PSAC WEST

[Fightingscot82]

I just don't recall them being on consecutive days. I understand drive out to play East Stroudsburg on Thursday then play Bloomsburg on Saturday afternoon and back after that game.

[Golden89]

They've done weekend crossovers for several years. Sucks for everybody ... Players and fans.

I guees they figure get two games out of your long bus ride east or west

The west teams all do a weekend in the east right before Xmas.

Crossover games have been part of the PSAC as long as Gannon has been there. Looked at the 2009-10 schedule and there were two crossover weekends the first two weeks of January (one West to East, the other East to West). It's not optimal, but it saves on travel. etc.

When Gannon was in the GLIAC, road trips were always Thursday / Saturday. but that league was far more sprawling than the PSAC. It was a luxury for teams to stay in Erie for two nights on the Gannon / Mercy road trip.

[Ship69]

They've done weekend crossovers for several years. Sucks for everybody ... Players and fans.

I guees they figure get two games out of your long bus ride east or west

The west teams all do a weekend in the east right before Xmas.

Yup, I assume it's done to reduce travel costs. Makes sense from a cost angle, but obviously is tough on the traveling team. It wouldn't surprise me at all if Ship lost at least one of the games this weekend. Road wins are always tough in the PSAC, and they haven't had their three-point shooting in gear so far.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

What's with this 2 games in 18 hours crap that the PSAC is pulling this year? Forever its been Thursday and Saturday only until post-season.

They've done weekend crossovers for several years. Sucks for everybody ... Players and fans.

I guees they figure get two games out of your long bus ride east or west

The west teams all do a weekend in the east right before Xmas.

[Fightingscot82]

What's with this 2 games in 18 hours crap that the PSAC is pulling this year? Forever its been Thursday and Saturday only until post-season.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

A little lost in the shadows of a big PSAC football weekend is a really good weekend of crossover games.


The best games:


Saturday (really strong slate of games)

West Chester (4-0) at Gannon (0-1): The new-look GU looked kind of like the old-look GU in its only game. Undefeated WCU visiting the Hammermill likely isn't a good cure.

Shippensburg (4-1) at Slippery Rock (2-2): SRU has at least four games to go before Micah Till returns. This would be a huge win if they can get it -- but it will be difficult.

Shepherd (3-1) at Edinboro (3-0): The Rams have been hot ever since a rough opening night. Edinboro has won two straight tight games. This should be a good one.

East Stroudsburg (3-1) at UPJ (3-1): UPJ finally put it all together in its last outing -- drubbing a solid Ohio Dominican. It's hard to win in Johnstown as the home team shoots incredibly well up there. ESU's press needs to frustrate UPJ's guards. UPJ will have a tremendous edge under the basket.

Millersville (3-1) at Mercyhurst (2-1): The Marauders can ball. The Lakers suffocate teams. Something has to give one way or the other.

Bloomsburg (2-2) at IUP (3-0): The Huskies have some legit size which should test the more-athletic IUP.


Sunday

Shippensburg at Edinboro: Both coming off tough games 24 hours earlier.

Shepherd at Mercyhurst: Rams get introduced to the Triangle and Two. Enjoy.

Kutztown at UPJ: In the event Moe Williams ever returns, Kutztown could be pretty strong. They are dying without him.

East Stroudsburg at IUP: The D2 Showcase Game. Enough said.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

UPDATED MEN'S STANDINGS - WEST


IUP (3-0)
Edinboro (2-0)
UPJ (3-1)
Mercyhurst (1-1)
Seton Hill (1-1)
California (1-2)
Gannon (0-1)
Clarion (0-3)

[IUPbigINDIANS]

East Stroudsburg beat VUU 84-74. Their record is 1-1

I see that ... the PSAC web site had it reported incorrectly. Odd. It is still showing them as 0-2.

[kjb0615]

Standings


West

IUP (2-0) - Hawks off to a strong start
Edinboro (1-0) - Beat up Thiel and got beat up by Cleveland State (exhibition). Trips to Roberts Wesleyan and Notre Dame up next.
UPJ (1-1) - Didn't look as good as advertised on opening weekend. Ohio Dominican comes to town this weekend in what should be a tough test.
Slippery Rock (1-1) - Impressive win over Notre Dame and a real tight loss at Fairmont State. Eight more games until Till returns. Charleston visits this weekend.
Gannon (0-0) - First three games are brutal: at Bowie State, West Chester and Millersville.
Mercyhurst (0-0) - Lakers debut at Daemen this Thursday
Seton Hill (0-0) - WV road trip looms ... at Wheeling and at Alderson Broaddus.
California (0-2) - Vulcans have two losses by three combined points -- against formidable opponents.
Clarion (0-2) - Golden Eagles blown out twice on opening weekend.


EAST

West Chester (2-0) - Strong start for a team with many new faces
Lock Haven (1-0) - Bald Eagles stomped hapless Cheyney, 87-48.
Kutztown (1-1) - Golden Bears survived Lincoln and got beat up by Claflin. Not a great start.
Mansfield (1-1) - MU came back after getting pasted by WL and got a win over St. Augustine's
Millersville (1-1) - Dropped a 1-point heart-breaker at Fairmont ... blew out Notre Dame the next day.
Shepherd (1-1) - Lost the opener to Charleston but rallied with impressive win over Bowie State.
Shippensburg (1-1) - Nice win over Virginia Union to start the season, but dropped a tight one in a home loss to Virginia State.
Bloomsburg (0-2) - Gave up 103 to Glenville and then lost by (9) to Fayetteville State.
East Stroudsburg (0-2) - Scored just 49 points in each loss to open season. The offense is a wreck in Stroudsburg right now.

East Stroudsburg beat VUU 84-74. Their record is 1-1

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Standings


West

IUP (2-0) - Hawks off to a strong start
Edinboro (1-0) - Beat up Thiel and got beat up by Cleveland State (exhibition). Trips to Roberts Wesleyan and Notre Dame up next.
UPJ (1-1) - Didn't look as good as advertised on opening weekend. Ohio Dominican comes to town this weekend in what should be a tough test.
Slippery Rock (1-1) - Impressive win over Notre Dame and a real tight loss at Fairmont State. Eight more games until Till returns. Charleston visits this weekend.
Gannon (0-0) - First three games are brutal: at Bowie State, West Chester and Millersville.
Mercyhurst (0-0) - Lakers debut at Daemen this Thursday
Seton Hill (0-0) - WV road trip looms ... at Wheeling and at Alderson Broaddus.
California (0-2) - Vulcans have two losses by three combined points -- against formidable opponents.
Clarion (0-2) - Golden Eagles blown out twice on opening weekend.


EAST

West Chester (2-0) - Strong start for a team with many new faces
Lock Haven (1-0) - Bald Eagles stomped hapless Cheyney, 87-48.
Kutztown (1-1) - Golden Bears survived Lincoln and got beat up by Claflin. Not a great start.
Mansfield (1-1) - MU came back after getting pasted by WL and got a win over St. Augustine's
Millersville (1-1) - Dropped a 1-point heart-breaker at Fairmont ... blew out Notre Dame the next day.
Shepherd (1-1) - Lost the opener to Charleston but rallied with impressive win over Bowie State.
Shippensburg (1-1) - Nice win over Virginia Union to start the season, but dropped a tight one in a home loss to Virginia State.
Bloomsburg (0-2) - Gave up 103 to Glenville and then lost by (9) to Fayetteville State.
East Stroudsburg (0-2) - Scored just 49 points in each loss to open season. The offense is a wreck in Stroudsburg right now.

[CALUPA69]

From watching the DANNY SANCOMB show it sounds like he's quietly confident about the possible growth of VULCAN MBB this year. If I were to guess his starting five will be.... PEGRAM JR PG 5'11", COLLINS SO G 6'4", ALEXANDER RS SO F 6'7", HALL SO G/F 6'4", HOUSE FR G/F 6'4" . Likely 6-9 spots will be AJIKE FR F 6'7", SMITH FR F 6'7", ALSTON FR F 6'6", RAY SR TR G 6'0". Full roster will allow for a couple of significant changes in playing style. Speed of the game will pick up moving toward MEC style and defense will be mostly man to man which DS prefers. Good challenges this weekend versus BOWIE STATE, CIAA preseason #1 pick, on Friday and CHARLESTON, MEC preseason #2 pick on Saturday. Both games are at SHEPHERDSTOWN. Very excited to get started.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=LJja6v...ature=youtu.be

[IUPbigINDIANS]

A quick glance at Clarion:

The bad news is their best returning player actually plays for Millersville now. The good news is the new coach was able to keep Mason Mraz on campus.

Mraz, who sat out last season due to injury, had been heavily rumored to be leaving via transfer. Two years ago, as a true freshman, he started 20 games and averaged 11.5 ppg and 5.9 rpg. He was named PSAC West Freshman of the Week seven times.

It's also apparent looking at the roster that new coach Damian Pitts is taking Clarion in a different direction. For years under Marcess Williams the Golden Eagles had towering post players who were physically imposing but couldn't run the floor well. Pitts now has a roster of forwards in the 6'6" to 6'7" range who are all around 210 pounds.

Along with Mraz, the other top players figure to be (F) Sheriff Conteh and guards Elijah Cottrill, Kass Taylor and Kaison Branch. Cottrill put up 13.2 ppg a year ago.

Jack Galatio figures to also be in the mix as a graduate transfer from St. Bonaventure. However, he played very sparingly the past several years.

The Golden Eagles still have a bit of muscle left over from the previous regime in senior Stevan Rodriguez (6'5", 230 lbs). He's not a big scorer but can create some havoc under the basket. He's a very aggressive post player -- almost to a fault. He is used as a hybrid G/F.


Schedule:

Non-conference: Favetteville State (at Glenville), at Glenville State, at Davis and Elkins, Lake Erie, Malone, Salem

Crossover: Kutztown, West Chester, at East Stroudsburg, at Lock Haven, at Mansfield, Bloomsburg


Outlook: Clarion went 6-20 overall last season and 4-17 in the PSAC. Things should be better this year -- not drastically, but, better. The Golden Eagles became ultra-predictable under Williams, and, toward the end, played very uninspired. With some new energy and a new system, it's possible they could double their win total this season. Rotation-wise, they are fairly solid. Beyond 1-7, however, they are very light. They'll have to stay healthy. Clarion was picked to finish last by the West coaches. They likely will be in the bottom three, but it's possible they won't be at the bottom. Clarion has to go 6-6 in crossover/non-conference. Six more wins in the West will be a challenge but possible.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

MERCYHURST 2019-20 Men's Basketball

Lot of new faces in Erie this year for the defending Atlantic Region champion Lakers. The lone returning starter is sophomore guard Miykah McIntosh. Several other players, however, return who saw lots of minutes a year ago -- including senior guard Trystan Pratapas. Pratapas was perhaps the PSAC's deadliest sharp-shooter from outside a year ago. He was used as a pure shooter off the bench while playing just 12 mpg. He hit 64 of 129 three-point attempts.

The Lakers added four freshmen and several transfers to this year's roster.

The most heralded post player recruit is junior forward Daniel Ogele (6'7", 220 lbs) from the Naval Academy. They also added senior forward Melkisedek Moreaux (6'6", 205 lbs) form St. Bonaventure and forward Joel Ufele (6'9", 225 lbs) from Northeast Community College (Nebraska). Also new is a forward Cameron Gross (6'5", 210 lbs) from Wabash Valley Community College.

Steve Cannady came in from Wheeling Jesuit as a sophomore guard. He started 28 games last season for the Cardinals, averaging 12 ppg (38% from deep). He also had 107 assists and 33 steals.


Schedule:

Non-conference is challenging: D'Youville College, at Daemen, Roberts Wesleyan, Le Moyne,

Crossover is brutal: Millersville, Shepherd, at West Chester, at Bloomsburg, at East Stroudsburg, Kutztown

West play: The Lakers dodge a bullet and get to play at IUP on Monday, Jan. 6 (no students / small crowd). They play at SRU in the regular season finale on Saturday, Feb. 29, in what could be a huge game for both teams.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Edinboro cast-off DeAnthony Owens has surfaced at Notre Dame (OH). He looked pretty good when he was healthy.

Conversely, former ND player Halil Parks is now at Virginia State.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Hopefully they are 0-8 by then... hahahahaha
Prediction is 5-3 before the Till return.

They have a tough slate through Chrismas. I'd guess 5-3 or 4-4.

It will take some adjustment, too, when he returns. He's not practicing with the team so we'll see what kind of shape he returns in ...

I'm glad he'll be back for the IUP game. It wouldn't be nearly as fun without him. It's bad enough without KR to tee off the crowd.

I'll always say ... nobody could fire up the KCAC like KR.

In 2015 the KCAC crowd rode him so hard he finally snapped without about 5 minutes left and got a technical. It likely cost him the game. SRU's last win here is a approaching 30 years now.