Photo by Kyle Vertin
QUINTIN JAMES
Special to The Leader
The end of the season is coming up and the Fredonia men’s basketball team is, unexpectedly, in the race for the final playoff spot. After winning only two games last season, the Blue Devils sit at just 7-15 but are 6-10 in SUNYAC conference play and are a surprise team this year.
After a year of maturing, the arrival of new players and a new system, the Blue Devils look like a completely different team than last year. The arrival of the small ball lineup has really spread the floor for the players and it has been paying dividends this year.
Head Coach Philip Seymour sees improvement in this group and said that the team is very confident heading into the final games.
“Our players are motivated,” said Seymour. “We take it one game at a time. We don’t look too far ahead. We say, ‘be where your feet are.”
A year of growth has helped the Blue Devils this year.
“They work fairly hard and they are good listeners,” said Seymour. “They enjoy and support each other. They are good young men.”
Well, it’s not the end of the season yet and the Blue Devils still have two games at home to finish the regular season. The Blue Devils got ran out of Brockport and it looked like the season was over but they responded with a win against rival Buffalo State.
Every game from here on out is a must-win for the Blue Devils. But they are confident and are ready for the challenge.
The Blue Devils started the week with a blowout loss to Brockport 82-58. This loss was surprising, as the Blue Devils beat Brockport in Fredonia earlier in this season. The game wasn’t close — Fredonia was outscored in both halves 41-29.
Sophomore forward Ian Helps was the only Blue Devil in double figures with 10 points and five rebounds. The Blue Devils shot 34 percent from the field and 24 percent from the three point line and also committed 21 turnovers which led to Brockport taking the game.
The Blue Devils went into the game against Buffalo State with so much on the line. A loss would have eliminated the Blue Devils from the SUNYAC playoffs, but they fought and earned a hard fought victory to keep their season alive, winning a thriller 91-88.
Freshman guard Brandon Hodge had an all time career high, scoring 20 points and assisting Helps to lead the team in scoring. Helps scored 23 points and seven rebounds and was a strong force in the second half. Junior guard Kareem Brown also scored 18 points, including a perfect nine for nine from the free throw line.
Buffalo State started off hot, jumping out to a 12-2 lead, but that would be their biggest lead of the night. Fredonia would come back, outscoring Buffalo State 22-11 over the next 11 minutes and taking the lead in the process.
The Blue Devils extended their lead in the second half to 10 and held on to it with Buffalo State coming close to taking the lead on several occasions. Fredonia shot 87 percent from the free throw line while Buffalo State shot just 44 percent.
Fredonia will need to win their last weekend of SUNYAC games to be considered for the sixth seed in SUNYAC playoffs, and will also potentially need some help from the other conference teams clinch the seed.
Seymour told his players they can’t think too far ahead; they have to focus on themselves.
“The key is don’t look far ahead, be mentally and physically tough, take it one game at a time, one play at a time,” said Seymour. “Focus on our game plan and be consistent on the defensive and offensive fundamentals we work on every day.”
The Blue Devils will have their last weekend of SUNYAC play with hosting Oneonta on Friday with a tip off time of 7:30 p.m. and New Paltz on Saturday at 4 p.m.