Bobcat Basketball Weekend Recap!
Saturday saw the Syracuse Bobcats host USCAA rival Villa Maria College. Both teams came into the game hungry for a win after suffering losses in the previous game. This was a tight game throughout with many ties and lead changes. The Vikings took a 49-42 lead into halftime. It would continue to be a back and forth battle. The Bobcats had a chance for a tie with 2.6 seconds left but the final shot came up just short and so did the Bobcats, falling to the Vikings 97-94. The Bobcats were led by Sophomore forward Hakeem Ali (18 points) and Junior guard Tae Elijah (16 points).
Sunday the Bobcats hit the road and took on blood rival Bryant & Stratton College Albany. The Bobcats were bound and determined to set the tone defensively after giving up 118 and 97 points in their two previous games. They were successful in doing so by forcing the Albany Bobcats into tough shots and turnovers. These efforts led Syracuse into halftime with a 34-28 halftime lead. After the intermission, Albany came out on fire hitting four 3-pointers right out of the gate. Syracuse hit a bit of an offensive lull and were never able to regain the lead. Despite a good defensive effort, Syracuse was unable to get the offense clicking. Albany secured the home win with a score of 73-58.
B&SC-Syracuse was led by Sophomore forward, Brian Mitchell (13 points 10 rebounds).
This past weekend the Lady Bobcats of Syracuse played back to back games on the road against the Davis College Huskies and the Bryant & Stratton Bobcats of Albany.
Their first opponent of the weekend was the Davis Huskies of the Word of Life Bible Institute. The Bobcats took a commanding lead in the first quarter that they maintained the rest of the contest. The final score was 86-27 in favor of the Bryant & Stratton Bobcats.
Amanda Cruz led all scorers with 18 total points. Darmarris Hudson (10) and Fijah Lee (12) also finished in double figures for the Bobcats. Shanaia Ward also had a strong impact on the game, finishing the game with 8 second half points.
Following the big win on Saturday, the Syracuse Bobcats traveled to Albany to take on Bryant & Stratton Albany.
It was an exciting first quarter as the Albany Bobcats tipped off their home opener. The Syracuse Bobcats hit 3 three pointers in the quarter, while the Albany Bryant & Stratton did their work in the paint and from the free throw line. The first quarter finished 16-15 with Albany in the lead.
The Syracuse Bobcats went cold in the second quarter. They missed all five three point attempts, and went 2 of 9 from the charity stripe. Albany took advantage of the cold shooting and capitalized on their free throws. They went 7 of 8 from the line in the second quarter. The momentum swung in the favor of Albany heavily entering half time. They took a 13-point lead out scoring Syracuse 18 to 6 in the second quarter.
Syracuse came out of half time with a different energy. They pounced on the competition in third, scoring six field goals and limiting the opposition to only one. They outscored Albany 17-6 bringing them back into the game entering the fourth with only a two-point deficit.
The fourth quarter was a back and forth contest as the Syracuse Lady Bobcats tried to claw their way back into the game. Despite a resilient effort by the team, a warmed-up offense wasn't enough for Syracuse to come back. Albany connected on 14 off their 16 free throw attempts in the quarter which helped them outscore Syracuse by five in the fourth quarter. Bryant & Stratton Albany held off the Syracuse Lady Bobcats taking a 60-53 victory.
The Syracuse Bobcats (3-6) hit the road one more time before Thanksgiving break. Tuesday 11/26 they travel to SUNY Cobleskill (3-1) to take on the Fighting Tigers. The women will take the court at 5pm with the men following at 7pm. The bus will leave at 1pm.