Fisher Voted Preseason Favorite in Empire 8 Men’s Basketball Poll
Heading into the season, St. John Fisher College is the unanimous pick to win the Empire 8 Championship. The Cardinals received eight first place votes and racked up 64 points to earn the role of preseason favorite. Stevens Institute of Technology picked up the remaining first place vote and earned the second spot with 51 points, to edge out defending champion and third place Hartwick College (50 points).
Cardinal Chatter
Fisher went 9-5 on the E8 a year ago and just missed out on the post-season due to a tie-breaker. But the Cardinals’ hopes are high in 2014-15 after graduating one senior and returning 10 players. Junior Chaz Lott was named to the all-conference First Team after leading the Cardinals with 14.3 points per game, which ranked eighth among all conference players. Aside from his ability to get to the hoop he averaged 4.3 assists per game and 1.8 steals per game this season. Sophomore Keegan Ryan had a solid first year averaging 8.5 rebounds. He was second on the team in scoring, averaging 13 points, while shooting nearly 52% from the field.
Duck Discussion
Stevens returns a pair of senior forwards in Kenny Gan and Patrick Sabatino who helped guide the team to an overall mark of 18-10 and a 10-4 mark in the Empire 8. The Ducks earned a berth in the Empire 8 Tournament for a fifth-straight season in 2013-14, eventually falling in the semifinals to Nazareth. Sabatino, a two-time all-conference performer, led the Ducks in scoring, averaging 13.7 points per game, shooting 49.5 percent from the field, 37.0 percent from three and 76.9 percent at the line. Sabatino's 50 blocks led the team and ranked second in the conference. Gan started 26 games and averaged 7.9 points and hauled in 5.7 rebounds.
Hawk Highlights
Hartwick is coming off an 18-10 season in which the Hawks earned its second Empire 8 Conference Championship as well as its third NCAA Tournament appearance in the last four seasons. Headlining the group of 11 returners is Joey Lufkin, the reigning E8 Rookie of the Year. He appeared in all 28 games, making 26 starts. He averaged 15.8 points while shooting 41.3 percent from the field, 38.9 percent from the arc and 73.3 percent from the free throw line. In addition he dished out 58 assists, led the team in scoring in six games.
Golden Flyer Focus
Nazareth went 19-8 a year ago, the most wins since a 20-8 season in 2007-08. The Golden Flyers secured the third season in the E8 post season with a 10-4 league mark and advanced to the title game where they lost by five points. Junior forwards Maurice Mills and Mitch Ford averaged 24.6 and 27.1 minutes per game as they each played in all 27 contests. Mills shot .502 from the field en route to 13.1 points per game, while grabbing 7.9 boards. Ford was equally impressive averaging 12.9 points and seven rebounds as he shot .546 from the field and .709 from the line.
Pioneer Points
Aaron Nevins will look to lead the Pioneers (8-17) in his final season. He was named all-conference honorable mention as he ranked fourth in the E8 with 16.9 points per game and 4.3 assists. His assist/turnover ratio was 1.6, which also ranked fourth in the conference. He also ranked 11th in the E8 in shooting percentage (47%) and steals per game (1.3).
Saxon Sidenotes
The Saxons will have new leadership on the sideline under first year head coach Russell Phillips.
Alfred is coming off an 18-9 season in 2013-14, the most wins in 25 years. The Saxons made their first-ever appearance in the Empire 8 tournament and competed in the ECAC South Championship tournament. Several key members of that team, including Tim Pacheco (6.7 pts, 3.0 reb, 3.0 ast) and Jerry Kincel (6.7 pts, 3.7 reb), return to provide a solid nucleus for Phillips' first year at AU.
Bomber Basics
Ithaca missed the E8 post-season for the first time and is looking to improve on its 7-18 record. The Bombers are a young squad with seven freshmen on the roster. Senior Keefe Gitto and junior Sam Bevan appearned in all 25 games last season and will provide experience on the court. Gitto shot .476 from the field to average seven points per game in 17.7 minutes of action. Bevan averaged 25 minutes per game, scoring 6.6 points and grabbing 3.4 boards per contest.
Soaring Eagle Essentials
The Elmira College men's basketball team saw one of their best seasons in recent memory in 2013-14 as the Soaring Eagles posted a 10-15 overall record, the most wins in 11 seasons of the EC men's basketball program. The Purple and Gold return the majority of its forwards from a season ago, including Empire 8 All-Conference Second Team honoree, Neil Randolph. Randolph had a breakout season last year as he posted career-high numbers across the board, including an 18.4 points per game average, nearly 10 points higher than the previous season.
Highlander Highlights
The 2014 season marks the third year of inclusion for Houghton College as a competing Empire 8 program. For the first time, the Highlanders will factor into conference standings and be eligible to compete in the E8 postseason. However, Houghton is still unable to compete at the NCAA national level. So if Houghton wins the E8 tournament, the conference tournament runner-up will earn the AQ to the NCAA.
The Highlander roster returns Tyler McQuaid (12.4 pts, 5.8 reb) and Brandon Camacho (11.8 pts) who each averaged double-digits a year ago.
Dates to remember
Seven of the nine schools take the court for non-conference contests this weekend as the 2014-15 season officially begins. Conference play starts Friday, Jan. 2, and this year's playoff schedule features two semifinal matches on Friday, Feb. 27, and the championship on Saturday, Feb. 28 with the high seed hosting the tournament.
Follow Online
If you can’t make it out to the game be sure to check if Live Stats are available or better yet the game may be web streamed courtesy of Volar Video. Be sure to check out the schedule of streamed events by visiting
empire8.tv. The
Empire 8 scoreboard will have the latest schedule and results as well as media coverage links.
A closer look
For more information, visit any of the participating schools' websites or go to the Empire 8 home on the Internet at
www.empire8.com. Don't forget to become a fan of the Empire 8 on
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2014-15 Empire 8 Men’s Basketball Preseason Coaches Poll
|
St. John Fisher College (8 first place votes) |
64 points |
|
Stevens |
51 |
|
Hartwick |
50 |
|
Nazareth |
40 |
|
Utica |
39 |
|
Alfred |
32 |
|
Ithaca |
21 |
|
Elmira |
19 |
|
Houghton |
8 |