MBB: State University of New York Athletic Conference

[Bengalsrule]

alert...alert.... There has been a MAGICMAN sighting!!!!!!!!!

Just got off the phone with BENGAL assistant coach Mark Gross. He says as he and 2 other coaches, Kevin Glover and Malik Campbell,  were sitting at the lobby at the Hampton inn. And who walks in?  None other than the famous MAGICMAN.  Sorry I missed this trip (but the Dr and wife overruled any north country journey for me).  Coach Gross says that the conversation was great and that the MAGIC 1 was as witty as ever. Hate to admit it (sometimes) but the MAGICMAN has become a BENGAL favorite (on most nights, i.e. tomorrow night might NOT be 1 of them). He's clearly 1 of the biggest homers but loves SUNYAC ball in general along with bleeding Card red (understandable). And from what I read on other boards, he is definitely 1 of the most respected in D3 world. Something tells me All-Time may soon rival the MAGICMANS presence in Central NY.

Now I just gotta  make sure that he didn't leave any "special" cookies for the guys to enjoy before the game tomorrow.

My guy Magicman...sorry I missed him this weekend!!

go BENGALS

[magicman]

Dec. 1   The start of what promises to be another brutal season in the SUNYAC kicks off tonight with 4 games scheduled, all tipping off at 7:30PM.   

Brockport State   @  New Paltz State        7:30 PM

The Golden Eagles are streaking having won 3 in a row and their latest win over #19 ranked Hobart on Tuesday was a big one for the conference. Hamed Shamseldin is putting up ungodly numbers and the SUNYAC Player of the Week award is already in his pocket regardless of what he does this weekend. A triple double against Medaille, followed by his 42 point, 9 rebound, 6 assist and 6 steal night against the Statesmen is the stuff you can usually only dream about. The Hawks will have their work cut out for themselves trying to contain him and the rest of a talented Brockport squad. The oddsmakers have made the Golden Eagles a solid 14 point favorite but i think they win this one by a bigger margin. The Hawks have improved over last year but won't be able to handle the pressure that the Eagles will throw at them tonight. Brockort wins this one by a 94-70 final score.


Geneseo State  @  Oneonta State        7:30 PM

These Red Dragons have opened the season winning 3 of their first 4 games. They beat the Knights 3 times last year and their offense is putting up points comparable to last season. Genseso comes into the game with a 2-2 mark losing their last game to Alfred on Tuesday night. The point spread has Oneonta favored by 4 points and i think the game will be fairly close as well. The Red Dragons will protect their home court in this one and I see them winning by an 86-81 final score.

   
Buffalo State  @  Potsdam State                7:30 PM

The Bears saw their winning streak come to an end on Tuesday night as crosstown rival Clarkson put together an 11-4 spurt to end the first half and then Potsdam went nearly five minutes late in the 2nd half without scoring a point as Clarkson built a 15 point lead. Buffalo State had a nice win over Nazareth and followed that up with a doube digit victory over Delhi to stretch their winning streak to 3 games. The tandem of Mike Henry and Sir.Quintin Campbell is averaging 40 ppg and over 22 rpg. Campbell may not be a knight in shinning armor but the Bengal faithful certainly think he is. At 6'8" and 265 pounds he will be a load to handle for the rest of the YAC who had a hard enough time dealing with Henry. The oddsmakers have the Bengals favored by 10 points, but the Bears will be up against competition better than they've faced so far this season. Bengals win this one 93-75.   


Fredonia State  @  Plattsburgh State         7:30 PM

The Cardinals finally broke into the win column on Tuesday against St. Lawrence and look to even their record tonight. There might be a revenge factor on the minds of the Redbirds, as a loss to Fredonia last January, on the Cardinals home court, was the main reason that Plattsburgh didn't play in the post season. Plattsburgh is still without their number 1 option, Jon Patron, but will still bring plenty of firepower to the table. Fredonia has struggled going 1-4 so far and all 4 losses have been by double digit margins. The oddsmakers favor the Cardinals by 9 points but I think the Blue Devils will once again be a double digit loser. Plattsburgh State 88 Fredonia 69. 

[magicman]

alert...alert.... There has been a MAGICMAN sighting!!!!!!!!!

Just got off the phone with BENGAL assistant coach Mark Gross. He says as he and 2 other coaches, Kevin Glover and Malik Campbell,  were sitting at the lobby at the Hampton inn. And who walks in?  None other than the famous MAGICMAN.  Sorry I missed this trip (but the Dr and wife overruled any north country journey for me).  Coach Gross says that the conversation was great and that the MAGIC 1 was as witty as ever. Hate to admit it (sometimes) but the MAGICMAN has become a BENGAL favorite (on most nights, i.e. tomorrow night might NOT be 1 of them). He's clearly 1 of the biggest homers but loves SUNYAC ball in general along with bleeding Card red (understandable). And from what I read on other boards, he is definitely 1 of the most respected in D3 world. Something tells me All-Time may soon rival the MAGICMANS presence in Central NY.

Now I just gotta  make sure that he didn't leave any "special" cookies for the guys to enjoy before the game tomorrow.

My guy Magicman...sorry I missed him this weekend!!

go BENGALS

It was good to see the guys from Buffalo State this afternoon. We definitely had a few laughs. Missed your face though, but understandable why you weren't here.  Thanks for the kind words. Coach Glover has my number in case they need anything. North Country hospitality is always on display for my friends from the Queen City.    I know they must be in pain, sharing a bus and all.    

[All-Time]

Gentlemen
Love when you guys go at it on the Boards
Sorry to hear Bengalsrule hasn't been cleared by the Doctors and his wife to make the trip.
I would love to be a fly on the wall when you 2 get together.
Would Love for us all to meet up one of these days and catch a game.

Magicman you are a legend, I'm sure Da Bears roll out the Red Carpet when you show up to catch a game.

Maybe just maybe the Magicman has his Magic Wand tonight, Bengals beware.

[thebear]

I wuz on the PA for the Bears/Bengals double header tonight.  [Tommy on his way back from annual pilgrimage to Mickey Land]

Observations.  Mike Henry is a BEAST!.   Had a couple of dumb/ticky tack fouls early on and Coach Ansari had to sit him.  Tough to guard, and very hard worker at both ends of the court. Man amongst boys in the SUNYAC. He and Sir Quintin Campbell are a wide load for most SUNYAC teams.

During a three minute stretch in the second half, Bears failed to effectively guard Sheldon Adams and he bombed them for a trio of treys, and broke the game open.

Bears are improving, still too many fouls [24] and turnovers [34], and had a very tough night from beyond the arc, [6/27 - 22%], yet their poor FG% was mostly self inflicted, most of their shots were good, wide open, looks.

Freddie tomorrow.

[Bengalsrule]

Fine job on the microphone there thebear.  I watched the broadcast on my 60 inch.  Don't know how wife hooked it up but I'm glad she did.

Good 1st day of Yac. No one had a start to finish blowout.  In fact I think everyone was within at least 10 pts of each other with less than 7 to go ( SUNYAC sight is pretty efficient).

[thebear]

Magicman you are a legend, I'm sure Da Bears roll out the Red Carpet when you show up to catch a game.

Considering Magic is a Bears alum, I can assure you we do roll out the red carpet every time he is here.

[Bengalsrule]

Gentlemen
Love when you guys go at it on the Boards
Sorry to hear Bengalsrule hasn't been cleared by the Doctors and his wife to make the trip.
I would love to be a fly on the wall when you 2 get together.
Would Love for us all to meet up one of these days and catch a game.

Magicman you are a legend, I'm sure Da Bears roll out the Red Carpet when you show up to catch a game.

Maybe just maybe the Magicman has his Magic Wand tonight, Bengals beware.

All time. Something tells me that there is a Oneonta, Plattsburgh and Buff State Final four looming !!
I'm thinking that that might be our best chance of all of us getting together. That would be special. I know you are pretty flexible from NYC to Oneonta !

And yes. It's been "rumored" that some stealthy Russians have been hired to steal the Magicman's wand before this afternoons game!  Gotta check with my sources to see how that's going !

[magicman]

Final scores of  Friday night's games

Brockport State    79  New Paltz State   71

I had the Golden Eagles winning this one by a 94-70 score. The Hawks did their part for me but Port was 15 points shy of the mark. New Paltz must have said Hamed Shamseldin is not gonna beat us as they held him to 8 measley points. But as I mentioned earlier to our newbie poster from Cortland, the Golden Eagles are not a one man show. Justin Summers with a double-double of 24 points and 12 rebounds led the way. Both of those numbers were game high totals. Right behind him was Mike O'Hara, who came off the bench with a double-double of his own. O'Hara had 23 points and 10 rebounds in 28 minutes of court time. Tyler Collins also came off the bench to chip in with 10 points and 3 assists.

Dylan Balducci led theHawks with 14 points and Kevin Coyle had 13 points. Brandon Guest had 9 points and led the team with 8 rebounds.

Brockport led at the half, 40-24, and maintained a double digit lead for most of the 2nd half that peaked at a 19 point advantage on several occasions. The Hawks finally narrowed the gap to single digits in the last 50 seconds of the game, but the outcome was never in doubt.

Brockport has now reeled off 4 straight wins to improve to 4-1 overall and 1-0 in the conference. They will travel over to Oneonta on Saturday for a 3 PM start against those Red Dragons.

New Paltz falls to 1-4 overall (0-1) and will host Geneseo later today at 3:00 PM.

         
Geneseo State  67  Oneonta   State 62

The Knights pull off the mild upset in Oneonta as this one went right down to the final minutes before a winner was decided. Geneseo was down by 6 points 34-28 early in the 2nd half but gained the lead at 40-39 with 14 minutes to go. From that point on it was a back and forth affair with several lead changes and ties but no more than a 1 or 2 possession lead.  The Knights went in front for good, 46-45, at the 10:21 mark but their lead was only a single point 60-59 with less than a minute to play. Tommy Eastman scored inside to make it 62-59 with 43 ticks left. The Red Dragons committed a costly turnover with 22 seconds to go and had to foul, which increased the Geneseo lead to 5 points  when Zack Panebianco made both freebies. Oneonta's Dwayne Freeman hit one from downtown to make it 64-62 and another trip to the line by Panebianco, who made 1 of 2 gave Oneonta one last chance to tie it up with 10 seconds left. The Red Dragons missed from long range and a last second foul accounted for the final Geneseo points. Tough loss at home for the Red Dragons and one that could come back to haunt them at playoff time.

I thought this game would be a higher scoring affair and picked Oneonta as the winner 86-81, but it was the toughest game to call of the 4 that took place on Friday.

Zack Panebianco led the Knights and captured scoring honors for the game as he tossed in 21 points. He was 4x10 from long distance.  CJ Burke had a double-double of 10 points and 10 boards. Tommy Eastman was close to one with 8 points and 10 boards. Kevin Crockett filled up the stat sheet with 7 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals and a block.

Ian Schultz was the high man for Oneonta with 14 points and 4 rebounds. Matt Boyd had 11 points, 5 steals, 4 assists and 2 rebounds. Carson Jacobs led the team with 8 rebounds and also had 5 points.

Geneseo improves to 3-2 overall (1-0 YAC) and will travel down to New Paltz to take on the Hawks at 3:00 PM today.

Oneonta falls to 3-2 (0-1) and will face Brockport also at 3:00 PM today.



Buffalo State  80    Potsdam State    68

I had the Bengals winning this one by a 93-75 final but the Bears tried hard to pull off the upset. Potsdam held the lead for the majority of the first half and at one point held a double digit lead over Buff State at 33-21 with 6:51 left in the period. The Bengals finally got untracked and closed the half with a 19-6 spurt to go into the break up 40-39. The 2nd half started out with several lead changes and ties until the Bengals, up 49-47 with 5 minutes gone by, went on a 13-3 run that gave them a double digit 62-50 margin with 12:49 left to play. The closest the Bears could get after that was 6 points at 67-61.

Sheldon Adams led the way for the Bengals and captured scoring honors with 22 points, 7 steals, 4 assists, 2 rebounds and a pair of blocks. Mike Henry just missed a double-double with 16 points and 9 rebounds. He added 3 steals, 2 assists, and a block. Malik Turner and Zak Ciezki both had 11 points and 3 rebounds. Sir. Quinton Campbell added 9 points and 8 rebounds. Bryan Harrel came off the bench and chipped in with 6 points, 6 boards, 2 assists, a steal and a block in 21 minutes on the court.

For the Bears, Errol  James came off the bench and led the way with 14 points in 16 minutes. He also had 5 rebounds, 2 assists and a steal. Dante Langly had 12 points, 3 boards, 1 assist and a steal. Both Danny Delsol-Lowry and Nosa Onabor each scored 10 points. Delsol-Lowry added 7 rebounds, 6 assists and 5 steals to fill up the stat sheet. Onabor had 4 rebounds and 2 steals. Kristoff Saunders had 9 points and 7 rebounds in 20 minutes of floor time.

The Bengals, winners of 4 straight after a season opening loss are now 4-1 (1-0) and will travel over to Plattsburgh to face the Cardinals at 3:00 PM today.

The Bears, who dropped their 2nd straight after opening the season with 3 wins are now 3-2 (0-1) and will host the Fredonia Blue Devils in Maxcy Hall at 3:00 PM today. 
           

[magicman]

Fredonia State    60   Plattsburgh State    77

I had the Cardinals winning this one by an 88-69 final score. My margin of victory was fairly close but both teams came up a bit short of their projected totals. I'll blame that on the lousy officiating crew that did this game.   Hope I don't see them again this year, but know that I probably will.

The Cardinals allowed the Blue Devils to hang around for most of the game before finally taking control of this one halfway through the 2nd period. Each time they opened a little daylight, Plattsburgh would fail to capitalize on their opportunities and the Blue Devils would manage to keep the lead within one or two possessions. Up 46-43 with 11:30 to play, the Cardinals got a 3 pointer from sharpshooter Nick DeAngelis, followed by a pair of layups from Eric Mack and Adam Jaquish. DeAngelis nailed another one from downtown and the 10-0 run boosted the margin to 13 points at 56-43 in the span of 3 minutes. The outcome was never in doubt after that as the lead grew to as many as 18 points.

Plattsburgh got a big lift when normal starter, Eli Bryant, came off the bench 6 minutes into the first period. Bryant provided instant offense and led all scorers at the break with 15 points. He finished with a game high of 22 points with 3 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals.

Eric Mack was a high flying machine as he nearly came away with a triple-double, scoring 12 points with 10 boards and 8 blocks. I told anyone who would listen, earlier in the year, that the 6'3" leaper would lead the conference in blocked shots this year. He's certainly off to a good start. His final block of the evening came after a Blue Devil steal and Mack timed his defensive move perfectly as he soared to, not just block the shot but grab the ball with both hands as the shooter released it on the way up.  It was a move that brought the house down.

Chris Middleton, coming off a career high of 27 points on Tuesday against St Lawrence had 11 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists. Ian Howard just missed a double-double with a game high 12 rebounds and 9 points. The Cardinals also got a solid contribution from Brandon Johnson with 5 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals and a block.

Fredonia was led by Kay Jackson with 17 points, 3 rebounds and 3 assists. Freshman Jonathan McDonald looked good, as he scored 14 points and grabbed a team high 8 rebounds. He could be a strong candidate for the SUNYAC Rookie of the Year award.

Plattsburgh evened its record at 2-2 (1-0) and will host Buffalo State at 3:00 PM today in Memorial Hall.

Fredonia falls to 1-5 (0-1)  and will travel over to Potsdam to face the Bears at 3:00 PM today.     

[thebear]

All time. Something tells me that there is a Oneonta, Plattsburgh and Buff State Final four looming !!
I'm thinking that that might be our best chance of all of us getting together. That would be special. I know you are pretty flexible from NYC to Oneonta !

I think Cortland and Oswego may still be the class of the SUNYAC.  Great coaches, and always have athletes who compete from start to finish.  This afternoon will tell us all a lot.

[magicman]

Dec. 2  A full lineup of games today with10 teams in action in 5 YAC games all tipping off at 3:00 PM


Fredonia State @    Potsdam State               3:00 PM

The Blue Devils have won the last 4 games in this series and 6 of the last 8. Don't know if the Bears have improved enough over last year to come away with a win here. Fredonia didn't look all that bad last night against the Cardinals and the Bears gave Buffalo State a tussle as well. The oddsmakers favor Potsdam by single point which makes this one a tossup. I'll wear my heart my sleeve for this one and take my alma mater to win a closely contested game. Potsdam 75  Fredonia 71.     

Brockport State @  Oneonta State         3:00 PM

The Red Dragons need a win today to avoid an 0-2 weekend at home. Port playing the final one of a 4 game week and so far they are 3-0. Will today be a letdown? Will their star have another 8 point game? The oddsmakers have Oneonta favored by a 3 point margin so it would appear that they think so. However the last time the Red Dragons beat a visiting Brockport team was in January of 2012. The Golden Eagles have won 10 of the last 12 matchups. I think they win again today. Brockport 82 Oneonta 77

Oswego State @    Cortland State        3:00 PM Co-Featured Game of the Week

Travel partners square off for the first time this year in Cortland. Last year Oswego won both meetings to avenge the 3 beatings Cortland administered in the 2015-16 season. The Red Dragons got a nice win the other night against St.John Fisher after a narrow loss to local rival Ithaca on Tuesday. Oswego off to a slow start at 1-3 will look to rebound after falling to Nazareth on Tuesday night. The oddsmakers have Cortland listed as a 6 point favorite and I agree with that assessment based on early returns. I think that the Red Dragons take this one at home by a 77-71 final score.   



Geneseo State @ New Paltz State        3:00 PM

The Knights are looking for a 2-0 road weekend and I don't think the Hawks can stop them from getting it. Neither do the oddsmakers who have installed Geneseo as 13 point favorites. The Hawks are improved but the Knights will be too much as they win this one 78- 66.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       

Buffalo State  @  Plattsburgh State        3:00 PM Co-Featured Game of the Week

These two teams almost always put on a show as their fans are treated to some exciting basketball. Many down to the wire games that aren't decided until the final shot has occurred, in the past few years. I don't think today's game will be any different. The Bengals have a pair of big men that will wreak havoc against anyone's defense and will usually put continuous pressure on the ball as you try to implement your offense. Yesterday they had 19 steals against Potsdam. The Cardinals are still short handed but if they can cut their turnovers and take care of the ball they should be able to hang with the Bengals even without their best player. The oddsmakers have made Buffalo State a 2 point favorite in this one. I, of course, will pick my Cardinals to pull off the mild upset. Plattsburgh comes away with a close win by a final score of 88-83.   

[Bengalsrule]

At 60 years old I never knew that you could hook up a computer to a t v.  So glad my wife figured it out last night   Now I know why they call it a smart tv. Gotta watch my BENGALS!  Got my popcorn ready!  Ain't been this pumped in a while!

Go BENGALS!

TTA!!!!

[Bengalsrule]

All time. Something tells me that there is a Oneonta, Plattsburgh and Buff State Final four looming !!
I'm thinking that that might be our best chance of all of us getting together. That would be special. I know you are pretty flexible from NYC to Oneonta !

I think Cortland and Oswego may still be the class of the SUNYAC.  Great coaches, and always have athletes who compete from start to finish.  This afternoon will tell us all a lot.

Trust me thebear. I was in no way saying that Buff Sate , Oneonta and PLattsburgh were favorites  or even deserving of a final four appearance. Just explaining to All-Time how it would be possible to put his All-Time...Magicman...Bengalsrule meet and greet together.

[Bengalsrule]

  Well today is the DAY!!   SUNYAC 2017 edition gets started.  Not 1 for game predictions (ill leave that to the more "seasoned" veterans of these boards), however a quick look at the rosters reveals 1 thing. The PLATTSBURGH Cards are loaded! Which explains why the Magicman has been so quiet ( because he's been gushing over the abundance of riches that will appear on campus at 101 Broad street). 12 returning members including their top 9 scorers!!!!!!   I can't figure out how they just got 7 votes in the "others receiving votes" category!  I guess that's gonna be Keene States problem Saturday...and the SUNYACs problem later.

That's my 1st paragraph about what 2017 season should look like and who the favorite should be. After today, I obviously hit that 1 right on the nose! The Cards put a good old fashioned on my beloved BENGALS!!  No need to dissect where this 1 went bad (others can do that ). For a team with 7 freshman, this day was gonna come sooner than later!  I just really feel for my guys as they begin an 8 hour bus ride home. I am encouraged in that a 24 point halftime deficit finished at 27 pt loss( including 2 pts Card pts. with 7 seconds left).

Actually you can all me encouraged.

I'm encouraged because I've watched head Coach Ansari turn boys 2 men while running the Turner Carroll High School program over 20 year ago ( 3 state titles). He is the greatest builder of men that I have ever seen at this or the high school level. He builds not only better ball player...but  more importantly he build better MEN!  He does this because he loves his players and wants them to succeed beyond the basketball court.

I'm encouraged because his top assistant, Kevin Glover ( Canisius College Grad), played professional baseball in the Cleveland Indians Organization. He knows about long road trips and how to learn from bad outings. He has been on the BUff State staff since Ansari arrived. And he was coach Ansaris first PG in high school too. He's the father of a 4 year starter at Buff State. And he loves his BENGALS.

I'm encouraged because assistant coach Malik Campbell (Syracuse grad) has had similar experiences when playing for Jim Boehiem at Syracuse U (along with playing football). He too played for coach faj at Turner Carroll where he too learned the Ansari way. He's a zone specialist who doesn't bite his tongue. That brother is gonna drop some science next week on these boys. Because he loves his BENGALS.

I'm encouraged because assistant coach Mark Gross (Buff State Grad), earned a SUNYAC title under Coach Ansari (2011). He isn't so far removed from his playing days so that the boys  know that they can bounce stuff of of him that maybe they don't feel comfortable enough asking other coaches. And Mark will give the the right answer. Because he loves his BENGALS!

I'm encouraged because assistant coach Tariq Ansari ( Buff State grad) understands his father strategy better than anyone and is not afraid to interject when players are confused  or out of line. He too played for coach Faj at Turner Carroll. 'Riq gives a damn. This **** is personal. And you can be sure he loves him some BENGALS!!!

And so I'm sure when folks read the score they may say "Damn...bengalsrule must be in shock"  Fear not d3 brethren. Aint no shock here. Today Plattsurgh was the better team. End of story. But with the coaches and players that we have a BUff State I'm excited about what the future holds for my beloved BENGALS!

There's a scene in the movie "Man on fire"  Staring Denzel Washington ("Creasey"). At some point Denzels best friend is being interviewed by mexican police because Creasey is taking out the entire mexican mafia (or something like that) . He says... "Creasey's art is death...and he is about to paint his masterpiece".

Fajri's art is making the boys under his care better MEN and ball players. I have no doubt...he's about to paint his masterpiece!

I love these boys. Now more than ever!

Go BENGALS!!!