Jared Zimbardi and Steve Poirier Honored as Patriot Sprint Tour Champions

Christmas time a season for giving, and on Saturday Night, the Patriot Sprint Tour played the part of Santa Claus, handing out some big money after another big year.

The Patriot Sprint Tour held its annual Season Awards Banquet Saturday Night at Barnard Exempt in Rochester , NY . A whopping $27,325 in cash prizes was distributed, a true dollar figure that had all teams in attendance smiling. Jared Zimbardi and Steve Poirier took the largest slices of the point fund on the night, but more than 20 drivers walked away with solid paydays made possible by Hoosier Tire Canada , A-Verdi Storage Containers, Insinger Race Fuels, Original Pizza Logs, Mike Emhof Motorsports, Bonnell’s Collision, Fine Touch Collision and Gater Racing News.

Zimbardi, 26, was crowned the PST America Tour Championship, netting him $5,000. It was the second championship in three years for the Little Valley, NY driver now residing in Bradford , PA. Zimbardi bounced back after a sluggish 2012 season to reel off three wins, two coming at the smallest tracks on tour (Bradford and Clinton County ) and the other at the largest (Raceway 7).’ Zimbardi was given an Award for Sportsmanship for the eighth year in a row as well, an honor he joked about while accepting his championship trophy. Tony Difonzo, crew man on the 35, was named the Mechanic of the Year.

Poirier, of St. Mathieu de Beleoil, Quebec , made his preseason commitment to run the full PST Canada Tour pay off, as he outlasted Jason Barney over the six months to claim his own $5,000 cash championship. Poirier was unable to attend the banquet Saturday Night due to a late business conflict, but his head wrench Kevin Loveys was on hand to accept the hardware despite driving through a blizzard on his way down from Montreal .

Scott Just, of Ransomville , NY , was another major award recipient on the night, taking home the Insinger Race Fuels Rookie of the Year, joining a select group. Just was also named the Original Pizza Logs Dash Series Chapmion. Defending PST America Champion Scott Kreutter was second in points this season. In addition, he was honored as the Patriot of the Year for the second-straight season.

Defending PST Canada Champion Justin Barger was third in PST America points this year, Gater Racing News Hard Charger of the Season Tommy Wickham was fourth in the standings for the second-straight year while Geoff Quackenbush rounded out the top five in his return to the tour for the first time in six years. Brad Knab was sixth in points, ahead of Clint Ide, Scott Just, Bryan Howland and Steve Collins who completed the top-10. 

Top newcomer Tyler Graves and fellow rookie Dave Just also were point fund eligible. Jason Barney finished second in the PST Canada standings, just ahead of Jamie Collard, who finished in that position last year. 

Barger and Zimbardi doubled up their point funds, rounding out the top five. Chris Jones, Glenn Styres, Keith Dempster, Patrick Vigneault and Etienne Girard completed the top 10 in the PST Canada standings.

A special moment on the night was when the Hard Luck Award was handed out to George Suprick. The 2004 Series Champion’s season was cut short back in June when he suffered a heart attack following a series event at Mercer. Suprick thanked those in attendance, but made sure to let everyone know how truly lucky he was, before announcing he will be back to race next season.

Former racer and major series supporter Scott Bonnell was recognized for his Dedication to Motorsports, another special award on the night. After the awards were distributed, each eligible driver in attendance took home a product through random draw. These items were made possible by Diversified Machine Inc. (DMI), Winters Performance Products, The Brake Man, Saldana Race Prodcuts, M&W Aluminum Products, Insinger Race Fules, Top Flight Wings, Randy’s Racing Filters, Bicknell Racing Products, Eagle Motorsports, Ti22 Peformance, Rod End Supply, MPD Race Products, Ti64 Titanium Products, Crow Racing Products, Brad Penn Oil and Mike Emhof Motorsports.

To conclude the ceremony, PST Owner Mike Emhof took to the podium to shed some light on the 2014 season. Emhof first declared that once again next season their will be a PST America and PST Canada Series, each paying $5,000 to the champion. In addition, if a driver can claim both titles, they will receive a $5,000 bonus, meaning that $15,000 will be up for grabs for a single driver. It was also announced that almost every track on the tour this past season will be part of the 2014 tour, with a few tracks the series was not at last year will return. It was a great way to close out a great night.

For more information, visit www.PatriotSprintTour.com. PST

America Top-12 (Special Awards in Parenthesis) 1.Jared Zimbardi (Sportsmanship) 2.Scott Kreutter (Patriot of the Year) 3.Justin Barger 4.Tommy Wickham (Gater Hard Charger) 5.Geoff Quackenbush (Worst Luck of Draw) 6.Brad Knab 7.Clint Ide 8.Scott Just (Insinger Rookie of the Year, Original Pizza Logs Dash Champion) 9.Bryan Howland (Best Appearing Car) 10.Steve Collins 11.Tyler Graves (Outstanding Newcomer) 12.Dave Just PST Canada Top-10 1.Steve Poirier 2.Jason Barney 3.Jamie Collard 4.Justin Barger 5.Jared Zimbardi 6.Chris Jones 7.Glenn Styres 8.Keith Dempster 9.Patrick Vigneault 10.Etienne Girard

Additional Special Awards Dedication to Motorsports: Scott Bonnell

Hard Luck Award: George Suprick Mechanic of the Year: Tony DiFonzo

Second Half Run, Strong Defense Leads UAlbany to 64-50 Win

ALBANY, N.Y. – In front of UAlbany women’s basketball royalty, the Great Danes snapped their two-game losing streak with a second half surge for a 64-50 victory over Colgate on Sunday.

Before the game, UAlbany honored the careers of Ebone Henry and Julie Forster, officially retiring their numbers of #5 and #11 respectively.  Both Henry and Forster were present with UAlbany Athletic Director Dr. Lee McElroy for a ceremony at center court.

“This game was about getting a win for Ebone [Henry] and Julie [Forster],” says UAlbany coach Katie Abrahamson-Henderson. “Megan [Craig] being in helped get Shereesha [Richards] and Tammy [Phillip] open and helped us run our offense.”

Shereesha Richards earned her sixth double-double of the year, finishing the game with 21 points and 14 rebounds.

“It was important to win this game after we lost our last two,” says Richards. “We had to comeback with a fight to win it for Ebone [Henry] and Julie [Forster] and not come back from the holiday with three losses.”

Tying a career-high with four three-pointers, Erin Coughlin went 4-8 from three for 12 points and three assists.  Sarah Royals finished with 14 points and two assists on the game, moving into 15^th all-time in career assists at UAlbany with 214.

“We knew we had to run this team,” says Royals. “We knew they would double team our frontcourt, so we tried to beat them down the court and get scores.”

UAlbany fired away from three early, with each Coughlin and Margarita Rosario connecting.  A pair by Coughlin helps give UAlbany an early advantage, adding a couple of attacks in the paint by Richards to build a 15-8 UAlbany lead after five-and-a-half.

The Great Danes struggled from the field for the upcoming nine minutes as Colgate went on a 13-4 run, forcing UAlbany to call timeout when Colgate took a 21-19 lead.  UAlbany held Colgate without a basket for the final 6:17 of the half, retaking the advantage 24-23 going into the locker room.

Out of halftime, Colgate retook the lead until UAlbany went on a 5-0 run started by a Royals layup and one.  Both teams traded points back and forth when a Paige Kriftcher three at the top of the arch pushed Colgate up 39-36 with 10:50 remaining in the 2^nd.

Coughlin came alive at that moment, hitting a three-pointer in two consecutive possessions.  Richards added layups and Royals contributed a fastbreak layup as the Great Danes built a 14-0 run, surging ahead 50-39. In that run, UAlbany did not allow a basket in over six minutes.

Colgate stopped the streak with a layup and one from Josie Stockill, but UAlbany did not relinquish the lead again.  UAlbany has constantly fouled as the team went to the free throw line to add to its lead, finishing with the win 64-50.
UAlbany will break for the holiday and will next play in Long Island against Hofstra on Wednesday, January 1^st at 2 p.m. 


Albany Great Danes

Men’s Basketball Uses 24 Points Off the Bench to Down Yale 70-62

ALBANY, N.Y. – Luke Devlin and Dallas Ennema combined for 17 points off the bench to lead the University at Albany men’s basketball team (6-5) past Yale (5-6) 70-62 at SEFCU Arena on Friday night.

Both teams started slow in the first half, with Sam Rowley scoring four early points. Yale didn’t score until the 15:32 mark, going 0-for-7 to open the game. The Bulldogs went 7-for-31 (.226) in the first half and shot as low as 3-for-23 (.130).

The teams were within two points of each other for most of the half before a 3-pointer from Ennema opened up a nine-point lead with 7:05 remaining in the first session. The three marked Ennema’s first career points in his first appearance.

“I was just thinking that I wanted the opportunity and I was thankful to have it,” said Ennema. “I knew I had to capitalize on it. As the game moved on I got more comfortable.”

At the 3:45 mark in the first half, Yale had gone 2-for-2 from the free throw line, but just 3-for-23 from the field. The Bulldogs stayed in the game with eight offensive rebounds to earn more possessions.

At the end of the first half, eight UAlbany players had at least one basket. John Puk led the Great Danes with six points.
Despite a combined 10 fouls in the first half, the teams committed 32 fouls in the second half. Rowley picked up his fourth foul with 8:08 left after having no fouls in the first half. The Great Danes attempted their first free throw of the game with 9:02 left in the game. Puk went 2-for-2 from the line to give UAlbany a 12-point lead.

The Purple & Gold maintained a 7-10-point cushion for much of the second half before Yale began taking advantage at the free throw line. The Bulldogs made four-straight free throws in an 8-0 run to cut the UAlbany lead to four, 62-58 with one minute remaining. Puk, Devlin, DJ Evans and Peter Hooley put the game away from the charity stripe.

DJ Evans nearly finished with a double-double, 14 points and nine rebounds. Hooley and Puk both had 13 points apiece. Ennema had eight points, including two threes in his first career appearance.

The Great Danes held Yale’s leading scorer Justin Sears (17.3 ppg) to seven points and zero in the first half. Sears scored a career-high 31 points in Yale’s last game, a 76-74 loss at Providence.

UAlbany made at least four threes for the first time since a 66-55 win at NJIT on Dec. 1. The Purple & Gold went 4-for-11 from three, with Ennema going 2-for-3.

“Everyone was chipping in tonight,” said Evans. “Dallas [Ennema] came in and made some big shots. Luke [Devlin] has been handling injuries all year, but he came through big for us. I just wanted to be in the right place at the right time. It was important for us to win at home tonight.”

UAlbany continues its nonconference campaign at Drake on Dec. 23 at 8 p.m. ET. 

UAlbany Announces 2014 Baseball Schedule

ALBANY, N.Y. – The University at Albany baseball program has announced its 2014 season schedule, which will feature 56 games including a four-game series at Hawaii, and 18 home contests. Head Coach Jon Mueller will lead the Great Danes in his 15th season at the helm.

For the second straight year, the Great Danes will open up in Cary, N.C. at the USA Baseball Complex, Feb. 14-16. There, UAlbany will take on Canisius, St. Joseph’s, Butler, and Monmouth.

UAlbany will return home for just a few days before escaping the cold of Upstate New York once again, traveling this time to Honolulu, Hawaii. The Great Danes will play four games against the Rainbow Warriors, Feb. 20-23.

Between Feb. 28th and March 9th, UAlbany will continue its non-conference slate, playing eight games against three in-state foes. The Danes will play three contests in New Rochelle against Iona College before a stop on Long Island to play Hofstra in Hempstead on March 5th. From there, UAlbany will play a four-game series at NYIT, March 8-9.
Marking the beginning of America East Conference play, UAlbany will travel to Baltimore March 15th to play three against UMBC.
After 19 straight road games, the Great Danes open up at home on Tuesday, March 18th against the Marist Red Foxes of the MAAC. The home-and-home series will be completed when UAlbany travels to Poughkeepsie on April 8th.

Back in conference play, UAlbany travels to Stony Brook on March 22-23 for a three-game series against the Seawolves.

The Great Danes will then take a break from league play, hosting a doubleheader against Cornell on March 25th before traveling to Smithfield, R.I. to face the Bryant Bulldogs the weekend of March 28-30. Last season, Bryant won the Northeast Conference championship with a total of 45 wins and captured a victory over Arkansas in the NCAA Tournament.

UAlbany will then host Fordham on April 1st, marking the beginning of the Great Danes’ longest stretch of home games during the 2014 campaign. UAlbany will play eight of nine games at Varsity Field, including six conference affairs in the first two weeks of the month. The Danes host three against America East newcomer UMass-Lowell April 5-6. The next weekend, UAlbany will welcome UMBC for their second three-game set of the season. The home stand wraps up with UAlbany hosting St. John’s on April 15th

In the heart of the conference season, UAlbany travels to Hartford April 19-20th before hosting another MAAC foe, Manhattan, on April 23rd, and league rival Stony Brook April 26-27.

The Great Danes will play the majority of the remainder of the schedule on the road, traveling to non-conference opponents Central Connecticut State (April 29th), NJIT (May 3-4), and St. John’s (May 6). UAlbany will close their road schedule May 10-11 with three conference games in Orono, Maine against the Black Bears.

Closing out the regular season at home, the Great Danes host Binghamton, the defending America East champion, May 16-17 at Varsity Field for three games.
The America East Championship will be held May 21-23. 

UAlbany returns 13 letterwinners from the 2013 squad that finished the season with a 23-25-1 overall record and earned the No. 3 seed in the America East Conference Tournament.

UAlbany Women’s Basketball to Retire Ebone Henry and Julie Forster’s Numbers on Sunday

ALBANY, N.Y. – On Sunday, the University at Albany will honor two of its finest women’s basketball players ever, retiring the numbers of Ebone Henry and Julie Forster at the Colgate game at 2 p.m. 

Led by the pair of the Class of 2013, UAlbany won its first-ever America East titles in the 2011-12 and 2012-13 seasons, earning a pair of NCAA Tournament berths.  In their time, the Great Danes won 77 games, including going 50-14 their last two years.

“This is a historic moment for our women’s basketball program, as it will be the first time in school history we will be retiring numbers of Ebone Henry and Julie Forster,” says UAlbany head coach Katie Abrahamson-Henderson. “Ebone and Julie were the pioneers and will always be remembered as the two players who took our programs to back-to-back conference championships and NCAA Tournament appearances.
Henry’s #5 and Forster’s #11 will be retired during a ceremony at Sunday’s game against Colgate, honoring the careers of two of the best women’s basketball players in the history of the program.  Both Henry and Forster will be present at the game on Sunday to be honored in front of the crowd.

“Every day our team will look up at the #5 and #11 and have a constant reminder of the level of excellence and expectation of two of the greatest players to ever play at this prestigious university,” says Abrahamson-Henderson.

Henry graduated as the program’s leading scorer with 1,632 points, making a program-best 358 baskets.  A four-year starter out of San Diego, she ranks 3^rd in UAlbany history and 1^st in the school’s DI history with 13.3 points per game.  She also stands fourth all-time in rebounding with 759 boards, second in steals with 312, third in three-point field goals with 158 and 10^th in assists with 254.  She holds three of the top five season-scoring marks in UAlbany history, including being number one with 473 points her junior year, also holding the record for a sophomore and freshman with 432 and 323 respectively.  She earned America East Player of the Year in the 2012-13 season and the league’s Defensive Player of the Year her final three seasons, being named First Team All-Conference all four years as a Great Dane.

“It feels great,” says Henry about having her #5 retired. “It's still so unreal considering I just graduated, but I'm truly thankful for this opportunity. It just really puts a cap on all the hard work put in over the four years.”
Currently, Henry is playing overseas with KR Reykjavik in Iceland, averaging 25 points and 14 rebounds per game.

“I've had the opportunity to meet some amazing women that I will keep close to me forever,” says Henry. “It's like the sisters I never had. Although the championships mean a lot to me, my teammates who put in the hard work day in day out mean the most, and that's what I'll never forget. We fought together, cried together, battled each other, etc., and it truly paved the way for future Great Danes.”

Forster graduated as the program’s only player with over 1,000 rebounds, earning 1,149 boards in her four-year career.  She also stands as the only UAlbany player with over 1,000 points and 1,000 rebounds, being tied for sixth all-time with 1,109 points.  A former walk-on from Huntington, Forster’s 9.3 rebounds per game in her career ranks #1 in UAlbany history.  She is fifth all-time with 126 blocks and sixth in steals with 235.  Each of her four seasons ranks in the UAlbany top-six in total rebounds in a season, including 339 rebounds as a junior at #1.  Forster earned All-Conference honors her final three seasons, including First Team as a senior, and was honored as the America East Scholar-Athlete of the Year for the 2012-13 season.

“I am so thankful to have been a part of this university and the women's basketball team,” says Forster. “It's an amazing honor to have my number being retired.  UAlbany took a chance on me as a player, and it became the experience of a lifetime for me.”

Forster is playing for Stevnsgade BBK in Denmark, earning double-doubles in her first 12 games, averaging 21.8 points and 18.7 rebounds per game.

“I really loved my time at UAlbany and have many fond memories to look back upon,” says Forster.  “My two greatest memories were winning the America East Championships my junior and senior year.  It was incredible to see our goals realized and all our hard work rewarded.  It was especially nice to have both of the championships played on our home court, because we were able to celebrate with our fans.”

2014 SYRACUSE MEN’S LACROSSE TICKETS ON SALE NOW

SYRACUSE, N.Y.  – Season and individual game tickets for the 2014 Syracuse men’s lacrosse season are on sale now online at SUAthletics.com and by phone at the Carrier Dome Box Office (1-888-DOMETIX).

 

The Orange will play at home eight times this season, including seven regular-season games. The 2014 home slate features highly-anticipated ACC matchups with Maryland, Notre Dame and North Carolina, as well as non-conference games against New York foes Siena, Albany, Binghamton and Colgate. The Orange will also scrimmage Hofstra and Le Moyne on Jan. 25.

 

A reserved season ticket is $70 and a youth (ages 12 and under) reserved season ticket is $35. Season parking passes are available for $70, while day-of-game parking for both regular-season games and the scrimmage is $15.

 

Single-game general admission tickets for all games, including the scrimmage, are $10 for adults and $5 for youth (ages 12 and under).

 

Groups of 20 or more are eligible for discounted tickets. The group rate is $8 for adults and $4 for youth (ages 12 and under). Group tickets can be purchased by calling the box office and selecting option “2”.

 

Syracuse University students are admitted free with a valid SU ID card. ‘Cuse Kids Club members also get in free with their membership card.

 

For further questions on tickets, parking or seating for people with disabilities, please contact the Carrier Dome Box Office.

 

MEGA CONFERENCE CLASHES, TOP 20 MATCHUPS HIGHLIGHT 2014 SU LACROSSE SCHEDULE

SYRACUSE, N.Y.  – Syracuse University head men’s lacrosse coach John Desko released the team’s 2014 schedule on Thursday, Dec. 19. This year’s slate includes games against six NCAA Tournament teams from last season and is highlighted by five Atlantic Coast Conference games in the Orange’s first year as a member of the ACC.

 

The Orange’s five ACC opponents all rank in the top nine of the Inside Lacrosse Faceoff Yearbook Preseason Top 20. Reigning national champion Duke (No. 1), North Carolina (No. 3) and Notre Dame (No. 4) are in the top five. Maryland is No. 6 and Virginia is No. 9. In addition, the Orange will square off with No. 12 Albany, No. 14 Johns Hopkins, No. 16 St. John’s and No. 17 Cornell this season for a total of nine games versus Top 20 teams.

 

Syracuse’s home schedule features seven games at the Carrier Dome, including conference matches against Maryland, Notre Dame and North Carolina. The Orange also has five true road games on the docket and one neutral-site contest versus St. John’s at Kennesaw State University near Atlanta, Ga. The 2014 ACC Championship will be held at PPL Park outside Philadelphia.

 

The Orange opens the regular season with three home dates. Syracuse welcomes Siena to the Dome for the season opener on Feb. 10 and entertains Albany on Feb. 16. Following the Albany game, SU hosts Maryland on Feb. 22 in its inaugural ACC contest. It’s a match that represents the first regular-season meeting between the Orange and Terps since 1983.

 

After the homestand, Syracuse hits the road for four straight games. A Feb. 28 contest in Charlottesville against Virginia starts the stretch. The next weekend, SU plays in Georgia for the first time since 1927 against former BIG EAST rival St. John’s at Fifth Third Bank Stadium on Kennesaw State’s campus. Visits to Baltimore to take on Johns Hopkins (March 15), and Durham, N.C. for a March 23 date with Duke, complete the road trip. The Duke contest is a rematch of last year’s NCAA championship game won by the Blue Devils, 16-10.

 

The Orange returns to the Dome to host fellow ACC newcomer Notre Dame on March 29 and Binghamton on April 2. The following week, Syracuse makes the short trip to Ithaca for its annual grudge match with Cornell, scheduled for April 8 at Schoellkopf Field. Four days later, Syracuse renews its rivalry with North Carolina as the Tar Heels make their first trip to the Dome since 1994.

 

Syracuse and Hobart clash in Geneva on April 19 for the Kraus-Simmons Trophy before the team heads to Philadelphia for the conference tournament at PPL Park. The ACC semifinals are set for April 25, while the fifth- and sixth-place teams in the league standings play on April 26.

 

SU closes out the regular season at home on May 3 against Colgate.

 

In addition to its seven regular-season home games, the Orange will also host Hofstra and Le Moyne in a three-way scrimmage on Jan. 25. Syracuse heads to Towson Feb. 1 for a round-robin scrimmage with the Tigers and the Bucknell Bison on Feb. 1 before lifting the lid on the regular season.

 

The 2014 campaign marks the 95th season of varsity lacrosse at Syracuse. Last year, the Orange tied the school wins record, finishing 16-4 and advancing to the NCAA title game for the 17th time in school history.

 

All dates, locations and times are subject to change. A list of televised games will be released at a later date.

 

January/February

Sat., Jan. 25 – Hofstra/Le Moyne (scrimmage), 10 a.m.

Sat., Feb. 1 – at Towson/Bucknell (scrimmage), TBA

Mon., Feb. 10 – Siena, 7 p.m.

Sun., Feb. 16 – Albany, 4 p.m.

Sat., Feb. 22 – Maryland, 1 p.m.

Fri., Feb. 28 – at Virginia, 5 p.m.

 

March

Sat., March 8 – vs. St. John’s (Kennesaw, Ga.), 4 p.m.

Sat., March 15 – at Johns Hopkins, 12 p.m.

Sun., March 23 – at Duke, 12:30 p.m.

Sat., March 29 – Notre Dame, 12 p.m.

 

April

Wed., April 2 – Binghamton, 7 p.m.

Tues., April 8 – at Cornell, 7 p.m.

Sat., April 12 – North Carolina, 6 p.m.

Sat., April 19 – at Hobart, 3 p.m.

Fri-Sun., April 25-27 – ACC Championship (Chester, Pa.), TBA

 

May

Sat., May 3 – Colgate, 4 p.m.

Men’s basketball heads to Buffalo for Monday game

VESTAL, N.Y. - Binghamton men’s basketball plays fellow SUNY Center Buffalo for the first time in 33 years when the teams clash Monday afternoon at Buffalo’s Alumni Arena. The holiday-themed game will be broadcast by Time Warner Cable SportsChannel (HD 323 locally) with a noon tip-off.

Binghamton (2-8) will look to right itself after an off-night Saturday in New Jersey. Cold second-half shooting (3-for-20) resulted in a 74-46 drubbing at the hands of Monmouth. Before that, BU was on target with a 74-point performance in a win at St. Mary’s and a 65-point showing at No. 2 Syracuse. But at Monmouth, the Bearcats surrendered a 21-7 run to end the first half and gave up a 20-5 run to open the second half, digging the big deficit.

Sophomore guard Jordan Reed led BU with 13 points but the rest of the team was just 8-for-35 and the Bearcats compounded their problems by leaving 11 points at the free throw line.
Reed ranks second in the America East in both scoring (16.2 ppg.) and rebounding (9.5 rpg.). The next four scorers are all freshmen: Marlon Beck II (12.7 ppg.), Nick Madray (11.5 ppg.) and Yosef Yacob (9.7 ppg.). 

The Bearcats are nursing some injuries in the backcourt with senior Rayner Moquete (20 minutes/game), junior Robert Mansell (15 mpg.) and Yacob (30 mpg.) each unavailable for the game.
 
Buffalo Update
Buffalo (4-4) is coming off a 84-81 overtime loss to Manhattan Saturday at the Barclay’s Center in Brooklyn. Before that, the Bulls lost to Canisius (69-55) after opening the month with a 78-73 win over St. Bonaventure. The team’s other wins came against West Virginia Wesleyan (80-60), Robert Morris (81-66) and Delaware State (65-55).

On Saturday, UB lost a heartbreaker when it let a seven-point lead slip away in the final 45 seconds of regulation. The game featured 12 ties and 17 lead changes. In the final minute, Manhattan made a three pointer, a three point play and then down three with five second left, the Jaspers were fouled on a three-point attempt and hit all three shots to send the game to overtime. Freshman Shannon Evans finished with a team-high 20 points, thanks primarily to 13-for-15 accuracy from the free throw line Senior forward Javon McCrea recorded his fourth double-double of the season with 18 points and 11 rebounds.  Classmate Joshua Freelove added a career-high 17 points, while also finishing with five blocked shots. Buffalo had 12 blocks and made a season-high 30 free throws in the losing effort.
First-year head coach Bobby Hurley inherits four starters and seven lettermen from a 14-20 team of a year ago. That team went 9-6 at home and won twice to reach the quarterfinals of the Mid-American Conference tournament. The key returnee is 6-foot-7 McCrea, who averaged 18.0 points and 7.9 rebounds last season. He is a two-time first-team All-MAC selection and frontrunner for conference player of the year honors. 
 
Hurley (Duke ’93) had a distinguished collegiate career, guiding the Blue Devils to three NCAA Final Four appearances and a pair of national championships in 1991 and 1992. He is the NCAA’s all-time assists leader (1,076) and played five years in the NBA.

Buffalo elevated to Division I status in 1991 – the first of the four university centers (with Albany, Binghamton, Stony Brook) to make the move. They advanced to the NIT in 2005 after winning a school-record 23 games and received votes in the AP Top 25 the following season. Buffalo has won 20 or more games in three of the last five seasons.

Series History
The teams have never faced each other at the Division I level. Buffalo owns a 3-1 lead in the all-time series, which dates back to 1968. Buffalo won back-to-back games in 1968 and 1969 and then again in 1979 when both programs competed in the Division III State University of New York Athletic Conference. In the most recent meeting in 1980 at West Gym, Binghamton prevailed 54-53 in the Tip-Off Classic.

The two coaches know each other well from both the NY metropolitan area and the recruiting trails. While at Rider, Tommy Dempsey recruited players from St. Anthony High School, coached by Bobby Hurley, Sr., as well as St. Benedict’s Prep, where Dan Hurley (Bobby’s brother) coached.

Reed, Beck receive America East weekly honors

VESTAL, N.Y. - Binghamton men’s basketball players Jordan Reed and Marlon Beck II have earned weekly honors from the America East. On Monday, the conference selected Reed as its co-Player of the Week and Beck as its Rookie of the Week.

 
Reed, a sophomore guard, averaged 21.5 points in two games last week and took home top weekly honors for the second time this season (Nov. 18). After netting 17 in BU’s 74-70 road win over Mt. St. Mary’s, Reed exploded for a game-high 26 points against No. 4 Syracuse on Saturday at the Carrier Dome. In front of a school-record 25,844 fans and ESPN3 audience, Reed put on a scoring display against the undefeated Orange, hitting 6-of-10 from the floor and 13-of-14 from the free throw line. He added seven rebounds and two steals in 39 minutes.

Reed entered the week as one of just two “3” men across the country to average double-digits in both scoring and rebounding. He is shooting 43 percent from three-point range and 75 percent from the free throw line. In the America East, Reed ranks third in rebounding (9.8 rpg.) and fourth in scoring (16.6 ppg.).

He was also named Binghamton’s Athlete of the Week.

Beck becomes the third BU freshman to grab Rookie of the Week honors, joining classmates Nick Madray (Nov. 11) and Magnus Richards (Nov. 25). He totalled a team-high 19 points to lift BU to the win at Mt. St. Mary’s and then he added 14 points and six rebounds against Syracuse. Beck drilled 4-of-6 three-pointers at Mt. St. Mary’s and shot 46 percent from the floor on the week, including 6-of-13 from beyond the arc.

He ranks third in the America East in three-pointers made per game (2.3) and is 14th in scoring (2nd among freshmen).

BU Men’s basketball to hold “Pack the House Day” on Dec. 28

VESTAL, N.Y.—The Binghamton men’s basketball team and Weis Markets will host “Pack the House Day” on Dec. 28 when the Bearcats face Bryant at 2 p.m. Sponsored by Weis Markets, fans will be able to pick up free ticket coupons for the game.

Coupons are available now at all Binghamton area Weis Markets. The first 2,000 coupons redeemed at the Events Center box office will receive free tickets compliments of Weis.

“Pack the House” Night was also held in conjunction with Binghamton men’s and women’s opening night basketball doubleheader on Nov. 8. A season-high crowd of 4,318 came out to the Events Center for those games. Binghamton Bearcats