Basketball Team 1-2 in Last 3 Games

12/09/2015

The ESF men's basketball team got its first win of the season Nov. 23 but dropped its next two games.

The win came against the Nittany Lions of Penn State Wilkes-Barre, 76-68. Playing in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, the Mighty Oaks led most of the first half, going into half time with a 40-31 lead. Wilkes-Barre came back strong in the second half but key three-pointers by juniors Jared Bard and Ryan Caldwell allowed ESF to maintain its lead. Bard, Caldwell and junior guard Dan Treadwell led the Mighty Oaks with 19 points each. Caldwell also finished with 11 rebounds and Treadwell led the Mighty Oaks with eight assists. The Mighty Oaks shared the ball well, recording 20 assists overall vs eight for Wilkes-Barre.

After the Thanksgiving break, the Mighty Oaks faced the Broncos of SUNY Delhi Dec. 1. The Broncos are ranked 10th in the nation by the USCAA. The Mighty Oaks held strong in the first half, going into halftime down only six, 44-38. The Broncos came out blazing in the second half, however, racking up 64 second-half points and pulling away from ESF with the final score of 108-75. The Broncos sank 12 three-pointers in the game and were 14 for 20 from the charity stripe. ESF senior forward Sage Beemer finished the game with a double-double — 21 points and 11 rebounds. Junior Ryan Caldwell chipped in 13 points.

In the third game of the trio, the Mighty Oaks faced another USCAA top 10-ranked team in a weekend matchup against eighth-ranked Central Penn College Dec. 5. Once again hot shooting by the opponent led to a defeat for the Mighty Oaks as they fell 99-79. The Knights built a commanding 56-37 lead at halftime and finished the game with 11 three-pointers, including five by sophomore guard John Starks, Jr., son of NBA legend John Starks. The Mighty Oaks were aggressive with the ball, getting to the free throw line 29 times but only making 11 (38 percent). Beemer had another strong game for ESF, finishing with 19 points and 11 rebounds. Sophomore center Tyler Kuhn, coming off an ankle injury, finished with a career-high 14 points and five rebounds. Treadwell finished with 10 assists and only two turnovers. Beemer's productive week was recognized by the HVIAC as he was named the men's basketball player of the week. Beemer averaged 20.0 points and 11.0 rebounds in the two games and shot 58 percent (15-26) from the field.

The Mighty Oaks are 1-8 overall and will play Keuka College on the road Dec. 9 and then Alfred State on Dec. 12 before they head into winter break. The team will be back in action in 2016 at Cazenovia College Jan. 9.