FIGHTING TIGER MEN'S BASKETBALL TEAM MEMBERS NAMED TO THE ALL-NEAC TEAM

GANSEVOORT, NY - The North Eastern Athletic Conference (NEAC) announced today that two members of the SUNY Cobleskill men's basketball team were named among league's All-NEAC Team.  Fighting Tiger junior guard/forward Damon Franklin, Flint, MI, Flint North High School/Mott Community College, was named to the conference's Second Team while sophomore forward Andrei Lucas, Chula Vista, CA, The Bishop's School, was named to the league's Third Team.

The selection of the Fighting Tigers duo was no surprise to Cobleskill Head Coach Matt Allen who spoke highly about his talented perimeter tandem.

"Damon Franklin was our most consistent player this year and his selection to the all-conference team comes as no surprise to me and solidifies my belief that he is one of the best players in our league," said Allen. "Andrei Lucas's selection is a result of him becoming comfortable with his surroundings after only playing only a half season last year. I don't believe that he has even begun to touch his potential as a player yet."

In his first season with the Fighting Tigers Damon Franklin led the team in: scoring averaging 15.0 points per game, rebounding averaging 5.9 per contest, assists averaging 2.8 per game and steals per game averaging 1.8 per contest. The 6'5" swingman shot an impressive 46.0% from the field connecting on 149-of-324 shots while shooting 66.4% from the free throw line. Franklin also reached double figures in scoring in 23 of 27 games played in and posted five double/doubles in scoring and rebounding during the season.

Andrei Lucas continued to establish himself as one of the NEAC's top all-around players this season as the 6'7" forward averaged 12.1 points, 4.9 rebounds, 1.5 rebounds and 1.1 steals per contest in 26 appearances for Cobleskill. Lucas led the team in field goal shooting connecting on 117-of-225 shots from the field for a 52.0% average while also leading the Orange & Black in three-point shooting connecting on 29-of-73 attempts from beyond the arc for a 39.7% average. The versatile performer also led the team in blocked shots averaging 0.8 blocks per game.

This season the Fighting Tigers posted a 10-17 overall mark on the year advancing to the semi-finals of the NEAC Championship Tournament where the lost to league champion and NCAA Division III "Sweet Sixteen" qualifier SUNYIT 77-73 in overtime. 

FIGHTING TIGER MEN LOSE IN OVERTIME OF NEAC SEMI-FINALS TO SUNYIT

The SUNY Cobleskill men's basketball team pushed number one seeded SUNYIT to the brink in the Semi-finals of the 2010 North Eastern Athletic Conference (NEAC) Championships on Saturday afternoon at Penn State Harrisburg in Middletown, PA finally falling to the favored Wildcats by a 77-73 tally in overtime. The Fighting Tigers close the season with a 10-17 overall record while SUNYIT advances to Sunday's NEAC Championship Game against Wells College with a 23-4 overall record.

Trailing at the half by a 35-29 margin, Cobleskill eventually fell behind by 12 points at 48-36 with 13:58 remaining in regulation before making a dramatic comeback. The Fighting Tigers took the lead at the 9:09 mark when sophomore forward Andrei Lucas, Chula Vista, NY, The Bishop's School, nailed a three-point field goal to give Cobleskill a 51-50 lead then hit another three-pointer after a steal by junior forward Damion Longmore, Bronx, NY, White Plain High School, with 8:37 remaining in regulation to give the Orange & Black their biggest lead of the game at 54-50.

Three ties, a pair of lead changes and numerous missed free throws, by both teams, later Cobleskill found themselves trailing 65-62 when sophomore guard Travis Linton, New York, NY, Fredrick Douglas Academy, hit a three-pointer with only nine seconds remaining to play. Without timeouts remaining the Wildcats pushed the ball up the floor with senior guard Diloo Brown, Harlem, NY, Technical Careers Institute, attacking the basket and being fouled with only one second remaining. Brown missed both free throws and the game moved into overtime.

In the extra period the Wildcats scored first and did not relinquish the lead until Fighting Tiger freshman guard Haneef Scott, Troy, NY, Lansingburgh High School, sank a pair of free throws with 1:18 remaining in the contest to tie the score at 73-73. From that point the Wildcats went a perfect 4-for-4 from the free throw line while Cobleskill missed on two free throw attempts and a three-point field goal attempt to provide the final margin of victory.

Andrei Lucas led the team in scoring with 17 points to go along with five rebounds while junior swingman Damon Franklin, Flint, MI, Mott Community College, closed his strong season with 16 points, three rebounds and a pair of blocked shots. Haneef Scott chipped in 15 points and two assists for the visitors with Travis Linton also reaching double figures at 10 points to go with three rebounds and three assists. Rounding out the Fighting Tiger double figure scorers was Damion Longmore who posted a double/double with 10 points and 10 rebounds in the contest.  

FIGHTING TIGER MEN STORM PAST UNIVERSITY OF DALLAS 65-51 IN NEAC TOURNAMENT QUARTERFINALS

The SUNY Cobleskill men's basketball team overcame a slew of weather related departure delays on Friday as the Fighting Tigers were delayed due to potentially dangerous travel conditions in their attempt to make it to their North Eastern Athletic Conference (NEAC) Quarterfinal game versus the University of Dallas from Irving, TX to be hosted by Penn State Harrisburg in Middletown, PA. The Fighting Tigers could not leave Cobleskill until 2:00 PM on Friday so the NEAC moved the game originally scheduled for 4:00 PM to 9:00 PM to accommodate.

After their travel odyssey finally brought them to Middletown, PA the Fighting Tigers proved to be worth the wait as Cobleskill "stormed" past the Crusaders in the second half to post a 65-51 victory and advance to Saturday's semi-final round.  Cobleskill outscored Dallas 42-27 in the second half shooting a robust 16-of-25, 64.0%, from the field while limiting the Crusaders to 11-for-37, 29.7%, from the floor including only 1-of-10, 10.0%, from three-point range. The win improves the Fighting Tigers to 10-16 overall on the season while the Crusaders end the campaign with a 12-14 overall record.

Junior swingman Damon Franklin, Flint, MI, Mott Community College, was the driving force for Cobleskill scoring a team high of 19 points to go with eight rebounds, three assists and four steals. The Fighting Tigers also received a strong effort off the bench from sophomore forward Andrei Lucas, Chula Vista, CA, The Bishop's School, who scored 16 points and grabbed nine rebounds and from freshman guard Haneef Scott, Troy, NY, Lansingburgh High School, who joined the starting line-up to post an eight point, three rebound, two assist performance. Junior forward Damion Longmore, Bronx, NY, White Plains High School, also chipped in seven points and four rebounds for Cobleskill.

The Fighting Tigers will next be in action on Saturday February 27^th at 3:00 PM when they take on number one seeded SUNYIT from Utica, NY who advanced on Friday evening by defeating Penn State Abington 101-66.

SUNY COBLESKILL MEN'S BASKETBALL POSTS 61-58 ROAD WIN AT PENN STATE ABINGTON

The SUNY Cobleskill men's basketball team closed out the regular season with a hard fought road victory over host Penn State Abington in Abington, PA by a 61-58 margin. The win puts the Fighting Tigers overall record at 9-16 on the season while the Nittany Lions fall to 5-19 overall.

With the game tied at 22 all at halftime the teams steadily traded leads until with 9:42 remaining in regulation Fighting Tiger freshman shooting guard Antoine Long, Pine Bush, NY, Pine Bush High School, connected on a three-pointer, his only points of the contest, to give Cobleskill the lead for good at 44-42. From that point Cobleskill would never tail again in the contest that featured rugged defense and extremely physical play.

Junior swingman Damon Franklin, Flint, MI, Mott Community College, led the Fighting Tigers in scoring with 12 points to go with four rebounds as Cobleskill featured an extremely balanced attack to post the road win. Sophomore forward Andrei Lucas, Chula Vista, CA, The Bishop's School, had 10 points and three rebounds while junior forward Damion Longmore, Bronx, NY, White Plains High School, also reached double figures in scoring with 10 points. The visitors also received solid outings from: freshman guard Haneef Scott, Troy, NY, Lansingburgh High School, who had nine points off the bench, from senior center Michael Howell, Harlem, NY, High School of Art & Design, who scored six points, took down two rebounds, made two steals and blocked a shot and from junior center Carl Thomas, Pomona, NY, Rockland Community College, who grabbed a team high seven rebounds to go with three points and a blocked shot.

Cobleskill will next be in action at the 2010 North Eastern Athletic Conference (NEAC) Championship Tournament beginning on with the first round on Tuesday February 23^rd then moving to host site Penn State Harrisburg in Middletown, PA from Friday February 26^th through Sunday February 28^th. The league will announce final seedings and tournament game information by Monday February 22^nd.  Tournament information can be obtained on-line via the conference's website at: http://www.neacsports.com.