Bobcats Start 2020 Strong!
The Bryant & Stratton men's basketball team hosted their thruway rival, Bryant & Stratton College-Buffalo. Buffalo came into the game with a 14-8 record and a ranking of 5th in the USCAA Coaches Poll. The Syracuse Bobcats entered the game with a 5-12 record and a 4 game losing streak. It was Syracuse's first home game of the new semester and they were bound and determined to come out strong. When the game started, it was a fast paced back and forth match with both teams exchanging blows. It wasn't until the end of the first half when Syracuse started to pull away. Syracuse was up twelve with just under ten seconds left when Buffalo hit a 3 right before the half time horn. The Syracuse Bobcats walked into the locker rooms holding onto a 43-34 lead at the half. Coach Frisina reminded his guys that it will take two good halves of basketball to beat this team, stating, "I told the guys at half time that this is a game of runs and to expect Buffalo to come out and look to answer right away. We have to be poised and ready for a tough second half."
When the second half began, Buffalo did just as coach assumed. Right out the gate, Syracuse's lead shrunk from nine to eight in just the first couple minutes. The Syracuse men were not deterred and again went on a run of their own responding with timely baskets growing their lead again to double digits. Buffalo would climb right back, setting up a full court press defense and pressuring Syracuse into some mistakes. Buffalo's press helped them climb back into the game and with just seconds remaining in the game, Buffalo took one last shot at tying it up but came up just short. The Bryant & Stratton College-Syracuse Bobcats win with an 89-86 victory. Coach Frisina added after the game, "I'm very proud of how our guys stuck together and really gutted this win out. We stayed composed under pressure and that progress is nice to see. Buffalo is a very talented and well coached team, so to be able to steal one from them is very encouraging for us."
Syracuse was led by senior guard/forward Xavier Norgbey (23 points 12 rebounds), sophomore guard Cheikh Dieng (13 points 13 rebounds), senior forward Aaron Burton (13 points 10 rebounds) and a huge lift off the bench from sophomores Hakeem Ali (15 points 7 rebounds) and Shawn Daniels (11 points 7 rebounds).
Senior captain Xavier Norgbey also netted his 1,000th career point during competition and will be honored at our next home game (Saturday Feb. 15th).
The Syracuse men (6-12) will hit the road for their next game against Genesee CC Monday at 7pm (Bus will leave at 4pm).
The Syracuse Lady Bobcats took down the nationally top ranked Bryant & Stratton Buffalo women's basketball team this past Saturday at home. This was a much anticipated rematch at home for the Syracuse team after being dismantled by 27 points in their first meeting.
It was a very slow paced first quarter that favored Buffalo. At one point during the first quarter Buffalo led by 20 points. A few quick buckets to end the quarter allowed Syracuse to cut the lead to 14 points. Syracuse finally woke up in the second quarter out scoring Buffalo by seven in the second. Syracuse erupted for 33 points in the third to take a three point lead. Tashema Lee and Darmarris Hudson both hit big three point field goals during this run.
It took an intense amount of energy to get back into the game after trailing by so much early on. Entering the fourth quarter the Syracuse Bobcats knew that tempo control and time management were going to be key if they were going to hold on. The ladies continued to battle. Despite their efforts, it seemed that Buffalo was going to pull away with it. They created separation late by scoring a few easy buckets in transition to gain a seven point lead with two minutes remaining. Syracuse used their last remaining timeout.
The Bobcats senior, and nation's top scorer Amanda Cruz came up big out of the time out. She knocked down a three pointer to cut the lead to four points. Following the made field goal, Syracuse set up their three quarter court pressure. The pressure forced consecutive turnovers in which the Syracuse Bobcats capitalized to tie the game up. Amanda Cruz then gave the team a lead by penetrating to the hoop, getting the shot blocker in the air with a fake and finishing the bucket at the rim.
Syracuse was able to hang on to the win late, as Buffalo missed a free throw with .5 seconds left to tie the game.
Amanda Cruz eclipsed 1,000 career points in this game scoring 38 points, grabbing 11 rebounds, and collecting 6 steals. Freshman Suliat Afolabi had a break out performance with 20 points and 4 assists. Lakeima Williams continued her consistent strong play under the rim with 8 points and 9 rebounds.
The ladies followed up their massive win with an away trip on Sunday morning. They traveled to Paul Smith's College to take on the USCAA Division 2 opponent. Syracuse jumped out early and never looked back winning by a large margin of 83-20. This win pushed the Syracuse Bobcats record to 8-9 on the season. They are working hard to continue to gain momentum to help make a push into the national tournament.