Basketball ECAC finale ends in defeat

Few teams can say they had a chance to play in postseason basketball. Outlasting conference rivals Plattsburgh and Oneonta, who both lost in the opening round of the NCAA tournament, Brockport had an opportunity to win an ECAC championship in Tuttle North.

But it was not meant to be, as Brockport defeated the Hobart Statesmen 86-59 but fell in the ECAC championship game to Ithaca 78-71.

Hobart entered the tournament as the No. 3 seed, and Brockport came out of the tip sloppy and slow. As soon as Brockport got back on their game, they quickly used a massive first-half run to take a 19-point lead with 4:50 remaining in the first half.

Hobart quelled the damage temporarily, trading baskets back and forth with Brockport until the half was over.

Brockport was able to stop a quick 9-2 Hobart run in the beginning of the second-half, and were able to maintain a double-digit lead throughout the second half en route to the win. Scoring for the Golden Eagles was Gerald Williams with 17 points, as Jermaine Johnson scored 12, Brandon Williams with 10 and Zack McTigue with 11 points.

Brockport was able to shoot an impressive 62 percent from the field, and on the defensive boards, a spot where Brockport usually fails, the Golden Eagles were able to grab 25 rebounds throughout the game.

Ithaca beat fourth-seeded Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute 88-67 to advance to the championship. Although Anthony Hall scored a career-high of 15 points, Ithaca proved to be too much late against Brockport and took the ECAC championship.

Ithaca was able to lead by as many as 12 at 2:44 remaining in the half, but Brockport used a quick 7-0 run to end the half to cut the lead down to four.

Brockport tied the game at 42 early in the second half. From that point on, the game became a dogfight as Ithaca and Brockport traded lead until there were less than two minutes left to go, where ECAC Tournament Most Outstanding Player Andrei Oztemel for Ithaca hit a three from the right side to put the Bombers ahead 71-69.

Brockport was never able to recover from the three-point shot, and could not connect on their offensive chances, as Ithaca went 4-4 from the free-throw line down the stretch to seal with win.

Brandon Williams scored 11 points, Jermaine Johnson also scored 11 as well as Gerald Williams, as Andy Marchand finished with 10 points of his own.

"It was emotional going out on that court for the last time," Johnson said after his final Brockport game.

"I shed a tear or two before the game. The season's over, but it doesn't feel that way; it went by so fast."

Brockport ends their season with a 17-13 record, and will lose Johnson, Josh Zenkel, Brandon Williams and Jake Hanlon to graduation.

However, Coach Greg Dunne is not expecting the team to stop contending even hough they are losing a great deal.

"I always tell our team; we never rebuild, we reload.