| Contact Us Find People Site Index |  |
||
 |
|||
|
SHAVER NAMED LIBERTY LEAGUE’S “CO-GUARD OF THE WEEK” Feb. 26: St. Lawrence University senior Tyler Shaver has been named the Liberty League’s Co-Guard of the Week for his performances in the Saints’ victories over Vassar and Rensselaer.
Shaver delivered for the Scarlet and Brown on the offensive end this weekend, averaging 17.0 points per game in the wins over the Brewers and Red Hawks. The Ogdensburg, NY native shot 11-of-17 (.647) from the floor including 7-of-12 (.583) from three-point range to help St. Lawrence clinch home court advantage for the 2008 Liberty League Tournament.
Rob Estep of Hobart College shared the award with Shaver while Rensselaer’s Sam Simmons was the conference’s Forward of the Week and Hamilton’s Jon Ciriello was the Rookie of the Week.
The 2008 Liberty League Tournament is set to begin on Friday, February 29 when No. 3 Vassar meets No. 2 Hamilton at 6:00pm in the Burkman Gymnasium. No. 1 St. Lawrence will then take the court following the opening semifinal against No. 4 Clarkson at 8:00pm, with the championship game on Saturday, March 1 at 3:00pm.
SAINTS BLAZE THEIR WAY TO 84-76 WIN OVER RED HAWKS Feb. 23: The St. Lawrence men’s basketball team couldn’t help but keep making basket after basket Saturday afternoon as the Liberty League regular season champions shot a season-high 67 percent from the floor to help secure an 84-76 victory over Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute at Robison Gym in Troy, NY.
St. Lawrence ended their regular season with a 17-8 overall record and 12-2 in the conference. The Red Hawks fell to 11-14 and 6-8, losing any chance they had of earning the fourth seed in the Liberty League Tournament.
The visiting team started out strong, scoring on each of their first six possessions, including a lay-up from junior Tom Wopperer (Manlius, NY/Fayetteville-Manlius), who took the ball from tip-off and made a run to the basket in order to get the Saints off on the right foot, scoring only four seconds into the contest.
Neither team held a clear advantage in the first part of the game, despite the Saints surviving the Red Hawks tying the game up three times, as Rensselaer remained within one or two possessions of St. Lawrence for much of the period. A lay-up from junior Bela Vonnak (Canajoharie, NY/Canajoharie) broke the third tie, giving the Saints a 31-29 edge with 6:52 left in the half and the momentum to gain a nine point lead, their biggest of the period. A 12-3 Saint run in the middle of the half came when senior Tyler Shaver (Ogdensburg, NY/Ogdensburg Free Academy) made two three’s and junior Richard Williams (Kingston, NY/Kingston) made four shots from the line to give the Saints a 41-32 lead.
RPI was able to cut that lead down to three with 1:33 left before the Saints sealed a 47-40 halftime advantage after senior Sebastian Kurtz ( Newnan, GA/Our Lady of Mercy) made a lay-up and sophomore Josh Sharlow (Norwood, NY/Norwood-Norfolk) added one off a fast break with :11 on the clock.
The Saints rallied in the second half, earning as much as an 11 point lead at two different points throughout the final 20 minutes, but the Red Hawks weren’t willing to let the game slip away, as St. Lawrence only held on to their double-digit lead for a few moments.
Rensselaer battled back to cut the visiting team’s lead down to four with 1:10 to play off a free throw from Red Hawk Devin Gavin, but four shots from the foul line from St. Lawrence sophomore Andy Hoercher (Auburn, NY/Hotchkiss) sealed the 84-76 win for the Saints.
Shaver led the Saints offense, which also included shooting 50 percent from three-point range and 86 percent from the line, with 19 points, a personal season-high. The North Country native shot 7-for-10 from the field, including 5-for-8 from behind the arc.
Four other Saints accumulated points in the double digits, including Vonnak, who tallied 16, as well as Wopperer, Sharlow, and Williams, who added 10 a piece.
St. Lawrence will host the 2008 Liberty League Tournament, which will begin Friday night in Burkman Gymnasium. Second-seeded Hamilton will face No. 3 seed Vassar at 6:00pm, while the Saints hope to carry momentum from their 2-0 weekend into battle with North Country rival and No. 4 seed Clarkson, with tip-off scheduled for 8:00pm.
SAINTS CLINCH HOME COURT ADVANTAGE WITH 57-48 WIN OVER VASSAR Feb. 22: The St. Lawrence University men’s basketball team captured their first ever Liberty League regular season title Friday night after a tough defensive match-up with conference opponent Vassar College, where the Saints defeated the Brewers 57-48 in the final minutes in Poughkeepsie, NY.
The win, which clinches St. Lawrence’s first regular season conference championship since 2003-2004, gives the Scarlet and Brown home court advantage for the Liberty League tournament to be held next weekend, with the remaining teams still to be determined. Vassar and Hamilton have locked down the number two and three seeds, while Clarkson and RPI battle for the number four spot. The Saints improve to a 16-8 overall record and an 11-2 record in the conference, while the Brewers fall to 17-6 and 8-5.
Vassar led throughout the majority of the first half, increasing their lead to as many as nine before St. Lawrence closed that gap with four consecutive three-pointers – two by senior Tyler Shaver (Ogdensburg, NY/Ogdensburg Free Academy), and one a piece from junior co-captain Tom Wopperer (Manlius, NY/Fayetteville-Manlius) and sophomore Andy Hoercher (Auburn, NY/Hotchkiss) to take a slight 18-17 advantage with 6:32 to go.
The Saints were able to maintain their lead while the Brewers kept it within two possessions as the clock winded down, and the visiting team took a 27-22 edge at the half.
Turnovers plagued the Saints in the opening minutes of the second, as the Scarlet and Brown turned the ball over five times in their first six possessions. The Brewers took advantage of the turnovers and started out the period with a 9-0 run that gave them a 31-27 lead with 15:37 to play. Vassar held on to their lead until the final minutes of the contest and was never able to gain more than a five-point edge. A three by Wopperer tied the game for the second time at 41-41 with 4:35 to go, and a lay-up by Hoercher with 3:52 on the clock sparked an 8-0 run that included six Saint straight free throws to gain a 49-41 advantage with 1:13 remaining in the game. Forcing Vassar to foul, the Saints hit six shots from the charity stripe down the stretch to pull out a 57-48 victory.
Leading the Saints’ offense was Shaver, who tallied a game-high 15 points, while Hoercher scored 14 while adding three assists and three rebounds. Wopperer posted 12 points while adding seven boards and two assists. Senior Tyler Wright ( Teaneck, NJ/Paramus Catholic) led the Saints’ defense with a game-high ten rebounds.
The Saints will travel to Troy, NY on Saturday afternoon for their final regular season contest against RPI. Tip-off is scheduled for 4:00pm.
|
