2003-2004 Archives

SAINTS SEASON WRAP-UP

The St. Lawrence University Men's Basketball had an impressive
2003-04 season as they battled back from seventh place in the Upstate Collegiate Athletic Association to take a four way tie for first place. Heading into the UCAA conference tournament as the third seed, the Saints took on the number two seeded team, the Rensselaer Red Hawks, and fell in a close 77-71 battle.

The Saints had many standout players including junior forward Aaron Marshall. Marshall, who was named the UCAA Player of the Week and Athletic Department Star of the Week multiple times, was named to the All-Conference First-Team. He was also named to the NABC-Second-Team East Region.

Marshall, along with freshman Matt Blue, led the conference in many categories including field-goal percentage, three-point field-goal percentage and scoring. Marshall and Blue were also consistently ranked in the top fifty in Division III schools for field-goal percentage and three-point field-goal percentage.

Senior guard Ahmad Toussaint was fourth in the conference in field-goal percentage and was named to the UCAA All-Conference Second-Team.

St. Lawrence led the conference in four categories including field-goal percentage, defensive rebounding, assists and steals.

The Saints, who’s overall record was 17-7, lost three seniors to graduation including Toussaint, Nick Laettner and Jack Rowbottom and will be looking to stand atop the first place the UCAA next season.

MARSHALL NAMED TO
ALL-DISTRICT TEAM

Apr. 3- Junior forward Aaron Marshall was selected for the 2003-2004 NABC-All District Team for Division III basketball. Marshall was named to the Second-Team East Region.

Also representing the Upstate Collegiate Athletic Association were Hamilton's Joe Smith and Rensselaer's Jared Hite. Both Smith and Hite were named to the First Team.

TWO SAINTS NAMED TO UCAA ACADEMIC TEAM

Mar. 21- Two members of the St. Lawrence University Men's Basketball Team were named to the Upstate Collegiate Athletic Association
All-Academic Team.

To be honored, players must maintain an overall 3.2 grade point average and must have sophomore standing at St. Lawrence.

Included on the All-Academic team are Pat Delmonico, an economics major, and Jack Rowbottom, who is majoring in Environmental Studies/ Biology.

SAINTS FALL IN SEMI-FINALS OF UCAA TOURNAMENT WITH 77-71 LOSS AGAINST RPI AT HAMILTON

Feb. 27-Junior forward Aaron Marshall scored a Saint-high 14 points and was 6-for-10 from the field as he led five Saints in double digits in a 77-71 loss at Hamilton against the number two seed Rensselaer Red Hawks in the first round of the Upstate Collegiate Athletic Association Tournament.

The Saints won the first half and held as much as an eight point lead on a three pointer from Matt Blue with just under three minutes remaining and advanced to the second half with a 38-34 edge but a second half surge by the Red Hawks diminished the Saints lead and chance at the UCAA Championship.

The Saints jumped out to a double digit advantage in the opening minutes of the second half but the inside play of Jared Hite, who scored a game high 26 points, kept the Red Hawks in the game. The Saints owned a seven point lead but made only two of their last ten shots and the Red Hawks went on a 17-4 run over the final 5:33 in the second half, starting with a lay up by Tom Schneider.

Keith Sullivan. named to the All-Tournament team, had 13 points for the Saints and was 5-for-12 from the field with a game high seven assists. Blue made 12 points, all from three point shots, and grabbed three boards. Ahmad Toussaint and Nick Laettner each hit for 11 points. Laettner was 4-for-8 from the field including 3-for-4 from behind the arc. Toussaint was 4-for-7 from the field and made five rebounds.

Hite was 9-for-13 from the field and grabbed a game high 16 rebounds for the Red Hawks. John Van Schaick tallied 17 points and Neal Wesson scored 11 points.

The Saints were 43.9 % from the field and the Red Hawks hit 53.8% of their shots but the Rensselaer had 17 turnovers compared to the Saints nine.

 

MARSHALL, TOUSSAINT
RECOGNIZED

Feb. 26- Junior forward Aaron Marshall and senior guard Ahmad Toussaint were picked to represent St. Lawrence University in the Upstate Collegiate Athletic Association All Conference Team.

Marshall, a recipient of St. Lawrence University's Star of the Week and UCAA Forward of the Week multiple times, was named to the All-Conference First-Team. He leads the Saints in scoring (347) and field-goal percentage (.593). Marshall is ranked 24th in nation in field-goal percentage and is ranked eleventh in the UCAA in scoring, fourth in field-goal percentage, second in rebounding and fifteenth in blocked shots.

Toussaint was named to the All Conference Second Team and is second on the team in scoring (282), first in rebounding, first in assists and blocks, second in field-goal percentage and third in steals. He the UCAA he is fourth in blocked shots, fifth in field-goal percentage, sixth in assists, ninth in free-throw percentage, eleventh in defensive rebounding, seventeenth in rebounding and nineteenth in scoring.

UCAA TOURNAMENT TO BE BROADCASTED

Feb. 25-On Friday, February 27th and Saturday, February 28th, D3HoopsNet, in conjunction with SportsJuice.com will broadcast the 2004 Upstate Collegiate Athletic Association post-season men’s basketball tournament live from the Scott Field House in Clinton, New York on the campus of Hamilton College.

Four teams, two days and three games will determine who will advance to represent the UCAA in the 2004 NCAA Division III basketball tournament. First round coverage begins on Friday evening at 6:00pm as Paris Moore and the second-seeded RPI Red Hawks meet D3Hoops.com Pre-Season All-American Aaron Marshall and his third-seeded St. Lawrence Saints with pre-game coverage beginning at 5:45PM. Semifinal action concludes at 8:00pm with fantastic freshmen Nick Jones and the fourth-seeded Clarkson Golden Knights taking on Joe Smith and the defending conference tournament champion Hamilton Continentals.

UCAA Championship Saturday on SportsJuice.com tips off at 3:45pm with a 4:00pm game time as the UCAA’s automatic bid into the 2004 NCAA Tournament is on the line. D3HoopsNet’s John McGraw will have the call of all three UCAA men’s basketball tournament games broadcast exclusively on SportsJuice.com. To listen to the games live, you can visit http://www.sportsjuice.com.

SULLIVAN NAMED UCAA GUARD OF THE WEEK

Feb. 22- Junior guard Keith Sullivan was named Upstate Collegiate Athletic Assocaiton Co-Rookie of the week based on a 2-0 week for
St. Lawrence.

Sullivan recorded a Saint high 21 points in the Saints 99-91 win over Hamilton on Friday night. He was 8-9 from the field including a perfect
5-5 from the three point line. He also had one assist and one steal. In Saturday's 93-69 win over Hobart he had 13 points, was 5-5 from the field, 3-3 from three point range and he recorded three assists.

SAINTS ENTER INTO FOUR WAY TIE IN UCAA WITH 93-69 WIN OVER HOBART

Feb. 21-Junior forward Aaron Marshall scored a game high 20 points and was 10-for-15 from the field before leaving the game with a sprained ankle at the 11:20 mark of the second half as the St. Lawrence University Men's Basketball Team defeated the Hobart Statesmen in a 93-69 Upstate Collegiate Athletic Association win to close out the regular season on Saturday afternoon.

The Saints now have a 17-1 overall record and are 9-5 in the UCAA. Hobart falls to 9-16 and 4-10.

With the win, the Saints enter into a four way tie for first place in the UCAA with Clarkson, Hamilton and Rensselaer. With Hamilton's win over Clarkson, the Saints will take the third seed in the UCAA Tournament and face the Red Hawks next weekend at Hamilton College.

A three pointer by Keith Sullivan at the 10:15 mark of the first half put the Saints up 25-18 and sent them on a 7-0 run. Five minutes later Matt Blue hit a three pointer to make the score 35-23.

With just under five minutes left to play in the half, Michael Mastro connected on a lay up that ignited a 14-3 run by the Statesmen and the Saints went into the break with a 38-37 lead. Marshall was 5-for-8 from the field and led all scorers in the first half with 10 points.

The Statesmen took control of the game 1:11 into the second half at
41-40 on a dunk by Joe Flacke. Marshall answered back with a lay up and sent the Saints went on a 14-2 run. With 4:20 gone by, Marshall connected on another lay up to give the Saints an 11 point lead at 54-43.

A pair of three pointers by Blue and Sullivan put the Saints up by 19 with just over 10 minutes to play in the second half at 68-51. DeVernie Winston and Ahmad Toussaint each nailed a lay up as the Saints enjoyed an 82-56 advantage with just over five minutes remaining in the game.

A three pointer by Pat Delmonico and two foul shots by Woody Kampmann ended the game at 93-69.

Sullivan collected 13 points, was 5-for-5 from the field and 3-for-3 from behind the arc. Winston was 5-for-6 from the field and recorded 12 while Nick Laettner had 11 points and five assists.

Brad Strait led the Statesmen with 15 points and Alex Bell followed with 14.

SULLIVAN HITS FOR 21 POINTS AS SAINTS DEFEAT HAMILTON 99-91

Feb. 20- Junior guard Keith Sullivan scored 21 points and was 8-for-9 from the field including a perfect 5-for-5 from the three point line as the
St. Lawrence University Men's Basketball Team defeated the Hamilton Continentals 99-91 in an Upstate Collegiate Athletic Association win on Friday night in Burkman Gymnasium.

In a fast paced game, the Saints jumped to an 11 point lead at 33-22 after DeVernie Winston and Pat Delmonico each nailed a three point shot with eight minutes remaining in the first half.

With just under two minutes left to play in the first half, Nick Laettner struck for a pair of three pointers as the Saints enjoyed a 51-39 lead. Laettner led the Saints to a 55-47 halftime score with 11 points and was 4-for-8 from the field.

Hamilton's Greg Leone closed the gap to five points in the opening seconds of the second half on a three pointer but with 17:25 remaining on the clock a lay up by Aaron Marshall gave the Saints a 63-52 lead.

With just under five minutes remaining Matt Blue would give the Saints their biggest lead of the game at 13 with his three pointer that put the Saints up 92-79.

A lay up by Tim Welchons with just 17 seconds left brought Hamilton to within six at 97-91 but Jimmy White responded with a dunk to end the game at 99-91.

Laettner scored 13 points and was 3-for-4 from the three point line. Winston and Marshall each recorded 12 points for the Saints while Matt Lickfeld and Ahmad Toussaint both had 10 points a piece.

Joe Smith and Leone led the Saints with 27 and 26 points respectively.

The Saints will host Hobart tomorrow at 4 p.m. for their last regular season home game.

FOUR SAINTS IN DOUBLE DIGITS AS SAINTS DEFEAT SKIDMORE 85-66

Feb. 14- Freshman guard Matt Blue and junior forward DeVernie Winston led the Saint cause with 15 points a piece as the Saints defeated Skidmore College 85-66 in an Upstate Collegiate Athletic Association battle in Burkman Gymnasium Saturday afternoon.

The Saints (15-7, 7-5) have now taken charge of the fourth spot in the UCAA standings after a sweep of three conference games this week. Skidmore (14-8, 6-6) was previously tied with the Saints in the standings, but now falls to sixth place.

Jack Rowbottom's jumper at the 13:58 mark of the first half gave the Saints an 11-10 advantage and sent them on a 13-0 run. From that point on, the Saints had complete control of the game, never returning the lead to the Thoroughbreds.

Blue led all players in first half figures with 12 points, all from three point shots. Cortland Toczylowski went 3-for-8 for Skidmore and had nine points.

Aaron Marshall opened the second half with a lay-up as the Saints went ahead by 16 at 48-32. With 12:54 left to play DeVernie Winston laid the ball in to put the Saints atop 60-41. At the 11:55 mark Marshall connected on another lay-up to put the Saints ahead 70-50 and then thirty seconds later Keith Sullivan hit a three pointer to give the Saints their biggest lead of the game at 23.

A free throw shot by Keith Ganzenmuller closed the gap to within 15 at 77-62 with just over three minutes left to play, but a pair of shots by Jed Zatzkin and a free throw by Jackson Strayer-Benton ended the game at 85-66.

Blue was 5-for-7 from behind the arch and Winston went 7-for-10. Ahmad Toussaint added 11 points and a game high 10 boards while Marshall was 4-for-8 with ten points. Toczylowski led the Skidmore cause with 18 points.

The Saints will host the # 2 ranked Hamilton Continentals next Friday and 5th ranked Hobart on Saturday for the last regular season home games.

MARSHALL LEADS THE SAINTS WITH 18 POINTS IN 66-61 WIN OVER UNION

Feb. 13- Aaron Marshall scored 18 points, was 9-for-14 from the field, and grabbed a game high 9 boards in the Saints 66-61 win over Union in an Upstate Collegiate Athletic Association battle at Burkman Gymnasium on Friday night.

St. Lawrence (14-7, 6-5) pulled ahead of Union (16-6, 6-5) late in the first half as four Saints hit five three pointers and went on a 15-4 to go up 29-22 at the half.

The Saints only gave up the lead once to Union and that was at the 10:53 mark in the first half when Joseph Mackey connected on a lay-up.

A pair of back to back three pointers by Jack Rowbottom with five minutes gone in the second half gave the Saints their biggest lead of the game at 61-49.

Union then went on a 10-0 run that was sparked by Chris Murphy's lay-up and with just 2:10 left to play, John Cagianello connected on a jumper to close the gap to 61-59. Free throw shots by Jimmy White and Matt Blue gave the Saints a 66-61 win.

Blue had 14 points for the Saints and was 4-for-6 from behind the arc. Rowbottom had nine points, all from three point land. Cagianello led the Dutchmen with 21 points and four steals.

The Saints will host Skidmore tomorrow at 4 p.m.

SAINTS COME AWAY FROM CLARKSON WITH IMPORTANT UCAA WIN

Feb. 10- Aaron Marshall scored a game-high 24 points on 9-for-18 shooting as the St. Lawrence Saints defeated the Clarkson University Men's Basketball team 72-65 in an Upstate Collegiate Athletic Association (UCAA) league game Tuesday night at Clarkson's Alumni Gymnasium.

The Saints sweep of Clarkson this season sends them to 13-7 overall and 5-5 in the UCAA while the Golden Knights drop to 14-7 and 8-2.

A rash of fouls in the first half slowed play, but neither team could put much together offensively in the opening 20 minutes as both teams combined for 25 fouls. Clarkson opened the game with a quick five points, but the Saints came back to take the lead with seven unanswered points of their own.

The Saints and the Golden Knights traded free throws and baskets for the remainder of the period with Jack Rowbottom hitting a 3-pointer at the buzzer to give the Saints a 27-25 advantage. Marshall led all scorers with 10 points in the first half while Nick Jones scored seven points and grabbed four rebounds to lead Clarkson.

The second half saw a continuation of fouls by each team. The Saints biggest lead came at 35-30, while the Golden Knights opened a six-point advantage at 51-45, eventually losing the lead at 59-58. Clarkson took a lead of 61-59 after a 3-pointer by Jones, but the Saints went on an 8-0 run sparked by four free throws and a dunk by Ahmad Toussaint to take a six-point lead with just over a minute remaining. The Knights closed the gap to 68-65 on a lay up by Matt Decker, but Toussaint and Keith Sullivan hit their free throws to end the game for the final tally.

Toussaint scored 16 points and was 4-for-5 from the field and 7-for-9 from the foul line. He also grabbed six rebounds and added a game high four assists. Josh Harner scored a Clarkson-high 17 points and added a game-high eight rebounds.

The Saints return to home as they get set to host Union and Skidmore this weekend.

SAINTS SPLIT UCAA WEEKEND WITH 79-61 WIN AT VASSAR

Feb. 7-Junior guard Jack Rowbottom scored 15 points off the bench as St. Lawrence University (12-7, 4-5) rolled over Vassar 79-61 for an Upstate Collegiate Athletic Association win on Saturday afternoon.

Vassar is still searching for their first UCAA win and fall to a 3-16 and 0-8 record.

Pat Delmonico led the way for the Saints in the opening half with eight points. Delmonico was 2-for-3 from three point land and 2-for-3 from the free throw line.

At the 12 minute mark of the second half Delmonico was sent to the charity line after being fouled by Jud Winston and sunk both of his shots to give the Saints their biggest lead of the game at 55-37.

It wasn't until there was 20 seconds left on the clock that the Saints went back to an 18 point lead when Jed Zatzkin's layup gave the game a 79-61 final.

Aaron Marshall scored 13 points and was 6-for-10 from the field. Ahmad Toussaint had 11 points and Jimmy White and Delmonico each had 10 points.

Matt Williams and Kyle Dickmann collected a game high 15 points for Vassar.

The Saints will be back in action at Clarkson on Tuesday at 8 p.m.

.

SAINTS FALL TO RPI 65-58

Feb. 6-The St. Lawrence Saints fell to Upstate Collegiate Athletic Association rivals the Rensselaer Red Hawks on Friday night 65-58.

With the loss, the Saints fall to 3-5 in the UCAA and 11-7 overall while the Red Hawks now have a record of 12-6 and 6-2.

The Saints won the first half and held as much as a nine point lead for almost the whole twenty minutes. It wasn't until the 15 minute mark that RPI took a 25-23 lead with a three pointer by John Van Schaick. Jack Rowbottom answered right back with a three pointer of his own to return the lead to the Saints who went into halftime up 32-28.

The Saints and the Red Hawks played an evenly matched second half, each only having a lead for a few points at a time. With eight minutes down, Keith Sullivan fired a three pointer to put the Saints up 47-46. Three minutes later Devernie Winston connected on a jumper to make it a 51-48 Saint game.

A jumper by Jared Hite with less than four minutes left to play returned the game to the Red Hawks who maintained the lead until the end. With under a minute left RPI was up 65-55 but with two seconds on the clock Rowbottom sunk another three pointer to end the game at 65-58.

Jimmy White had a Saint high 10 points and six rebounds. Sullivan made four assists and collected nine points.For RPI, Kori Massey had a game high 14 points and Hite tallied 11.

The Saints will travel to Vassar tomorrow for a 4 p.m. game.

 

TOUSSAINT, MARSHALL HIT DOUBLE DIGITS AS POTSDAM DOWNS
ST. LAWRENCE 67-58

Feb. 3- Senior guard Ahmad Toussaint led the Saint campaign as he whipped up 14 points in a 67-58 loss to the neighboring Potsdam Bears on Tuesday evening in Burkman Gymnasium. The Saints (3-4 UCAA) fall to 11-6 while the Bears (7-3 SUNYAC) improve to 12-8.

The scoreboard teetered back and forth in the first half as each team maintained an advantage for only a few points at a time. The Saints and Bears each owned the lead four times and the score was tied six times but Potsdam went into halftime with a 35-33 edge over the Saints.

Toussaint was the forerunner for the Saints in the first half as he established eight points and was 4-for-6 from the field. The Saints shot almost ninety percent from the charity line while the Bears only shot 40 percent.

A layup by Toussaint with an assist from Nick Laettner brought the Saints back within one of Potsdam at 40-39. Jimmy White followed with a defensive rebound and dished it to Laettner who sunk a three pointer to regain a 42-40 Saint lead at the 1:55 mark. A free throw by White added another point to the score before a layup by Evril Clayton and a three pointer by Michael Brooks returned the game to Potsdam at 45-43 with 5:17 gone in the second half.

Matt Lickfeld gave the game one more tie before Christian Turner followed through on a layup that put the Bears ahead 47-45. The Bears were able to maintain their lead until the end of the game.

Aaron Marshall broke through the Bears defense on a layup that brought the Saints within four at 55-51. As the shot clock buzzed, Ryan Lynn nailed a three pointer that banked off the backboard to give the Bears a 62-53 advantage. A jumper by Clayton, a three point shot from Jack Rowbottom and two free throws from Turner ended the game at 67-58.

Marshall tallied 10 points for the Saints and made four steals. Laettner was 2-for-3 from behind the three point line with eight points and four assists.

Michael Brooks led the Bears in scoring with 13 points and Clayton followed with 12.

The Saints will next travel to Rensselaer on Friday and Vassar on Saturday.

SAINTS FALL TO HAMILTON 83-59

Jan. 31- Ahmad Toussaint was one of two Saints that hit double digits in a key 83-59 loss at Upstate Collegiate Athletic Association rivals Hamilton College on Saturday afternoon.

Toussaint had a Saint high 17 points and was 8-16 from the field. Pat Delmonico had 12 points and was 5-9 from the field including 2 for 4 from three point land.

For Hamilton, Tsakane Ngobeni had a game high 21 points.

The Saints will host Potsdam on Tuesday, February 3rd, at 8 p.m.

FOUR SAINTS SCORE IN DOUBLE DIGITS AS THEY FALL TO HOBART 88-80

Jan. 30-Four players dipped into double digits as the Saints fell short 88-80 in a key Upstate Collegiate Athletic Association match up against Hobart on Friday night.

The Saints are now 11-4 overall and fall to .500 in the UCAA at 3-3.

The Saints dominated the first half and were only behind once during the first twenty minutes when the score was 4-1. They led by as many as 11 points and went into halftime with a 37-32 advantage.

The Statesmen tied it up early into the second half and the two teams battled neck and neck. Keith Sullivan made two free throws that tied the game at 55.

Hobart's Mike Manning then hit a jumper with 11 minutes gone to give the Statesmen a lead that they would keep for the next nine minutes.

Matt Blue brought the Saints within three at 67-64 when he hit one of his five shots from behind the arch but the Herons answered back with a three pointer of their own to continue their advantage to an eventual eight point win.

Ahamd Toussaint had a game high 18 points and was 8-for-10 from the field. Blue hit five three point shots and two free throws for 17 points and Aaron Marshall added 16 points. Sullivan rounded out the double digits scoring for the Saints at 12.

The Saints will continue their UCAA play at Hamilton tomorrow at 4 p.m.

SAINTS DEFEAT CLARKSON IN KEY UCAA MATCH UP 64-54

Jan. 27-Junior Aaron Marshall scored eight of his game-high 16 points to key a 12-0 run late in the second half to lead St. Lawrence past the previously unbeaten Clarkson Golden Knights (10-5, 4-1) in UCAA conference play by the final score of 64-54. This loss ends a seven game winning streak for Clarkson, which matched their longest run since the 1947-48 season.

An exciting and energetic crowd of nearly 550 people came to cheer on their Saints, who now improve to an 11-3, 3-2 record.

After the Golden Knights opened the second half with a layup to make the score 32-25, the Saints went on a 13-0 run for their first lead since the score was 6-4 at the 13:22 mark of the first half.

The run was sparked as Ahmad Toussaint was fouled on a line drive for the basket and was turned into a three point play. The Saints regained the lead at 34-32 and Toussaint brought the ball back and hit a jumper at the foul line.

Clarkson guard Josh Harner closed the gap to a single point at 41-40 thanks to a pair of 3-pointers and the Golden Knights took a brief 48-47 lead before the Saints went on their winning run.

The game, which remained close throughout the second half, could have been decided on by free throws. Clarkson struggled, going 4-13 from the free throw line while the Saints made nearly 80 percent of their shots, going 15-19.

Toussaint had 15 points on the night and was 5-6 from the field and 5-5 from the foul line. Matt Blue recorded 12 points and a game high eight rebounds.

Nick Jones led the Golden Knights with 13 points, followed by Harner with 11.

The Saints will travel to Hobart on Friday night at 8 p.m.

SAINTS FALL TO RED HAWKS 72-59

Jan. 24-After suffering their first conference loss at Clarkson University last night, the Rensselaer Red Hawks came to St. Lawrence with a mission. And although the Saints (10-3, 2-2) put up a good fight, they were unable to out score the Red Hawks as they suffered a 72-59 loss.

RPI (10-5, 4-1) jumped into an early first half lead when John Van Schaick connected on a three pointer to give the Red Hawks a 10 point lead at 27-17. Moments later Van Schaick hit another from three point land to increase their lead by 11.

Jimmy White closed the gap to nine points with his jumper. With 17:58 gone in the first half, White grabbed a defensive rebound and passed to Nick Laettner for a three pointer of his own to bring the score to 34-28. Matt Blue hit a jumper as the shot and game clock ran out of time to put them behind by six at halftime.

The Saints came out of the locker room with a resurgence of energy. Ahmad Toussaint hit a jumper that put the Saints within five at 39-34 and a pair of three pointers by Blue and Laettner brought them to within one at 41-40.

Devernie Winston added a lay-up under the net and then was fouled on another drive towards the basket for a three point play. RPI’s Jared Hite stole the ball form the Saints and then went in for a lay up to put the Red Hawks up 50-45 with just under ten minutes left in the game.

Winston sunk another to bring the Saints within three before David Easley was sent to the foul line and got the two points back for RPI.

With 8:48 remaining in the game, Blue hit a three pointer as RPI led 54-40 and then turned around for a relay with another three pointer to cut the lead to two at 55-53. Paris Moore was fouled on the drive and his free throws gave RPI a 62-53 advantage and with under two minutes left he scored a three pointer.

Two free throws by Tom Schneider and an added layup closed gave the Red Hawks a 13 point led and a conference win.

Matt Blue had a bench high of 19 points, followed by Jimmy White who had 10.
Hite had the game high 20 points and was 8-11 from the field.

The Saints will host Clarkson, the only undefeated team left in UCAA action, on Tuesday night at 7 p.m.

SAINTS COME AWAY WITH 74-39 WIN OVER UCAA RIVAL VASSAR

Jan. 23- The St. Lawrence men’s basketball team (10-2, 2-1) was challenged to a physically rough game with Upstate Collegiate Athletic Association conference match-up the Vassar Brewers (2-11, 0-4) but took on the challenge and walked away with a 35 point victory on Friday night at Burkman Gymnasium

The Saints had a 32-19 lead going into halftime even though the game remained closely tied up until halfway through the first half when the Saints slowly started to pull away from the competition when Aaron Marshall sunk a jumper. Vassar’s Matthew Parker responded with his own jumper but Jack Rowbottom hit one of his three three pointers to pull the Saints ahead 17-12.

The Saints took off on a 13-4 run as they achieved their first double digit lead of the game at 27-16 with a shot from Keith Sullivan. Jimmy White gave the Saints three more points with his field goal and added free throw.

Early in the second half a three pointer by Vassar’s Jud Winston lowered the Saint lead back to 10 at 36-26. At the 10:35 mark in the second half, Sullivan made a steal and a pass to Matt Blue who made a lay up to boost the Saints to a 47-29 advantage. Rowbottowm connected from the field for another two points as the Saints enjoyed a twenty one point lead.

Sullivan grabbed a defensive rebound and passed to Devernie Winston under the net as the Saints lead grew to thirty. Sullivan then added another assist as he passed to Jackson Strayer-Benton who hit for a two pointer. Strayer-Benton then turned around to make a steal and a three pointer to put the Saints ahead 68-33. Pat Delmonico added to the lead with another three pointer. Strayer-Benton then recorded another steal and two more points at the foul line as he was grabbed on the drive.

Rowbottom had the game high at 15 points as he was 5-7 from the field and 3-4 from behind the arch. Sullivan was perfect from the free throw line and added five assists.

For the Brewers, Parker went 7-11 from the field to tie Rowbottom with 15 points.

The Saints will face RPI tomorrow at 4 p.m. at home.

JIMMY WHITE HAS A PERFECT NIGHT ON THE FLOOR AS THE SAINTS DEFEAT PLATTSBURGH

Jan. 21-The St. Lawrence Saints (9-2, 1-1) were able to hold off three different last second three point shot attempts and Jimmy White was flawless on the court as the Saints defeated the Plattsburgh State Cardinals 80-77 on Tuesday night.

The Cardinals now fall to an even 6-6 record.

Jimmy White made all of his shots going 7-7 from the field and 2-2 from the free throw line. Aaron Marshall produced a Saint high 21 points and five rebounds as he went 10-12 from the field. Ahmad Toussaint was 6-8 from the field and made six assists.

For the Cardinals, Curtis Smith had a game high 25 points while teammates Johnnie Carter and Calvin Fraser had 13 and 11 points respectively. Jimmy Corless made seven assists in the loss.

The Saints will return to UCAA play as they get set to host Vassar on Friday at 8 p.m. and RPI on Saturday at 4 p.m.

ST. LAWRENCE FALLS 62-57 IN KEY UCAA MATCHUP

Jan. 17-Ahmad Toussaint drove the lane then pulled up in an attempt to score the game-tying field goal after Union broke a 57-57 tie with just 1:07 remaining in the game but was denied by Union's Devon Bruce as Union held on to a 62-57 basketball victory this afternoon in Memorial Field House.

Brian Scordato picked up the rebound and Nick Laettner was called for an intentional foul as he pushed Scordato from behind. Union's sophomore forward missed the first of his two free throws before sinking the second to give the Dutchmen a 60-57 lead with 28 seconds remaining. The ball went back to Union forcing Aaron Marshall to foul Union sophomore point guard Chris Murphy. Murphy's two foul throws came with 21 seconds remaining and held the lead for the win.

The Saints record is now 8-2 overall and 1-1 in the Upstate Collegiate Athletic Association. Union is 11-2 overall and 2-1 in the conference.

Union grabbed a five point advantage early in the first half until Jimmy White pulled the Saints back to within 24-22 at 5:41 with a layup. The game battled back and forth with six lead changes from 4:18 to 1:52 when Ryan Freundlich hit a jumper for a 31-30 Union advantage. Two free throws by Chris Murphy and a layup by Freundlich, who scored 12 of his 16 points in the opening half, enabled the Dutchmen to carry a 35-30 lead into the locker room.

The Saints had three double digit scorers in Aaron Marshall (14 points), Jimmy White (11), and Ahmad Toussaint, who finished with 10 markers. Marshall was 6-6 from the field and Toussaint was the team's top rebounder with seven.

The Saints will travel to Plattsburgh on Tuesday for an 8 p.m. tip-off.

SECOND HALF COME BACK BOOSTS SAINTS PAST SKIDMORE 92-85

Jan. 16: St. Lawrence University shot 78.3 percent from the floor in the second half on the way to a 92-85 win over Skidmore College in their first Upstate Collegiate Athletic Association match up of the season.

Nick Laettner returned from an injury to lead the Saints (8-1 overall, 1-0 UCAA) with 21 points off the bench, hitting four of six from three-point range. Freshman guard Matt Blue added 20 points and was 4-5 from the three point line. Aaron Marshall was 7-9 from the field with his 15 points and Ahmad Toussaint had a game high seven assists to go along with his 13 points.

Skidmore shot 80 percent in the first half, hitting 20 of 25 shots, to build a 47-40 lead. The Saints took their turn in the second half, hitting 18 of 23 from the floor, including four of seven three-pointers.

Dana Martin scored 25 points for the Thoroughbreds (6-4, 0-2 UCAA). Michael Murray added 18 points and six assists and Steve Yaeger scored 15 off the bench on a perfect seven-for-seven from the floor. Cortland Toczylowski was also in double figures with 12 points.

The Saints will travel to Union tomorrow at 4 p.m.

TOUSSAINT LEADS SAINTS PAST BROCKPORT, 79-73

Jan. 7: Ahmad Toussaint led a parade of four Saints in double figures with 19 points as the men's basketball team turned back Brockport 79-73 for their seventh win of the season Wednesday night.

Junior Jack Rowbottom made two consecutive three pointers in the first half to help the Saints to a 35-30 halftime lead over the Golden Eagles, but Brockport battled back in the second half as Chet Korczynski made a lay up to tie the game at 40-40 just under four minutes into the half. Aaron Marshall then put the Saints back in front 56-55 six minutes later and the Saints were able to maintain the lead the rest of the way.

The Saints improve their record to 7-1 while Brockport is now even at
3-3.

Toussaint was five of eight from the field and nine of 11 from the line for his 19 points and added four rebounds and three assists. Freshman guard Matt Blue was perfect from the free throw line making all eight of his attempts, six of them in the final minutes of the game. He finished with 14 points and four assists. Jimmy White was six of seven from the floor and finished with 15 points while Marshall added 10 points. Keith Sullivan had four assists and Devernie Winston grabbed a Saint high six rebounds and four steals.

The Saints will travel to UCAA rivals Skidmore on January 16 and Union on January 17.

BLUE NAMED UCAA ROOKIE OF THE WEEK

Jan. 6: Freshman guard Matt Blue (Bellingham, MA) was named Upstate Collegiate Athletic Association Rookie of the Week based on his performances at the Holiday Basketball Tournament that was hosted by St. Lawrence University on January 3 and 4, 2004.

Blue scored 17 points in the Saints win over Oswego in the first round of the tournament. He was 8-8 from the free throw line and 3-5 from three point range.

In the championship game against the Apprentice School, he had five points, five boards and four assists. He was also perfect from the free throw line.

Blue was named to the All-Tournament team.

SAINTS FALL IN CHAMPIONSHIP GAME

Jan. 4 - In their first trip to New York State in school history, the Apprentice School Builders walked away with the Holiday Tournament Championship by upsetting the previously undefeated St. Lawrence Saints by a final score of 62-55.

The Saints (6-1) were down by 16 points early in the first half but fought back in the second to a 55-55 tie before eventually surrendering seven final points.

A lay-up by Terrance Patrick gave the Builders a 12 point lead. Soon their point margin was ahead by 16 before Ahmad Toussaint cut it back to 14 when he nailed his jump shot. Toussaint then brought the ball back and hit a three pointer to cut the lead to 11. Devernie Winston went 2-2 from the foul line to make the score 34-25. Freshman Jed Zatzkin closed the gap to seven with his lay-up and freshman Matt Blue scored from behind the arc to make it a 38-31 halftime game.

Jack Rowbottom brought the Saints within six with his three pointer while the Builders were up 45-39. Moments later Rowbottom scored on a jump shot making it a 48-44 game. Pat Delmonico closed the gap even further with his three point shot that brought the Saints within three of the Builders at 50-47.

Zatzkin sunk both of his free throws to keep the game within three at 52-49. Freshman Charles Coleman narrowed the lead to two with his jumper and Matt Blue tied the game at 53 with 7:27 left to play in the second with his free throw attempts.

It was just under three minutes before another basket was made. Charles Holiday connected on a jumper that put them up by two. Aaron Marshall tied it again with his jumper that was just over a Builder defender.

Tevon Raikes nailed a three pointer and Holiday was sent to the foul line twice to end the game with a seven point margin.

Marshall and Blue were named to the All-Tournament team as well as Oswego's Ahmad Mims and St. John Fisher's Cory Hepburn. Holiday was named tournament MVP while Maze Toomer also made the team.

Toussaint had a Saint high 13 points and was 5-10 from field goal range. Marshall tallied 10 points and Delmonico was 2-3 from the three point line.

The Saints will host Brockport on Wednesday at 8 p.m.

SAINTS ADVANCE TO TOURNAMENT CHAMPIONSHIP

Jan 3 -For the second time this season the St. Lawrence University men's basketball team faced and defeated the Oswego State Lakers. This time, however, they were on their own court.

The Saints (6-0) downed Oswego 74-64 to advance to the St. Lawrence University Men's Basketball Holiday Tournament Championship to be held at Burkman Gymnasium tomorrow at 3 p.m.

Aaron Marshall opened the scoring for the Saints in an evenly matched first half. Oswego quickly moved ahead of the Saints 7-5 when Nicholas Perioli hit a three point shot. Pat Delmonico put the Saints up again 20-15 with his three pointer. On the next play Jed Zatskin stole the ball and passed to Matt Blue who hit from the arch making it a 23-15 Saint lead.

Oswego answered back as Hasan Ashshaheed made a steal and sunk a basket. Minutes later Ahmad Mims grabbed an offensive rebound to bring the Lakers within four.

With under two minutes left in the first half Jack Rowbottom nailed a three pointer to bring the Saints up 33-28.

Early in the second half Dave Ponza hit a jump shot and then rebounded the next play for a layup to bring the game to a tie.

The Lakers regained their lead when Ashshaheed grabbed a defensive rebound and brought it back to make the score 43-40.

Blue later hit a three pointer from a give and go off Marshall to put the Saints ahead 48-45. Blue then passed to Marshall who added another two points to the Saint lead.

Although the Lakers had a few late three pointers, they were unable to come back and will face the St. John Fisher in tomorrow's 1 p.m. game while the Saints the Apprentice School in the championship match.

"We did a pretty good job defensively today," said head coach Chris Downs.

He also added, "Some of our young guys stepped up and delivered. Devernie Winston brought energy to our game and Matt Blue made some pretty good shots."

Marshall collected a Saint high 19 points and added a game high 10 rebounds on the night. Blue followed closely behind with his 17 points. Blue was 8-8 from the foul line and 3-5 from three point range. Ahmad Toussaint rounded out the Saints double digit scoring with his 12 points. Toussaint made a perfect five field goal points.

For the Lakers, Ponza came up big with a game high 28 points and seven boards. Mims scored 18 points while Perioli added 10.

 

SAINTS SWEEP WEEKEND ROAD GAMES WITH WIN OVER ALFRED

Dec.13-Four Saint players scored in double digits as the Saints defeated Alfred University 88-75 to improve their record to 5-0.

Aaron Marshall led the way for the Saints with his game high 21 points. Ahmad Toussaint was close behind with 19 points. Toussaint also racked up seven boards and went 3 for 3 from the free throw line. He also hit both of his three point attempts.

Toussaint, Matt Blue and Matt Lickfeld each had four assists. Blue scored 13 points and was four for five from the free throw line.

Pat Delmonico was the other Saint in double digits with his 14 points.

The Saints will return to action when they host the SLU Holiday Tournament on January 3 at 6 p.m.

SAINTS IMPROVE TO 4-0 WITH WIN OVER ITHACA

Dec.12-Ahmad Toussaint went 9 for 12, grabbed a Saint high seven rebounds and a game high 22 points to help the Saints, 4-0, defeat the Ithaca College Bombers in Ben Light Gymnasium on Friday night.

The Bombers, 2-4, were down by 17 at the half but could only bring the gap within nine as they fell 75-66.

Aaron Marshall and Matt Blue each contributed 17 points in the winning effort. Blue went 6 for 6 from the free throw line and made three steals.

Toussaint also had a game high six steals and made four assists.

For the Bombers, Tyler Schulz had a game high 19 rebounds and a bomber high of 16 points.

The Saints will travel to Alfred on Saturday at 3 p.m.

 

SAINTS DEBUT AT HOME WITH VICTORY OVER ONEONTA

Dec.9- Aaron Marshall hit 12 of 16 shots and scored a game high 24 points as the Saints easily defeated the visiting Oneonta Red Dragons
89-52 in the Saints home opener on Tuesday.

The Saints improve their record to a perfect 3-0, while the Red Dragons fall to 1-5.

The Saints started the game by scoring the first eight points with just under two minutes gone in the first half. Nick Laettner brought the score up to 11-2 with his three points from a free throw tacked on to his lay-up. Keith Sullivan hit from the three point line to make it a 19-4 game.

Matt Blue sunk the ball from the three point line off a rebound to increase the Saints lead to 20 points with 10:45 left in the first half. Laettner then passed to Ahmad Toussaint who tallied three points for the Saints as he was fouled en route to the basket.

Laettner made it 35-20 after he grabbed the ball on a defensive rebound and made the lay-up. With less than two minutes left in the first half, Marshall scored from his own rebound to put the Saints ahead 41-20.

Halfway into the second half, Pat Delmonico hit a three pointer to make it a 60-33 game. Minutes later Blue got the ball from Sullivan who hit for another three points to put the Saints ahead by 30 points.

Jackson Stayer-Benton scored his first collegiate points late in the game and then a few minutes later he scored the final point of the game at the free throw line as he was fouled with just less than one second remaining.
Laettner scored 18 points, five assists and was 4 for 5 from the free throw line. He also grabbed six boards. Blue had 14 points, five assists and went 3 for 4 from the three-point line while Toussaint recorded a Saint high seven rebounds and was 4 for 4 from the free-throw line.

The Saints will travel to Ithaca on Friday night and Alfred on Saturday afternoon to wrap their play before semester break.

 

SAINTS OPEN SEASON WITH WIN OVER TUFTS

Nov. 21 - In the opening game of the 2003 season, St. Lawrence had four players who scored in double figures as the Saints defeated Tufts University (0-1) by the score of 67-55.

The Saints were paced by Aaron Marshall, who received honorable mention in the d3hoops.com preseason poll, with 16 points. Freshman Matt Blue added 14 points followed by Keith Sullivan with 12 and Jimmy White with 11.

Sullivan led the Saints in assists with four, while Nick Laettner had three. Blue was able to convert on five of his six field goal attempts while Laettner aced five of six.

Leading the way for Tufts was Blaine Lay, who led all scorers in the game with 17 points.

The Saints will play Oswego State, who defeated D’Youville College 72-57, in the title game of the Max Ziel Tip-Off Tournament tomorrow at 8 p.m.

MARSHALL NAMED ON PRESEASON POLL

The d3hoops.com preseason All-American team was posted on Friday, November 14, 2003 and St. Lawrence University's Aaron Marshall given an honorable mention. Marshall was one of only four juniors listed on the All-American team.

Marshall averaged over 13 minutes a game, earning five starts as a rookie. He scored 4.2 points per game as a role player, but made nearly 55% of his shots from the field. Marshall is an Economics/Religion major and plays in a band during his free time.

Last year Marshall dominated on the court with the most minutes per game, most points of 12.9 per game, most rebounds offensive and defensive, and 7.6 field goals made per game. He broke the St. Lawrence record for field goal percentage with 67.5%.

SAINTS SET TO OPEN SEASON

Coach Chris Downs enters his seventh year as head coach of the St. Lawrence University men's basketball team with a 103-58 career record. Downs has taken his team to five post-season appearances in six years, including one NCAA Elite 8, two ECAC semifinals, two ECAC finals and one ECAC champions and has been named NABC East Region New York State and UCAA coach of the year.

Coach Downs hopes to continue the success of the program by setting his standards high for this upcoming season. "Our goal is to win 20 games in the regular season and the UCAA conference tournament," Downs said.

According to Coach Downs, this year's team is the best team that he has ever coached, "This team has the best on and off the court chemistry that I have ever seen. Everyone gets along and they push each other hard in practice, no one drags each other down. It is just very enjoyable to be in the gym together."

Downs' goals shouldn't be hard to reach with such a talented roster suited up and ready for action. The Saints will rely on skilled returning players including Aaron Marshall, Nick Laettner and Ahmad Toussaint to pave the way for the newcomers.

"As a sophomore last year Marshall was still trying to find his way but as the year progressed he got better and has taken on the role of a team leader and everyone on the team has keyed in on that," Downs said.

Marshall, a second team all region player, finished the regular season as the leader nationally in field goal percentage, led the Saints in the 2002-2003 season, averaging 17.9 points and 7.3 rebounds per game, with a 67.5 field goal percentage.

Laettner and Toussaint are both All-Conference caliber averaging 9.3 and 11.6 points respectively. Laettner leads the teams in steals at 40 as Toussaint is a close second with 39.

The Saints are also looking forward to the new talent that will join their team. "We have four freshmen that will get some quality playing time and will contribute right away," Downs said.

Matt Lickfeld and Matt Blue are two rookies who are likely to see a lot of court time. Lickfeld is a 6'6'' power forward who hails from the Nichols School in Buffalo while Blue is a 5'7'' point guard from Bellingham, Massachusetts.

Recruiting has always been successful in the Saints basketball history according to Coach Downs. "We've had eight guys that were All-Conference, four were All-East region players and one or our players just transferred to a Division I school," he said.

In fact the only weakness that coach Downs can pin point with the basketball program is it's lack of depth. To counteract this, Downs and his players have spent almost all of the off season working on their defense, an area of great importance in the future success of the team.

Aside from defensive work, the Saints have four cornerstones that they contribute as their main component of success including a great work ethic, a physical toughness or endurance, a take charge attitude, and the ability to improve with each new skills and practices.

The Saints gear up for their season opener as they face Tufts in the first round of the Oswego Tip Off Tournament on Friday Nov. 21 at 6 p.m.