Brockport, NY – The College at Brockport men's basketball team is on the road this Saturday for a meeting with the Mavericks from Medaille College. The game is scheduled to tip-off at 2 pm.
Last Time Out: The Golden Eagles won their home opener the last time on the hardwood, defeating Hobart 75-74.
Justin Summers led the way with a double-double, putting up 23 points and 10 rebounds.
Jahidi Wallace poured in 14 points, doing most of his damage at the charity stripe.
Tyler Sullivan and
Malick Sylla also got into the double-digits, scoring 10 points each. The win puts Brockport in the win column, making the team's record 1-1 to start the season.
Down to the Wire: With a .500 record, the Green and Gold started the season with a loss to Morrisville before bouncing back against Hobart. Both of these games have been decided by three or less points and have come down to a last second shot. In the 73-70 loss on the road to Morrisville, Brockport missed a shot at the buzzer to tie the game up. In the win over Hobart, the visiting Statesmen missed a last second three-pointer that would have tied the game and tipped the miss in for two to make it a one-point win for Brockport. Having early season experience in tight contests will payoff later in the season when the team is faced with another close game.
Taken Advantage at the Line: Being able to get to the foul line and capitalize on free throw opportunities is crucial to winning close games. So far this season, the Golden Eagles are shooting 42-of-57 at the line for a team percentage of 73.7%. They rank third in the SUNYAC in free throw percentage and are second in the conference in free throw attempts per game.
Jahidi Wallace is shooting a strong 84% at the line, shooting 21-of-25 through the first two games. Only two players in the SUNYAC have shot more free throws than Wallace. Outside of just his strong efficiency and volume, he has proven he can make clutch foul shots late in the game.
Defense to Offense: Brockport has found success playing at a fast pace so far this season. The team has been able to create easy offense through creating turnovers with strong defense and running in transition. In just two games the Green and Gold tallied 24 steals, while opponents have turned the ball over 38 times. Brockport is outscoring opponents 33-12 on the fast break and 32-26 off turnovers.
Against Medaille: This will be the third straight season that Brockport and Medaille have met, with Brockport winning the previous two games. Two years ago, the team defeated the Mavericks, 90-75, behind a triple-double from, now assistant coach,
Hamed Shamseldin. Last season, the Golden Eagles won, 98-91, as
Tyler Collins scorched Medaille with 31 points, seven assists, five steals, and five boards. Brockport looks to make it three in a row against the Mavericks on Saturday.
Scouting Medaille: Medaille College is currently 2-2 on the season, winning two straight heading into the weekend matchup. After falling to #21 Wooster and Buffalo State to open the year, the Mavericks have bounced back to defeat Morrisville and Wells. In the most recent 99-63 win over Wells, Medaille had five players reach double-figures in scoring. The team made 15 shots from beyond the arc, and shot over 50% from the field. Senior guard, Kirk Hawkins leads the team in scoring as he averages 23 points per game. Jonathan Smith, Rodney Graves, and Will Saunders all average at least 10 points a game as well.
Looking Ahead: The Golden Eagles have a short break before getting back on the court, as they travel to Pittsburgh, PA for the Carnegie Mellon DoubleTree Invitational. They are set to take on Salisbury University on December 1
st at 1 pm.
