PSAC EAST

[Ship69]

Good to see Markus Frank back in the Ship lineup Saturday. He appeared none the worse for wear, but did not play his usual minutes as seniors Timmy Conner, Denzel Figueroa, and Trey Martin were the day's feature. Conner had a nice game in one of his final Heiges appearances with 19 points. But it was the Michael Dickson show much of Saturday as the Ship point guard showed that, when he is on his game, he can be as entertaining as any player in the league. His 25-point effort against Mansfield included at least three plays of highlight reel quality. With Dickson and Conner combining for 30 points in the first half, the Raiders had a 12-point halftime lead despite only a combined three points from Frank and Jayden Smith, their two leading scorers, at the half.

It was a nice day for the seniors and a rare blowout win for this season's team.

[jrshooter]

On his good nights, Dickson is a full step quicker than anyone else on the court. AND plays near the rim. Few have gone through Ship with more raw athletic talent.

But man, when he disappears, he disappears. I don't know if nagging injuries led to some dead spots in his season, but they were glaring.

[Ship69]

On his good nights, Dickson is a full step quicker than anyone else on the court. AND plays near the rim. Few have gone through Ship with more raw athletic talent.

But man, when he disappears, he disappears. I don't know if nagging injuries led to some dead spots in his season, but they were glaring.

Yeah, he didn't play much at all last season, and you have to wonder if there's some carryover. If they get a fully healthy Dickson next year along with Frank and J. Smith, they have a nice returning core. Jackson Boone has developed into an effective player off the bench and has displayed a surprisingly good shooting touch, actually turning into a legitimate three-point option. It's been slow going for Gabe Romero-Sanz, but he seems to be finding his legs and could be a solid contributor next season. Of the first-year guys, Ben Rill has shown flashes, but really needs to add a couple of pounds and get more solid to avoid getting pushed around under the boards. Seb Edwards has the potential to be a solid defender and has shown some effective moves in the open court. He needs to work on his outside shot, which is very inconsistent at this point. Emonte Hill is small, but handles the ball effectively and has been able to give Dickson a blow off the bench at times. We'll see what Parker Smith has in store next season. As a former Mid-Penn Player of the Year, he obviously has talent, but is not the tallest guy, which is what I suspect got him redshirted this year.

If they get Dickson back along with Jaydon Smith, Edwards, Hill, and Parker Smith next season I think they'll be fine at guard. It could be a nice team if coach Fite can find a big or two in the portal who could move in and contribute right away. The three departing seniors have been solid players, but have not been consistently effective in scoring.

[jrshooter]

In limited glimpses, I see a big future for Sebastian Edwards if Fite can keep him. Flame-tested in the Catholic League.

[Ship69]

In limited glimpses, I see a big future for Sebastian Edwards if Fite can keep him. Flame-tested in the Catholic League.

Chris Fite has created a good culture at Ship and has an excellent record of retaining his top players. You can never be certain in today's sports era, but I'm pretty confident we'll see guys who've contributed this year return.

[WarriorVoice]

So it all comes down to Saturday...ESU can win the East if they beat West Chester, as they have the tiebreaker over idle Millersville. A loss to West Chester dumps ESU to the #3 seed. ESU held off Kutztown to sweep the season series. in the win, Nasir Griffin hit the 1,000 point mark, becoming the 36th player at ESU to do it.

[Ship69]

On his good nights, Dickson is a full step quicker than anyone else on the court. AND plays near the rim. Few have gone through Ship with more raw athletic talent.

But man, when he disappears, he disappears. I don't know if nagging injuries led to some dead spots in his season, but they were glaring.

And so there it is again on Wednesday night. Dickson goes from a stellar "can't miss" 25-point performance to 3-for-17 in a three-point loss to Shepherd. He's been the definition of a high-risk, high-reward player this season.

All of us who watch college basketball realize it can be a game of extended runs. But this year's Ship team might be the most extreme example of that in the several years I've been following the Raiders. They can go from a team that looks as if it could take on almost anyone in the league at one point and then in a blink of an eye go ice-cold, and I mean COMPLETELY ice cold. The team that got 96 points on Saturday (granted it was Mansfield) serves up a 19-point half on Wednesday. Even a relatively lousy 25-point half would have won Wednesday's game against one of the top East Division teams. The Raiders have been bad on the road this season, but at home against the top four in the East they've beaten East Stroud and West Chester, lost to Millersville by two and now to Shepherd by three. It's been bizarre. One final game in Lock Haven's strange gym to see if they can finish the regular season at .500.

[Ramhead]

So it all comes down to Saturday...ESU can win the East if they beat West Chester, as they have the tiebreaker over idle Millersville. A loss to West Chester dumps ESU to the #3 seed. ESU held off Kutztown to sweep the season series. in the win, Nasir Griffin hit the 1,000 point mark, becoming the 36th player at ESU to do it.

So if ESU wins the East and Shep. beats BU, will that move Shep. Into the 3rd seed?

[IUPbigINDIANS]

So if ESU wins the East and Shep. beats BU, will that move Shep. Into the 3rd seed?

The only real question pre Tournament is which team will get slaughtered by Gannon in the final.

[IUPalum]

The only real question pre Tournament is which team will get slaughtered by Gannon in the final.

Gannon is winning The Natty!

[jrshooter]

Shout-out to the Lock Haven announcing team, which understands its audience and the importance of coming in with some knowledge about the other team. That doesn't happen often enough in the PSAC.

[Ship69]

Shout-out to the Lock Haven announcing team, which understands its audience and the importance of coming in with some knowledge about the other team. That doesn't happen often enough in the PSAC.

Yeah, they've done a pretty professional job up there over the years.

A 14-14 finish to the regular season is probably appropriate for a team that has been has up and down as Ship this season. Couldn't hit the side of a barn on Wednesday and shot the lights out today. So guess they'll have another game in the league tourney and maybe if the right Ship team shows up they could get another, athough their road record doesn't offer a lot of reason for confidence this year.

There was some improvement overall this year, but coach Fite will have to bring in at least 1-2 more talented guys next year if they're to contend and hope some of the freshmen and sophomore guys continue to progress.

[HavenVoice27]

Shout-out to the Lock Haven announcing team, which understands its audience and the importance of coming in with some knowledge about the other team. That doesn't happen often enough in the PSAC.

Appreciate the kind words! Ryan and myself always take our research seriously, especially when we are on the PSAC Network stream when we know a lot of visiting fans are tuning in.

Fite’s got something good brewing for the future, especially if you guys have a consistent level of shot making like you had today!

[gman16506]

Shout-out to the Lock Haven announcing team, which understands its audience and the importance of coming in with some knowledge about the other team. That doesn't happen often enough in the PSAC.

I watched the men's and women's IUP vs Gannon games and was really impressed with the two announcers covering those events. I think they were both IUP students but really were well-prepared, professional, and seemed to match up with the flow of the game. Well done and thank you for the enjoyable broadcast!

[Sec10-A-14]

Agree think they did do a decent job.