MBB: State University of New York Athletic Conference

[scooterman]

This should be a great SUNYAC final. Two very athletic teams that have split their regular season matchups. Of course, I am hoping for a Bport victory but Potsdam's Issiah Brown is the man. Their big man creates some problems for the Eagles too. Hopefully Coach Dunne and the staff will have them ready to go!!! We don't want to have to count on that at large bid as it is never a guarantee. Good luck, Eagles!!!!

[bports]

Of course it would be nice to cut down the nets tonight for Brockport. I really don't think a loss hurts in any way though. After winning 16 in a row and winning the sunyac and being 7-1 against regional ranked teams. I'm pretty sure they are a lock to host a pod first round. After that I have no idea. With that said no one wants someone else cutting down the nets in its own gym. 79-71 Port

[magicman]

Potsdam State 75  Oneonta State 72

Great game to watch and one that was competitve from start to finish. Neither team could break away as they battled back and forth throughout. The final score was close to my prediction of a 4 point Potsdam win.   

After a 36-36 first half, that had numerous ties and lead changes, the 2nd period continued right where the teams left off. Potsdam scored to go in front, Oneonta countered with a 3 point play. Potsdam scored on a layup inside, Oneonta hit a three pointer, and over the next 15 minutes neither team had more than a one possession lead. There were 10 lead changes and 3 ties during that stretch. The teams were tied at 50-50 when Andres Rivera scored inside to put the Red Dragons back in front. Jayquan Thomas then drained a triple for Potsdam only to have Rivera score with another layup on the next Oneonta trip down the court. It was 54-53 with 10:44 to play and it was the last time the Red Dragons had the lead. Thomas scored inside for the Bears 10 seconds later and after Oneonta came up empty, Tyrese Baptiste scored for Potsdam to make it 57-54.

Potsdam was still ahead 59-58 when the Bears' Isaiah Brown, went to the line for a pair of free throws, with 6:39 left to play. He made them both to put Potsdam up by 3 points and when Oneonta missed on their end, Potsdam's Thomas hit another jumper, that gave the Bears the first 2 possession lead, that either team enjoyed in the period. Over the course of the next few minutes every time Oneonta scored to make it a one possession game, Potsdam had an answer to bring the lead back to 4 or 5 points.

With the Bears up 72-67 after another score by Thomas, Oneonta again came up empty and Potsdam's Danny Delsol-Lowry was fouled. He made both free throws to extend the lead to 7 points with just 24 seconds left. The Red Dragons did not go quietly into the night. Rivera went coast to coast for a layup to cut the lead to 5 and Oneonta took a time out with 19 seconds left. On the ensuing inbounds play Oneonta's Dylan Trombley stole the ball and got it to Kevin Mackin, who buried a three pointer to cut the lead to 2 points at 74-72, with 9 ticks left. Oneonta used their last time out and quickly fouled Aaron Armstrong  when play resumed. Armstrong missed the first one but made the 2nd to make it 75-72 and Potsdam called a time out. Now the question was....would Potsdam foul before Oneonta could take a 3 point shot or let it play out. Potsdam chose to foul with 2 seconds left just after Oneonta crossed halfcourt and the question about making the 1st and missing the 2nd on purpose became a moot point, when the Red Dragons missed the first free throw, which was the front end of a one and one. Potsdam got the rebound and the game was over.

Statiscally the game was pretty even as the shooting percentages were fairly close. Rebounds were dead even at 39 each. Oneonta had 12 turnovers to 10 for Potsdam. Both teams had 29 made field goals with the Red Dragons sinking 9 from long range to 5 for the Bears. Potsdam offset that long distance edge with more  made free throws...12 of 18 for Potsdam, to 5 of 9 for Oneonta. Oneonta had 15 assists and Potsdam had 16. Both teams had 5 blocks. Potsdam had 6 steals, Oneonta had 5. Not much separation between two good teams.

Potsdam
Jayquan Thomas captured scoring honors with 27 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals.
Danny Delsol-Lowry had 17 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals.
Isaiah Brown had 17 points, 4 rebounds and 1 assist.
Tyrese Baptiste had another double-double of 13 points a game high 14 rebounds, a game high 4 blocks, 2 assists and a steal.
Aaron Armstrong had 9 rebounds, 5 assists, a block and the biggest point of the night, the Bears' final one, that gave them a 3 point lead.


Oneonta
Andres Rivera led Oneonta with a double -double of 16 points and 10 rebounds. He added 3 assists and 3 blocks.
Kevin Mackin had 15 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist and a block.
Harrison Deegan had 14 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists and a steal.
Dylan Trombley had 12 points, a game high 6 assists, 4 rebounds and a steal.
Ian Schultz had 8 rebounds 4 points, an assist and a block.
Carson Jacobs had 8 points off the bench in 12 minutes on the court.

Potsdam improves to 20-6 overall and will face Brockport in the SUNYAC Championship game today at 4:00 PM

Oneonta ends their season with a 19-8 record. They will return 4 of their top 7 players for next season and will once again be in contention for the playoffs.     

[magicman]

Brockport State 82  Oswego State 67

This game didn't turn out to be the nailbiter everyone thought it would be as Brockport ran away from the Lakers with a 15 point win. I had the Golden Eagles winning by a 5 point margin but first half shooting woes by the Lakers put them behind the 8 ball and they couldn't recover.

The game was really won in the final 6 minutes of the first half. That's when Brockport, up 22-20, put together a 16-3 run to build a halftime lead of 15 points. They held the Lakers scoreless for the final 4 minutes of the half as they scored 12 unanswered points.

Needing to cut into that lead, coming out of the break, the Lakers instead, slowly fell further behind. Four minutes into the period they trailed by 20 and Port reached their largest lead of the game at 22 points with 13:52 to play. For the next 7 minutes the lead stayed between 19 and 22 points. The Lakers did manage to make a late 11-3 run as a three pointer cut the deficit to 12 points at 79-67 with 1:35 left. That would be the last time Oswego scored. Brockport hit some free throws to make the final score of 82-67.

Brockport shot 61% (36x59) from the field and that's the main reason for the double digit win. Oswego, after a 9x33 first half effort (27.27%), did shoot much better in the 2nd period going 16x28 to raise their overall percentage to 41%. Neither team was strong from long distance as Brockport was only 2x12 and Oswego was 6x20. Oswego got 11 points from the stripe and Brockport got 8. Brockport had a slight edge in rebounds 34-30 and also in turnovers as the Golden Eagles had 10 giveaways to 12 for the Lakers. Brockport shared the ball well and had 20 assists to 13 for Oswego.

Brockport
Tyler Collins had 18 points, 6 rebounds, 6 assists and 2 steals.
Danny Ashley had 18 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists.
Justin Summers had 12 points, 4 rebounds and 5 blocks in 20 minutes of court time off the bench.
Tyree Grimsley had 10 points, 1 rebound and 1 assist in 14 minutes off the bench.


Oswego
Jamal Achille had a game high 19 points and 4 rebounds.
Joe Sullivan had 16 points, a game high 7 rebounds, 3 assists and a steal.
Jeremiah Sparks had 9 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals.

Brockport stretches their winning streak to 16 straight games and is now 23-3 overall. They will meet Potsdam in the SUNYAC Championship later today at 4:00 PM


Oswego falls to 19-8 overall and will wait to see if they can get an at large bid to the NCAA Tournament. The odds of that happening are quite slim as the Lakers were in the #7 spot in the latest Regional Rankings. Only 2 of the 6 teams ahead of them will get automatic bids into the NCAA's. That would still leave at least 3 teams ahead of them for an at large bid and possibly as many as 5 when the next set of rankings is released . (A set that will not be released to the public until after the NCAA field has been determined) Since the East Region will get, at the most, 2 at large bids (and maybe only 1) I don't think the Lakers will be dancing this year. They'll be back next year and fighting for the top spot...they always are.   

     

[magicman]

#2 Potsdam State   at   #1 Brockport State  4:00 PM    SUNYAC CHAMPIONSHIP

I'm hoping we see a similar game to the one that took place in Brockport back on January 31st. That one was a 77-74 Golden Eagle win that went right down to the wire. I'd like another barnburner for today's game.

Both teams came up big on Friday to get to this game. For Brockport it's the 18th time, out of 21 possible appearances, that they have been to the SUNYAC Final Four, since the turn of the century. That includes a run of 7 straight and 13 of the last 14 years. Potsdam hasn't been there since the 2004-05 season. The Bears have only made the playoffs once, since the current format of just the top 6 teams advancing, was put in play.   

The most recent meeting of these teams in the playoffs was last year in a first round game at Brockport and the Golden Eagles prevailed by a 94-88 score. The last time they met in a SUNYAC Championship game was the 2003-04 season and Potsdam was the winner by an 84-76 score. That was the first of two straight SUNYAC titles for the Bears and the 2004-05 title was their last SUNYAC Championship. Brockport has won 4 SUNYAC titles in the past 21 seasons, with their most recent one coming in the 2013-14 season.

Potsdam wasn't high on my list of teams near the top of the YAC when the season started. I had them in the 5th spot when I made out my rankings back in early January. One hour after I posted my rankings that all changed, when Isaiah Brown took the court for the first time in a Bears' uniform. Brockport just happened to be the team in town that night and Brown took the first shot of the game for Potsdam. It went in and Isaiah hasn't stopped shooting ever since. He put up 26 and 7 that night and Potsdam gave the Golden Eagles their only conference loss of the season 86-70. Potsdam had a star, to add to the solid starters that were already in place. The Bears have went 14-3 since Brown joined the team. With a loss in this game and a 20-7 record they will be on the bubble to get an at large bid. I don't think they get one. They need a win to go dancing. Seniors Jayquan Thomas and Danny Delsol-Lowry both need to have big games tonight, comparable to yesterday's performance. Big man Tyrese Baptiste needs to  stay out of foul trouble. The Bears bench is extremely short. 

Brockport is better than ever and may improve more as the season goes on. That's because Justin Summers is improving with each game. Coming back from an injury and getting up to speed is never easy but yesterday he was moving quite well took a few nasty spills and it didn't seem to bother him. He was a force in the paint as he blocked 5 shots and had to affect a few more. The guard duo of Tyler Collins and Danny Ashley have been able to penetrate and score inside or dish to the bigs. The rest of the starters and top bench players all can score and play defense. The depth of the Golden Eagles has been the best in the conference and it complements the defensive pressure that is a hallmark of Coach Dunne's teams. Defense wins championships and Brockport will bring it. I picked Brockport to finish at the top of the standings when I made out my list. And after seeing Brown in action for Potsdam I quickly revised my list to put Potsdam right below the Golden Eagles. So here we go with the top two teams playing for the Golden Ticket.

The oddsmakers have made Brockport a solid 8 point choice in this game and it's not hard to see the reasons why. They have the comforts of home, will have their fan base cheering them on, have a much deeper rotation than the Bears, have their preseason All American back in the lineup and haven't lost in 16 straight games. What's not to like? I really would like to see Brockport win this game. I like Coach Dunne and would love to see him add another championship to his record. I also went to college at Potsdam State and my alma mater hasn't been this good in a long, long time. I like Coach Bechtel and know how hard he's worked to turn this program around, so I'm rooting for the Bears to win this game. I also would like to see two SUNYAC teams make the NCAA tournament. I don't think that will happen if Brockport wins the automatic bid. I'm pretty sure that the Golden Eagles are already dancing and will get an at large bid. I think they might even host. The only way we get a 2nd team in the NCAA tournament is if Potsdam wins this game. So despite the fact that Brockport has many things in their favor, the Bears are playing for their playoff life. They have more motivation....I hope that's enough. They should have won the last time they were in Brockport on January 31st and they gave that one away. I think they make up for it tonight. Potsdam State 77   Brockport 74.         

       
   

[thebear]

Brockport 54 Potsdam 34 Halftime

[Bengalsrule]

Congrats to Brockport on winning the SUNYAC Championship!

[magicman]

SUNYAC Championship

Brockport State102  Potsdam State 75

The best thing to say about this game is "Well Done" to the Brockport Golden Eagles. They were a fine tuned machine just humming along on all cylinders from start to finish.

The Golden Eagles took command of this game from the opening tip, racing out to an 11-2 lead. They continued to lead by 7 to 9 points and were up 20-11, when the Bears got a mini burst from their 2 big men to get within 4 points at 22-18 with 10:25 left in the half. That was as close as they got. Justin Summers and Danny Ashley scored for Brockport to build the lead back to 8 points. Potsdam got back to back layups from Tyrese Baptiste 30 seconds apart to once again whittle the lead to 4 points, but 8 unanswered points from the Golden Eagles made it 34-22 with 7 minutes left in the period and the Bears never got it back to single digits the rest of the game. Still up by 11, at 43-32 with 3:14 left, Brockport ended the half with an 11-2 run and went into the break up by a 54-34 score.

If Potsdam had hopes of cutting into the lead and making a game out of this, those hopes didn't last long as Brockport quickly built the lead to 27 points at 65-38. The Bears would show some semblance of a rally as they cut the lead down to 19 points at the 12:31 mark and several minutes later after the teams exchanged baskets on several possessions, the Bears got within 17 points at 73-56 with 10:42 left to play. It was all Brockport after that as the Golden Eagles stretched their advantage to as many as 33 points.

I knew going into this game that Brockport would probably win it. I wanted 2 teams in the Dance and a Potsdam win was probably the only way that could happen so I chose what I wanted, not what I knew and picked my alma mater to win. But I knew it probably wouldn't happen because the Bears would have to be almost perfect to pull off the upset. It's hard to be perfect against the aggressive defense that the Golden Eagles come at you with. Potsdam didn't shoot well from long range and had 22 turnovers, because of that defense.

Brockport dominated the stats in every category. That's what happens when you beat a team 102-75 and nothing else needs to be said about that.

Congratulations to Brockport and Coach Greg Dunne on an OUTSTANDING SEASON.  I hope you have a nice run in the NCAA Tournament. Carry the torch for the YAC. The basketball gods owe you some good fortune after the way the 2013-14 season ended. I'm hoping we run into Wooster somewhere down the road because we owe them one, for that narrow loss in Florida back in December.

SUNYAC All-Tournament Team
Brockport's Tyler Collins was selected as the MVP of the SUNYAC Tournament.
Brockport's Justin Summers
Brockport's Danny Ashley 
Brockport'sDevante Hagins 
Potsdam's Isaiah Brown
Potsdam's Tyrese Baptiste

Brockport
Tyler Collins captured scoring honors with 23 points, 4 assists, 2 rebounds and 2 steals. The Tournament MVP must feel great after he lost most of last year to an injury and decided to come back for another year after receiving a medical redshirt. Good for him.

Devante Hagins had a double-double of 18 points and 13 rebounds, saving his best for the big game as they were both season highs. He added 4 assists, 3 steals and 2 blocks.

Jahidi Wallace had 14 points 5 rebounds and 2 blocks.

Danny Ashley had 13 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists and a steal.

Montgomery Stroman had 10 points, 3 rebounds, an assist, a steal and a block in 21 minutes.

Justin Summers had 10 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 blocks and a steal in 15 minutes of court time. I'm happy he was able to come back from a mid-season injury and get to play in the Conference Tournament. He wasn't 100 % but he still played like an All American.




Potsdam
Isaiah Brown had 20 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals and a block.

Tyrese Baptiste had 19 points, 8 rebounds and a block.

Jayquan Thomas had 14 points, 3 assists and a steal.

Danny Delsol-Lowry had 6 points, 4 rebounds, 2 steals and 1 assist.

Aaron Armstrong had 2 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals and 2 blocks.

Brockport improves to 24-3 overall and continues to lengthen their winning streak which now stands at 17 straight. They should move up a few spots in the D3hoops Top 25 poll when it gets released tonight.

Hopefully when the NCAA Selection Show takes place today at 12:30 PM we'll find that Brockport has been selected as a host site. Go Brockport!


Potsdam falls to 20-7 overall but is 20-6 for selection purposes since the loss to D1 Albany won't be factored in. Unfortunately with RPI's loss to Ithaca in the Liberty League Tournament Championship, I think both RPI and Hobart will be ranked above the Bears in the latest set of Regional Rankings, that are used for the at large selections. I think Potsdam's season is over but would sure like to be wrong about that.

The Bears lose 3 starters from this year's team but will have their two big men, Isaiah Brown and Tyrese Baptiste back next year. Waiting in the wings to join them is Brandon Segar Jr. who only played in 4 games this year but was their leading scorer during that period. They will be a threat to finish high in the SUNYAC next year.

Congratulations to the Bears and Coach Jim Bechtel on a great year as Potsdam posted their first 20 win season in 15 years. 2004-05 was the last time Potsdam posted 20 wins. The graduating seniors were 3-22 as freshmen and steadily improved each year as they won 11 games then 14 games leading up to this year's campaign. Go Bears!         

[Caz Bombers]

Phil Seymore out after 7 seasons as head coach at Fredonia.

[thebear]

Classy guy, from the John Beilein and Tim Welsh coaching tree. 

Wish him well.

[magicman]

Brockport State has moved up to #18 in the latest D3hoops Top 25 Poll. Last week the Golden Eagles were #23 with 100 points and this week received 184 points, to jump over 5 teams and move up in the rankings.

RPI dropped out of the Top 25 and is now getting just 28 points in the Others Receiving Votes category.

Ithaca, after beating RPI for the 2nd time in 3 meetings this season, and winning the Liberty League Tournament, along with the automatic NCAA bid, moved into the ORV category with 2 points.

No othere East Region teams were mentioned.   

[magicman]

Glad to see that #18 Brockport (24-3) got to host a 4 team pod in the NCAA Tournament. Like the Golden Eagles, the team they play on Friday night seems to be peaking at the right time. For the 2nd game in a row, Brockport will have to play the Bears, only this time it's the Coast Guard Bears (14-13) from the NEWMAC Conference.

Brockport handled the last Bears team they faced quite easily as Potsdam State fell behind early and never put any pressure on Brockport. I'm hoping that the Golden Eagles can sustain their run and play into next weekend and beyond.   

The Coast Guard Bears have won seven in a row, including 3 conference tournament wins, as they were the last team to make the NEWMAC playoffs. They had to play the 4th seed, Emerson College, to make the semifinals and won that game 80-78. Then they defeated #14th ranked and top seeded Springfield College, 88-82 in the semifinals and finished their run by edging the #2 seed, WPI, 89-86 in overtime, in the championship game, to get the automatic NCAA bid. Two weeks ago WPI was ranked #21 in the D3hoops Top 25 poll, so Coast Guard is no fluke team getting lucky, as they beat some great teams on their way to the Dance. I want the Golden Eagles to put an end to these Bears like they did to the last Bears team they faced.

Also in the pod at Brockport is a first round game between Westfield State (20-7), the regular season and tournament champions of the MASCAC conference, and #21 Middlebury College (20-5), an at large team from the NESCAC conference.

Middlebury was ranked as high as #3 in the country earlier in the season but has slipped in the rankings as they lost some key games in the tough NESCAC conference and then lost a first round playoff game. They lost 3 of their big men at different points of the season but still have a potent lineup and will be a threat to whoever they play.

The Panthers own wins over Tufts University, Springfield College, Stevens Tech, New England College and SUNY-Canton, all teams that will play in the NCAA tournament. I did a quick check and couldn't find anyone else in the tournament that has beaten 5 different teams headed to the Big Dance. Impressive stat by the Panthers.

I wish they were in a different bracket because they are my favorite team outside the SUNYAC conference. Theoretically, on paper anyways, Brockport and Middlebury should both win first round games and meet in Saturday's 2nd round contest. I'm not happy about that, but do hope they both win their first round matchups.   

One interesting fact is that Middlebury has a former All Conference selection from the SUNYAC on the team. Tommy Eastman, who spent 2 years at Geneseo, and was an All Conference selection in his sophomore season, joined the Panthers this year as a junior. Eastman didn't play ball last year but is now starting for Middlebury. He didn't start in the first 12 games as he averaged 20 minutes a game with 8.9 ppg and 5.6 rpg. After the Panthers had some personnel problems Eastman took over as a starter and in the final 13 games of the season averaged 30 minutes a game, 17.6 ppg and 7.0 rpg. Those are All Conference stats in any league.   

Westfield State is not a team to sleep on either. The Owls, champions of the MASCAC, defeated Liberty League regular season champs RPI, 78-52 and 10 days later defeated Amherst 68-67. Just to put that in persepective...Amherst defeated Middlebury 81-69. Bridgewater State, the 4th place team from the MASCAC played Middlebury, in Middlebury, when the Panthers had everybody healthy and barely managed to eke out a victory 85-81. Westfield State defeated Bridgewater State twice, 99-71 and 96-82. So this game should be a competitive contest.         

[magicman]

Time to post my SUNYAC All Conference selections.

SUNYAC Player of the Year      Isaiah Brown

SUNYAC Rookie of the Year     Austin Grunder

SUNYAC Coach of the Year  Coach Greg Dunne for leading Brockport to a SUNYAC Regular Season Title and SUNYAC Tournament Championship. 
   

First Team
Isaiah Brown         So.         Potsdam
Austin Grunder      So.         Cortland
Kevin Mackin         Sr.          Oneonta
Jahidi Wallace       So.          Brockport
Joe Sullivan          Sr.           Oswego


Second Team
Travis Cox            Jr.            Plattsburgh
Tyler Collins         Gr.           Brockport
Justin Summers   Sr.            Brockport
Jayquan Thomas  Sr.            Potsdam
Michael Gannon   So.           Geneseo


Third Team
Eric Edwards       Jr.             Cortland
Andres Rivera     Jr.             Oneonta
Harrison Deegan  Sr.            Oneonta
Jeremiah Sparks  Fr.            Oswego   
Brendan Fitzpatrick  Sr.        Cortland
     

Fourth Team
Danny Ashley          So.        Brockport     
Joe Bull                   Jr          Oneonta
Sheldon Adams        Sr.         Buffalo State
Tyrese Baptiste        Fr.         Potsdam
Danny Delsol-Lowry Sr.         Potsdam

Honorable Mention
Dydy Bryan              Jr.        Fredonia             
Jordan Christopher   Jr.         Buffalo State
Tristan Wissemann   Sr.        New Paltz
Brandan Gartland     Sr        Oswego
Nick DeAngelis         Sr.        Plattsburgh
Liam Sanborn          Jr.         Oswego

[thebear]

Actual SUNYAC all conference team has been named.

2020 SUNYAC Men's Basketball All-Conference Team   
Team   Player         Yr.         School   
1   Isaiah Brown         So.   Potsdam   Player of the Yr.
1   Jahidi Wallace         So.   Brockport   
1   Kevin Mackin         Sr.      Oneonta   
1   Joe Sullivan         Sr.      Oswego   
1   Austin Grunder         So.   Cortland   Rookie of the Yr.
            
2   Tyler Collins         Gr.      Brockport   
2   Justin Summers         Sr.   Brockport   
2   Eric Edwards         Jr.   Cortland   
2   Andres Rivera         Jr.   Oneonta   
2   Jayquan Thomas      Sr.   Potsdam   
            
            
3   Brendan Fitzpatrick  Sr.   Cortland   
3   Michael Gannon         So.   Geneseo   
3   Harrison Deegan      Sr.      Oneonta   
3   Joseph Bull         Jr.       Oneonta   
3   Jeremiah Sparks      Fr.       Oswego   
3   Danny DelSol-Lowry Sr.   Potsdam   

Coach of the Year: Greg Dunne, Brockport

Well done all, having seen everyone here play, solid choices, and lots of underclassmen to look forward to going forward

[scooterman]

Good Luck to my Golden Eagles this weekend!!! One win at a time and keep it rolling!!! One for all and All of One!!! The new season has begun enjoy it---Coach A