HOERCHER NAMED LIBERTY LEAGUE

CO-GUARD OF THE WEEK

Nov. 20: St. Lawrence University sophomore Andy Hoercher was named “Co-Guard of the Week” by the Liberty League after his performance over the weekend in the Babson Invitational, where the Saints basketball team made it to the championship game but lost to Connecticut College, 70-67.

 

Hoercher (left) was a big part of the Saints’ success on Friday night, scoring 14 points for the Scarlet and Brown in their season opener against Bates at the Babson Invitational to help lead them to the championship game. The Auburn, NY native was 9-for-10 at the free throw line, and had 3 rebounds, one assist, and two steals in his 25 minutes of play.

 

On Saturday, Hoercher put up 16 more points to end the weekend with 30, and was 3-for-4 from beyond the arc and 3-for-3 in free throws, giving him a .923 free throw average for the weekend. He also had 4 rebounds, 4 assists, and 2 steals in Saturday's game against Connecticut College, which the Saints lost, 70-67.

 

The Saints will travel to Middlebury College on Tuesday to face the Panthers on the court. The game is set to begin at 6:00pm.

 

(Photo by Tara Freeman)

 

SAINTS SPLIT WEEKEND, FALL TO CONNECTICUT COLLEGE, 70-67

Nov. 17: The St. Lawrence University men’s basketball team lost to Connecticut College in the Babson Tournament championship game on Saturday afternoon, falling to the Camels 70-67 in Babson Park, MA, splitting their first weekend of 2007-2008 to give them a 1-1 overall record thus far in the season.

 

The Saints never led against Connecticut College, who are now 2-0 in the season. In the first half, St. Lawrence was able to nearly close a 10-point gap in the score to bring it within three, but every time the Saints were within reach, the Camels had success from beyond the arc to maintain their advantage over the Saints.

 

In the second half, the Saints found themselves 13-points behind with 11:55 to go, but efforts by the Saints would bring their lead back down into the single digits before the Camels would make it an 11-point game with 7:11 to go. In the last 4:29 of the game, St. Lawrence went on a 13-8 run to close the lead to only three, but were unable to score in the last few seconds of the game. The Camels’ Charles Stone had 17 points, while teammates Jeff Young and Shavar Bernier each had 16 points to lead their team to the tournament title.

 

For the Saints, Sophomore Andy Hoercher had 16 points and was 5-for-10 from the floor, and made 3 out of 4 three pointers to try and give the Saints a push. He was also 3-for-3 from the line, had four rebounds and four assists.

 

Junior forward Richard Williams had a double-double in Saturday’s game, tallying 10 points and 11 rebounds for St. Lawrence. The captain from Kingston, NY also had one assist in his 25 minutes of play.

 

His co-captain, junior guard Tom Wopperer, had 12 points and one assist, while sophomore Josh Sharlow netted 10 points and was 3-for-4 at the line. He also tallied one assist and two steals for St. Lawrence. Junior Bela Vonnak also had 11 points for the Saints in the game.

 

Both Wopperer and Vonnak were named to the 2007 All-Tournament Team for their efforts in both games this weekend. The two Saints players combined for 67 points and 17 rebounds against Bates and the Camels.

 

The Saints, who are now 1-1 overall will travel to Middlebury on Tuesday, November 20 th to play the Panthers. The game is set to begin at 6:00pm.

 

SAINTS TOP BOBCATS, 72-63, TO ADVANCE

TO CHAMPIONSHIP GAME

Nov. 16: Junior guard Tom Wopperer led the St. Lawrence University men’s basketball team to victory in their first game of the season, posting 25 points in the 72-63 win over Bates College at the Babson Tip-Off Tournament Friday night. The win puts the Saints in the championship game on Saturday, where the Saints will face Connecticut College for the tournament title.

 

Wopperer was the first to score for the Saints with a jumper only 48 seconds into the game to put St. Lawrence up on the board. The Manlius, NY captain shot 5-for-7 outside the arc and 10-for-14 from the floor, while tallying two assists in his 36 minutes on the court.

 

St. Lawrence spent the entire first half behind the Bobcats, with Bates leading the Saints by as many as nine points at different points throughout the first twenty minutes, but

St. Lawrence had a 10-2 run in the last four minutes to bring the score within a point to close the first half 28-29 with Bates still ahead.

 

The Bobcats came out of halftime scoring six points within the first minute to up their lead, 35-28, but the Saints responded with a seven-point streak with junior forward Bela Vonnak tying the game with a layup with 17:23 left in the game.

 

Bates’ Jimmy O’Keefe and Vonnak own the next scoring run, with O’Keefe scoring Bates’ next eight points, while Vonnak had two good lay ups to bring the score to 39-43 with Bates still ahead. Both teams went scoreless for nearly two and a half minutes until sophomore Andy Hoercher put a three-pointer away for the Saints, bringing the score within one point again, 42-43.

 

Bobcat Brian Ellis had a layup to give a three-point lead back to Bates, but Vonnak’s layups continued to be a weapon for the Saints, as he got the ball in the basket again, to bring it within one. Hoercher then stole the ball from Bates’ Chris Wilson, and missed a layup but got the rebound, and a foul was called on Wilson, sending Hoercher to the line, with a 44-45 score on the board. The Auburn, NY native made both free throws, giving the Saints their first lead of the game.

 

The Saints never looked back after that, as they continued to maintain their advantage and extend their lead to ten with a layup from Wopperer to give the Saints a 61-51 lead with 3:55 remaining. The Saints would continue to control the game until the buzzer, ending the game with a 72-63 win.

 

Vonnak was 8-for-9 from the floor, scoring 19 points for the Saints. The Canojoharie, NY native also had seven rebounds and two blocks in his 29 minutes of play.

 

Hoercher had 14 points and made 9 out of 10 shots from the line for the Saints. He also had one assist. Sophomore Josh Sharlow tallied eight assists in the game. The Norwood, NY native had eight points, seven rebounds and three blocks for the Scarlet and Brown.

 

St. Lawrence, 1-0, will face Connecticut College in the Babson Tip-Off Tournament Saturday afternoon. The Camels beat Babson in the other semifinal game 52-50 to advance in the tournament. The tip-off time is 3:00pm.