PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. – Memorial Hall will be terminating a five-year State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) Men's Basketball Championship Tournament dry spell come Friday night when the building, and Plattsburgh State, host the semifinals and finals of the conference tournament for the first time since 2010. 

Four teams - Plattsburgh State (No. 1 seed), SUNY Geneseo (No. 2 seed), Oswego State (No. 3 seed) and The College at Brockport (No. 4 seed) - will convene at the Cardinals' home stomping grounds to vie for the title of SUNYAC champions. All the action begins on Friday night when SUNY Geneseo clashes with Oswego State in the first semifinal bout at 5:30 p.m. At 7:30 p.m., Plattsburgh State and The College at Brockport will tangle at for the second time in a week with the second spot to the championship game at stake. The winners of Friday's semifinal confrontations will square off in the championship game at 4 p.m. on Saturday.

Tickets prices have been set by the SUNYAC and are $6.00 for general admission and $3.00 for children ages 5-12. All Children ages four and under will be admitted for free as will all SUNY students with a student ID card. Those students who do not have a valid student ID will be charged the general admission rate. Tickets will be available for purchase in the lobby of Memorial Hall beginning at 4:30 p.m. on Friday and 3 p.m. on Saturday.

Those who are unable to make the trip to Plattsburgh can follow all the SUNYAC Championship Tournament action via live statistical coverage and live video coverage (provided by Northeast Sports Network). The links for the aforementioned multimedia services can be found below.

Live Stats (all games) - Live Video (all games)

SEMIFINAL NO. 1 – NO. 2 SUNY GENESEO vs. NO. 3 OSWEGO STATE - Friday, Feb. 27 - 5:30 p.m.

SUNY GENESEO (16-9, 12-6 SUNYAC)
Roster – 2014-15 Schedule/Results – 2014-15 Statistics

No team among the challengers for the crown has done more winning in the month of February than SUNY Geneseo. Led by an individual who leads the nation in rebounding (12.8 per game) and ranks 23^rd in the nation in scoring (20.7 points per game) in Gordon Lyons, the Knights have constructed a 7-1 record this month and have outscored their opponents by an average of 12.1 points per game in each win.

In their regular season finale at Plattsburgh State, Lyons went off for 30 points and grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds which helped his team secure a first-round bye into the SUNYAC Championship Tournament.

Although adroit on the block and in the mid-range department, Lyons is by no means the Knights' only threat. Andry Drescher and James McKenna – both seniors – can swish it from three-point land with the best of them. The former is one of the most lethal long-range threats in the conference, canning 42.1-percent of his long-range attempts while the latter can catch fire quickly from that distance as well.

The two rangy guards drop in points at a clip of 15.5 and 11.9 per game respectively and have helped SUNY Geneseo up its team deep ball percentage to the second-best in the 10-team SUNYAC (36.1-percent).

OSWEGO STATE (17-9, 12-6 SUNYAC)
Roster – 2014-15 Schedule/Results – 2014-15 Statistics

The Lakers hold the distinction of being the only team to hand SUNY Geneseo a loss in the month of February, and if they want to do so again and reach the SUNYAC Championship Tournament title game for the first time since 2011-12, Brian Sortino will most likely have to lead the charge.

Oswego State received its first taste of 2014-15 postseason play on Tuesday night when it overcame a four-point halftime deficit to down the sixth-seeded Oneonta State Red Dragons in the quarterfinals. A balanced scoring load was the key to the Lakers' success in that tilt, as four players finished with 10 or more points led by Sortino who netted 16.

Of the remaining teams in the tournament, no squad has done a better job at preventing the opposition from putting up points than the Lakers. Teams that face off against Oswego State average just 63.4 points per game which directly correlates to the lockdown three-point defense employed by the squad. The Lakers' foes have hit just 29.4-percent of their long range tries.

Complementing the guard play of Sortino, who is the fourth-highest scoring player in the SUNYAC (16 points per game) is Walter Sampson who handles things down low. The third-year man pumps in points at a rate of 10.2 per outing and is shooting 50-percent (83-for-166) from the field this season.

SEMIFINAL NO. 2 – NO. 1 PLATTSBURGH STATE vs. NO. 4 BROCKPORT - Friday, Feb. 27, 7:30 p.m.

PLATTSBURGH STATE (18-7, 13-5 SUNYAC)
Roster – 2014-15 Schedule/Results – 2014-15 Statistics

Docked down in the paint looms a figure who can shoulder a vast amount of basketball-related cargo for the Cardinals. Reggie Williams has enjoyed his greatest statistical season as a collegian and, in terms of sheer numbers, is the leader of the team.
The Yonkers, N.Y., product nets 12.8 points per game, but leads the SUNYAC in rejections per outing (2.2) as well as field goal percentage (58.3). The second figure is the 27^th-highest in all of NCAA Division III men's basketball.

That senior, along with six others on the squad, will set out to prove that the third time is the charm after finishing as the runner-up in the conference tournament for the past two seasons. As seems to be the case every year, the scoring numbers of just one Cardinal don't stand out but there are ample individuals in the Plattsburgh State lineup who can pile up points.

Since January 30, Jordan Moody has played some of his best basketball. Hailing from Yorktown, N.Y., the senior has netted 14.6 points per game in that span in 48.9-percent (44-for-90) shooting. Outside the perimeter sits the hot-shooting Dominican Edward Correa, whose downtown touch is among the best in the nation (53-for-107, 49.5-percent).

Seniors Shamoy McIntosh and Ezra Hodgson bring 9.7 and 8.1 points per game to the table respectively while junior Xavier Thomas depends on defying the laws of gravity to reach his eight points per game.

Facilitating an offense that leads the conference in triples per game (8.2) and overall three-point field goal percentage (36.7) is senior Mike Mitchell who dishes out helpers at a rate of five per game – the 35^th-best mark in the nation.

BROCKPORT (15-11, 11-7 SUNYAC)
Roster – 2014-15 Schedule/Results – 2014-15 Statistics

Simply put, Clifton Lyerly and Patrick Modzelewski were the fuel for Brockport's engine in its 78-73 quarterfinal triumph over Buffalo State on Tuesday night. The pair combined for 49 points and kept the Golden Eagles' recent hot streak going.

Winners of six of their last seven, the Golden Eagles head into Memorial Hall primed for a rematch of the 2014 SUNYAC Championship Tournament finals which saw them erase a 19-point deficit in the second half to defeat Plattsburgh State 57-56 and capture the title of tournament champions.

A streaky long-range shooter who can also enter the fray down low and grab some rebounds, Modzelewski is Brockport's leading scorer at 14.1 points per game. Next up is Lyerly, who prefers to dazzle in the paint for 12.1 markers per tilt.
Protecting the rim for the Golden Eagles is Levi Pace whose 2.1 blocks per game is second only to Plattsburgh State's Williams in the conference.

Another defensive-minded squad (66.6 points per game scoring defense), the Golden Eagles prefer to keep the score close as 15 of their 26 games have been decided by 10 points or fewer. In those tilts, Brockport has cobbled together a 10-5 mark, but in the two matches with the Cardinals this season each team has won a blowout on their respective home court.