference champion Oswego, and road wins in Plattsburgh and Geneseo. The big question is can they ratchet those results up a notch and make the playoffs? They return their main offensive weapon in big man Ian Helps who returns for his senior season but they lost 3 starters and 5 players that gave them double digit minutes. Freshman big man 6'7" Jonathan McDonald could be a bright spot among the new recruits. He had 10 points and 8 boards against DI Fordham in an exhibition game 2 weeks ago. Returning guard Dante Williams figures to be an important part of the Blue Devils offense as he averaged nearly double figures last season and almost 6 boards a game. They will be a work in progress until they figure out where the offense will come from. They lost more than half of their point production and Helps will need all the help he can get as other teams will certainly key on him when Fredonia has the ball. Coach Phil Seymour is beginning his 5th year as the Blue Devils coach and last year's 10 wins represent the most under his direction. The 7 conference wins was also a high water mark. He'd like to get over the hump and have his first winning season but I think the odds are against him. I think he 'll come closer but 11 or 12 wins are where I see the Blue Devls peaking this season. But I won't mind if the team makes me eat those words. I'd love for all the YAC teams to have a winning record. 

What's going on in Potsdam? My alma mater has certainly fallen on hard times over the past 8 years where they have a won-lost record of 38-162. That's a average of less than 5 wins per year and over 20 losses per season. They won 3 games last year which was 2 more than they did the year before. It was Coach Jim Bechtel's first season at the helm and he brought in lots of new faces. The good news is most of those new faces have returned for another go around. 11 guys returned off a roster of 14 that started the 2016-17 season. Plus he brought in another large recruiting class of 6 freshman so the numbers are there and hopefully so is the talent. The coach did an excellent job of recruiting when he was at his last stop as the head man at SUNY-Canton. He had his work cut out for him at Potsdam (and still does)and the program needs to make some more gains this year. It will be interesting to see if the Bears can take a step forward this year. I think they will but I don't see them making the playoffs, unfortunately, but I'm more than willing to be proven wrong...are you listening Coach?...Please prove me wrong! I've suffered long enough.

That brings us to New Paltz and what the Hawks can do to improve upon a winless SUNYAC campaign of  a year ago. They can only improve upon that 1-23 mark. They lost 5 games by 6 points or less and the one game they did win was against their 2nd toughest non-conference opponent...Springfield College.

New head coach Keith Kenny certainly knows how to play the game as he scored nearly 2000 points in his 4 year college career at Cobleskill and then New Paltz (actually 1918 points). He was a two time SUNYAC All Conference 1st team selection and has the 5th highest scoring average in SUNYAC history (20.5 ppg).  He scored almost a thousand points at both colleges in only 2 years at each school. That's one heck of an accomplishment. 

What appears to be a bright spot for the Hawks is Kevin Coyle, a 6'4" guard/forward. Coyle only played in 2 games last year, but is listed on the current roster. He opened up with 26 points against Vassar College and only saw action in the next game. The Hawks also return 7 of their top 10 rotation players that each saw action of at least 10 minutes per game. They lost leading scorer Andrew Seniuk but will get the services of Dylan Balducci and Nick Paquette, their two main 3 point shooters, to fire up shots from behind the arc. Also back after a year's absence is 6'5" forward Brandon Guest who averaged 8.4 ppg and 5.9 rpg in the 2015-16 season. With his availability and the return of Coyle perhaps the Hawks will be able to generate some offense and get some much needed help off the glass. New recruits were 4 freshman guards who have some solid high school credentials and may get some playing time early on. I think the Hawks and Coach Kenny will improve considerably upon last year's misfortunes. The improved play of both the Hawks and Potsdam will help out the strength of our conference as they have held us down for the past few seasons. 

I think the contenders this year are the schools I mentioned in my 2nd paragraph. Brockport, Cortland Oswego and Plattsburgh, not necessarily in that order. One of these schools will win the crown and the other 3 will come in 2nd 3rd and 4th. Tomorrow or later tonight if I have time, after I attend the Cardinal's Red and White scrimmage at 6 PM, I'll make my picks and talk more about these 4 teams.

Geneseo, Oneonta, Buffalo State are the pretenders. They are in the playoff mix but I don't see any of them winning the YAC championship this year. One of them will miss the playoffs like the Cardinals were the odd man out last year.

Once again I see Fredonia, Potsdam, and New Paltz bringing up the rear of the conference, again not necessarily in that order, just that they will occupy the last 3 spots.  But all three could surprise and have different reasons for doing so. I've been a follower of this conference for over 52 years and I've seen plenty of surprises over the years. Surprises that many of the current group of coaches weren't even born yet to witness.

Time for some predictions on tonight's games. Back in a few minutes.

   
   

Hopefully we, Buffalo State, will get another talented player in the future who's named "Justin Henry". At present however there is no one on the team named Justin Henry nor has there ever been (at least in the past 11 years). The BENGALS do have a talented, 2nd team All - SUNYAC teamer last year named Mike Henry.   http://buffalostateathletics.com/roster.aspx?rp_id=4858&path=mbball

So either you have a crystal ball or have you have renamed Mike. Hopefully Mike doesn't see your post! You clearly got the BENGALs staff attention though!

Go BENGALS

and

Go MIKE HENRY!

oh and BTW

Happy Birthday Magicman!!

[magicman]

Why don't you make it a little bigger so it will stand out. I knew it was Mike not Justin. In fact I spotted my mistake, meant to go back and fix it but got a phone call from a coach as I was in the process of typing my post. That got me sidetracked and then I had to leave my house in a hurry to meet someone. I hit the post button and didn't realize I never corrected the mistake in Mike's name until I spotted your "hard to see post".

If somehow Mike missed my post and my mistake I really don't see how he could miss yours.

As I said earlier I've had a rough summer and you don 't know the half of it.

Thanks for the birthday wishes.

[magicman]

Oneonta defeats Keystone 97-85

That gave me a perfect 3-0 mark with my picks Wednesday night to start the season. I'd gladly sacrifice a few wins if the conference teams would win when I pick them to lose. Always want the YAC teams to come away with a  victory... just have to be realistic with the matchups and pick the games as objectively as I can. I will put my heart on my sleeve on occasion for a certain team with red and white colors and a bird mascot.

The Red Dragons started their new season much like they ended last season by scoring lots of points as they put up a few more than the 79 I thought they would get. Maybe Coach Conover got some prized new recruits to take over for the troops he lost through graduation. Here's hoping.

I had a complete rundown of this game all typed up and ready to post and somehow my computer just shuffled it off to never never land and I lost the entire post. I'm too tired to do it all again. Here's the shortened version.

The Red Dragons took control of this game midway through the first half and every time the Giants came within a couple of possessions the boys from Oneonta would open up some more daylight. They got up by double digits toward the end of the first half and went into the break up by 12 points 48-36. They allowed the Giants to get as close as 4 points with 14:52 left in the game but had the lead back to double figures shortly after and coasted to the finish line with the 12 point win.

5 players had double figures led by Ian Schultz with game highs of 20 points and 11 rebounds for a nice double-double to open the season. Dwayne Freeman added 15 points, 3 assists, 2 blocks, and a steal. Newcomer to the team, junior Matt Boyd, was close to a triple double in his Red Dragon debut as he tallied 14 points, had 9 assists and 8 rebounds. He also had a pair of steals. Another new face, junior Anthony Kirkwood had 10 points and 4 rebounds in 15 minutes of court time. Freshman Andres Rivera had 13 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists and a steal in his first collegiate game. Kevin Mackin added 9 points and 5 rebounds. All 12 players broke into the scoring column. The Red Dragons outshot Keystone in every category and won the battle of the boards 54 to 34. The only negative was the 23 turnovers committed by Oneonta to only 10 turnovers for Keystone.

Oneonta will be back in action on Friday Nov 17th as they travel to Lycoming College to participate in the Lycoming Tip Off Tournament. They will take on Desales at 8 PM on Friday and face either Lycoming College or Penn State Wilkes Barre on Saturday.     

[magicman]

Nov. 17  6 Teams in action tonight in 6 different tip off tournaments   

Brockport State  vs  Western Connecticut     6:00 PM   at Manhattanville College Tip Off Tournament
Oddsmakers have Brockport favored by 9 points. I think that's about right.Going with the Golden Eagles in this one by an 82-74 final score.
   
John Carroll  vs  Fredonia State     6:00 PM Hilbert Tip-Off Tournament @ Hamburg, N.Y. 
Someone will be singing the Blues after this one is over, and it looks to be Fredonia. The point spread has John Carroll favored by 12 points but I think the Blue Streaks will be all over the Blue Devils by an 85-60 final score as Fredonia still struggles on offense.

New Paltz State  @  Muhlenberg        8:00 PM  Muhlenberg Tournament @ Allentown, Penn.
The Mules are favored by 9 points but the Hawks could pull off the upset here. I'm probably making a heart over head choice here but I'll take New Paltz and their new coach to do just that by a final of 70-67.

Oneonta State vs  DeSales        8:00 PM  Lycoming Tournament @ Williamsport, PA   
The Red Dragons try to start a streak after opening the season with a win. Oddsmakers favor them by 4 points in this contest. Both teams lost a ton of talent but Oneonta looked good in their opener. I'll take the Red Dragons to win by an 86-79 final score.
   
Green Mountain @ Potsdam State 8:00 PM  North Country Tip Off Tournament   
The Bears get a chance for an early season win at home and I'm hopeful they can pull it off. Green Mountain lost its top 5 scorers from last year. Not sure why the oddsmakers favor them to win this game by 4 points, but I'm taking my Bears to win by a 70-65 final score.

Villa Maria College @  Buffalo State        8:00 PM  Buffalo State Coles Classic

The Bengals open up against Villa Maria in their annual contest and are favored to win by a double digit 16 point margin. I don't know much about the opponents but I'm taking the Bengals to win against a non D3 team. Buff State 85 Villa Maria 74.

[Bengalsrule]

Whew.  Mama said that there would be days like this .  Down 20 in the 1st half was not what I had envisioned when I arrived at Buff State Sports Arena Tonight!  Fortunately the boys fought back in the 2nd half to take the lead only to watch Villa run take a 18-5 run to close out the game! Oowweee. This one hurts ! Got give Villa thier due. This was their 5th game so far this season and it showed! Tomorrow's opponent has played 6 games ( or more ) already do it won't get any easier for us when we face Point Park in the consolation game tomorrow!

Fret not BENGAL lovers ( or haters). It will get better. We are BUFF STATE!

Go BENGALS !!

[magicman]

Nov. 18 Everyone in action today with 10 games on tap. Not a lot of time so just some quick picks. Already behind on a couple of games that tipped off at 1:00 PM.

Geneseo State @  Marymount     1:00 PM  Marymount Tip Off Tournament
Knights win a close one 75-71. They are favored by 3 points

William Paterson  vs  Brockport   State     1:00 PM  @ at Manhattanville
Port gets back on the winning track with a 75-70 victory They are 10 point favorites.
   
Fredonia State @ Hilbert        1:00 PM     Hilbert Hawks Tip-Off Tournament
Blue Devils are favored for a change  as the oddsmakers give them a 2 point edge. Not sure they can pull off the win though. I'm taking Hilbert to win in a close one by a 78-74 final score.

      
SUNY-Canton  @ Cortland State     200 PM
Cortland should have an easy time of this one. They are favored by 10 points. Ithaca beat the Kangaroos by 28 yesterday. Red Dragons 98-Canton 72.
   
Oneonta State @ Lycoming        3:00 PM     Lycoming Tournament
Hosts are favored here by a slim 3 point margin.    I'm picking Oneonta to pull off the mild upset in this one. Red Dragons on top 81-77.

New Paltz State  vs  Rutgers-Camden        3:00 PM Muhlenberg Tournament @ Allentown, Pa.   
The Hawks lost their opener yesterday but at least they were in a competitive game. They are 3 point underdogs today but I think they can win this game. I'll take New Paltz to win by a 74-70 final score.

Bridgewater State  @  SUNY Potsdam        3:00 PM   North Country Invitational
Will you guys bear with me?  It's the Bridgewater State Bears against the Potsdam State Bears for the championship of the North Country Invitational. Potsdam opens the season with a victory as they won yesterday over Green Mountain...Yay!!   Can they now have a winning streak for the first time in years? The oddsmakers say no as they are listed as an 8 point underdog. Bridgewater State usually has a decent team so the local Bear contingent will have their work cut out for them...but I'm picking Potsdam to win a barnburner on their home court by a 69-66 final score.
   
Point Park  @  Buffalo State        4:00 PM   Buffalo State Coles Classic
The Bengals got beat yesterday by a non-D3 team...will it happen two days in a row? The oddsmaker say no as they have the Bengals listed as a 13 point favorite. I think that's too many but I will pick them to win by a 92-87 final score.
   
Oswego State  vs  Hamilton        4:00 PM      @ Elmira
The Lakers lost to their former coach last year at Hamilton by a 78-70 score. Oswego's Coach Leone ususally reloads but I think this year's Laker team is not quite as strong as last year's team with the loss of All American Brian Sortino. I also think that Coach Adam Stockwell has Hamilton in a position to make some noise in this year's NESCAC conference. The oddsmakers have Oswego favored by a slim 2 points but I think Hamilton and Coach Stockwell will keep bragging rights for one more year. Hamilton wins 78-74. Hope I'm wrong about this one though. A SUNYAC win over a NESCAC opponent is always sweet. Go Lakers!! Adam, I'll root for the Continentals in most every other game though (except when they play Middlebury ).

Keene State  @  Plattsburgh State        5:30 PM
The Cardinals open their season against the Owls and find themselves listed as a 3 point underdog on their home court. Keene State already has a game under their belt and the team currently ranked #31 in the D3hoops preseason poll  found themselves on the short end of a 73-67 score against Southern Vermont. That was a fairly large upset as Keene State was favored by double digits. I think the Owls will be in for more problems today when they go up against the Cardinals. Plattsburgh State wins this game 85-71. 

[All-Time]

Magicman's Bears 2-0.
What the heck is going on in Bear Country.
Happy to see Potsdam start off the season with a couple of wins.
Let's GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

[Bengalsrule]

Glad the 1st weekend of the season is over for us.  After crapping the bed yesterday my BENGALS looked considerably better today, albeit short handed ( missing Friday nights double doubler Sir Quentin Campbell), with a 114-87 victory over Point Park.  MIKE Henry's 2nd double double in a row looked great ( 24 points/10 rebounds/ 7 assists last night and  19/12 tonight) however he wasn't even the leading scorer tonight. That honor went to Potsdam transfer Tyrone Adeyeye with his game high 23 points. Having 5 players in double figures hasn't happen in quite a while. Having 4 of those 5 double pointers as 1st year BENGALS, and 3 as freshman, is even more gratifying.

Not too much time to enjoy this.  Gotta get ready to visit a 2-0 Nazareth team Tuesday, that reminds me of Cortland  . Proud of these boys though, especially after lasts nights big let down.  A lotta of heads were down. Shucks i felt like we just lost a SUNYAC playoff game. But hey grandma always told me that " it doesn't matter where you start the race but where you finish".

I Love these boys

Go BENGALS !

[thebear]

Magicman's Bears 2-0.
What the heck is going on in Bear Country.
Happy to see Potsdam start off the season with a couple of wins.
Let's GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Actually on a 3 game win streak, as they ended last season with a win.  Go Bears.  Still young, but here's hoping for continued improvement.  Next game at Mt. St. Mary's in Newburgh, Tuesday, chance for some of the player's families to see the Bears in action.

[Bengalsrule]

Magicman's Bears 2-0.
What the heck is going on in Bear Country.
Happy to see Potsdam start off the season with a couple of wins.
Let's GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Actually on a 3 game win streak, as they ended last season with a win.  Go Bears.  Still young, but here's hoping for continued improvement.  Next game at Mt. St. Mary's in Newburgh, Tuesday, chance for some of the player's families to see the Bears in action.

If there is anyone who can appreciate the Bears resurgence I know thebear is front and center on that.  I can only imagine how good you must feel right now with thier success. Plus you have a "real good seat" to witness it all ( at least at home).  May they sweep the rest of November. December 1st is a different hope though!

[magicman]

Went 7-3 with my 10 picks yesterday and of course the one that hurts the most is the 73-66 loss my Cardinals received in the game against Keene State. The Owls always seemed to have an answer each time the Cardinals would pull within a possession or 2 and it usually came because Plattsburgh was handing them the ball on a silver platter. You can't commit 25 turnovers and expect to win many games. We outrebounded them 40-32. We shot the ball better from 3 point land (7x19 to 4x16). We had the advantage from the line (15x26 to 5x11). We had 17 assists to their 15 and 7 blocks to their 2. They outshot us from the field 32x65 (54.8%) to our 22x50 (46.4%), a telling statistic because they got more possessions from all the turnovers we had and they made them count.

Plattsburgh was on the short end of a 39-34 halftime score and the hole got deeper midway through the 2nd period, when the Owls opened up their largest lead of the night at 59-46 with 14 minutes to go. The Cardinals halved that lead to get within 59-52 at the 11 minute mark but Keene State would go back up by double digits and continue to hold a 7-10 point advantage until Plattsburgh cut it to a single possession at 67-64 on back to back 3 pointers by Eric Mack and Eli Bryant with 4 minutes to go. Plattsburgh had several opportunities to tie the game or cut the lead to one but a missed dunk and a rim out three kept Keene in front and then they stretched the lead to 5 points with another timely basket by Ty Nichols, their go to guy, with 1:17 left on the clock. That one hurt and the Cardinals couldn't recover as they committed another turnover and Nichols scored again to make it 73-66. Plattsburgh missed a 3 pointer and this one was history.

Nichols led Keene State with 16 points and shared game high scoring honors with teammate Miguel Prieto and Plattsburgh's Nick DeAngelis who also had 16 markers. Nichols also led his team with 6 assists and added 5 rebounds. Prieto had 4 assists and 4 rebounds. Dizel Wright filled up the stat sheet with 12 points, 4 steals, 3 assists, and 3 rebounds. Frosh big man, James Anozie, had 10 points and 2 boards in just 12 minutes of floor time.  Sidi Diallo had a game high 8 rebounds, along with 8 points and 3 steals. Ben Olsen had 8 points with 3 rebounds and 2 steals.

Nick DeAngelis had 16 points which was a new careeer high as the sophomore came off the bench to provide a spark for the team with his 3 point shooting (3x5) and 4 rebounds in 19 minutes of court time, also a career high.

Brandon (The Microwave) Johnson also came off the bench to provide instant offense, (much like his nickname suggests if anyone happens to remember the original microwave... Vinnie Johnson )and scored 13 points, with 5 assists 2 rebounds and a steal.

Eric Mack also hit double figures with 12 points and 4 rebounds while Ian Howard tied for the game high in rebounds with 8 boards. He added 6 points, 2 steals and a block.

Eli Bryant had a game high 6 assists, 5 points, 3 rebounds and a steal. 

Plattsburgh State will return to action on Monday night as they travel to Skidmore to take on another team getting votes in the preseason Top 25. The Throughbreds were ranked #28 and have opened the season with 2 wins over Castleton State and Hartwick.

This is the 4th straight year the teams have met with 3 of those games taking place in Saratoga. The Cardinals hold a 2-1 edge in those contests. Tip off time is set for 7:00 PM. I hope to be courtside watching this one go down.     

[magicman]

Nov. 19  Two game on the schedule today as some Tip Off Tournaments wrap up.   

Oswego State  @ Elmira      2:00 PM   Elmira College Tip-Off Tournament @ Elmira, N.Y.
Lakers dropped a close one to former coach Adam Stockwell yesterday and find themselves in the consolation game of the Elmira tournament against the host Soaring Eagles, who lost an overtime thriller against Keystone, yesterday. Oswego looks to  break into the win column and the oddsmakers have them favored by 15 points. Elmira isn't the pushovers they used to be. The Lakers should win this game but I think it might be closer than 15 points. Oswego 86 Elmira 77      
   
Geneseo State  vs Randolph-Macon     3:00 PM  Tip-Off Tournament Championship  @ Marymount
The Knights will have their work cut out for them in this game as the Yellow Jackets almost knocked off 14th ranked Christoper Newport on Nov 15th and then manhandled 5th ranked Ramapo yesterday by a 79-61 final score.  The oddsmakers have Geneseo favored by a slim 1 point margin but I think that Randy-Mac will prove to be too much for Geneseo. This one goes in favor of the Yellow Jackets by an 82 -72 final. But I really really hope I'm wrong on this one. It would be a nice win for the YAC if the Knights can pull it off.   

[Bengalsrule]

1st week of SUNYAC hoops are in the books. YAC has a less than stellar 9-12 record vs non SUNYAC teams.  Not sure how many of those games count (I.E.  I doubt either game for my BENGALS counted because neither opponent was NCAA D-3).

Still ranked 15th Best conference according to Massey! 18 games this week so hopefully the Yac can make it 27-12 by Sunday night!

Kudos to Nosa Onabor ( Potsdam) and Mike Henry (Buffalo State) on being the only 2 Yac players to average a double double for at least 2 games. Im betting that MIKE or Nosa will surely be Yac player of the week when those awards are announced tomorrow. I'm sure thebear is pulling for Onabor!  You know who I'm pulling for 

Go BENGALS!