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Bears visit SUNYAC champs for conference tournament quarterfinal

Posted 2/21/11

The SUNY Potsdam men’s basketball team returns to the State University of New York Athletic Conference Tournament this Tuesday, Feb. 22, at league champion Oswego State at 7 p.m. The Bears, who …

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Bears visit SUNYAC champs for conference tournament quarterfinal

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The SUNY Potsdam men’s basketball team returns to the State University of New York Athletic Conference Tournament this Tuesday, Feb. 22, at league champion Oswego State at 7 p.m.

The Bears, who finished the regular season last Saturday, are the No. 8 seed in the playoffs, while the Lakers are the tournament’s top seed. Potsdam concluded the year with an 8-17 overall record, including a 7-11 mark in SUNYAC play.

The Bears clinched a postseason berth with a 46-43 victory at Fredonia on Friday after freshman Tony Efese (Spring Valley, N.Y.) nailed a buzzer-beating shot from beyond half court. Potsdam finished in a tie for sixth in the conference standings and drew the eighth seed based on tiebreakers.

Oswego enters the game at 22-3 with a 17-1 conference record, and has won 15 straight.

In the most recent meeting between the two teams, on Feb. 12 in Potsdam, the Bears fought a 31.9 percent shooting performance and nearly knocked off the first-place Lakers. However, Oswego shot 44 percent and executed in the final minute to claim a 53-47 win.

“It was a good game,” Potsdam coach Sherry Dobbs said. “We missed some opportunities, settled for some early shots and committed key turnovers. Oswego is a big, physical team and they were able to score around the basket.”

Dobbs, who guided the team to back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances in 2003-04 and 2004-05, including an Elite Eight appearance in the latter season, knows patience and rebounding will be key against an Oswego team which ranks first in the league in scoring defense, scoring margin and field goal percentage defense.

“We need to be patient, reverse the ball and not settle for contested shots,” Dobbs said. “We hope to spread the floor and get their ‘bigs’ away from the basket. We also need to recognize when to push the ball in transition and when to run our half-court sets.”

Defensively, the Bears will look to stop Oswego’s Chad Burridge, who ranks second in the conference in scoring at 18 points per game. The Lakers bring one of the most efficient offenses in the SUNYAC, ranking first in field goal percentage and second in assist-to-turnover ratio. In the last game between the two teams, Oswego started four players above 6’3”, posing match-up problems for a smaller Potsdam team.

In addition, Dobbs will stress defensive rebounding. In Potsdam’s 73-60 loss at Oswego on Jan. 14, the Lakers grabbed 17 offensive rebounds and attempted 25 more shots, even though the Bears shot twice as many free throws (26-13).

“We have to minimize their opportunities to get second shots and limit their post entries,” Dobbs said. “Our guards will need to get good ball pressure on their guards and make it harder to pass it into the post.”

Players and coaches aren’t hoping for a repeat performance of the 2008-09 season. In the program’s last appearance in the playoffs, also a quarterfinal contest at Oswego, Potsdam was defeated 92-87 on Feb. 24, 2009. Eddie Cross (Hudson, N.Y.) and Skip Schwartz (Rochester, N.Y.) are the only current players who played in that game. Cross is currently a senior, while Schwartz is a junior.

With a win Tuesday, the Bears would advance to the tournament semifinals on Friday. Game time and location will be determined following Tuesday’s quarterfinal results.

To view a live video feed of Tuesday night’s game, visit: http://www.athletics.oswego.edu/showcase/. For live statistics, navigate to http://www.sidearmstats.com/oswego/mbball.

To purchase tickets for the game, visit tickets.oswego.edu or call 315-312-3073.