Men's Basketball | 2/10/2016 2:17:00 PM
ROCHESTER, NY – The playoffs unofficially begin for the RIT men's basketball team starting with a pair of games against St. Lawrence and Clarkson from Clark Gym. Friday's matchup against St. Lawrence will begin at 8 p.m., while the Saturday game against Clarkson will begin at 4 p.m.
RIT will honor its three seniors, forwards
Sheldon Clay (Detroit, MI/University of Detroit Jesuit) and
Kamron Davis (Syracuse, NY/Nottingham), and team captain
Miguel Lopez (Guaynabo, Puerto Rico/St. Francis) prior to Saturday's game against Clarkson. Both games are free to the public.
The Tigers come into the weekend with a 10-11 record, sitting in fifth place in the conference standings at 6-6, a game out of a playoff berth. Last weekend, the Tigers fell to Bard on Friday, 67-59.
AJ Horde (Oak Park, MI/University of Detroit Jesuit) led the team with 13 points and
Anthony Lewis (Rochester, NY/Churchville-Chili) tied a career-high with 12 points, as the Tigers shot just 34 percent from the field. The next day, RIT couldn't overcome an early 20-9 deficit, as Vassar prevailed, 72-65. Horde scored 23 points, and Davis notched a double-double off the bench with 12 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Tigers.
The Tigers lead the Liberty League in shooting percentage at 44.3 percent, and in 3-point shooting percentage at 36 percent. The Tigers are also second in scoring offense, averaging 74.1 per game. Horde leads the conference in scoring, averaging 20.1 points per game, and assists, with nearly five dimes a game.
Mitch Herman (Webster, NY/Webster Schroeder) is once again having an incredible season from beyond the arc, as he is tops in the conference 3-point shooting percentage, at an incredible 49 percent. Davis is tossing in 12.7 points and 7.9 rebounds per game, while shooting 51.0% from the floor.
St. Lawrence comes into the Friday matchup as the top team in the Liberty League, with an 8-4 record in league play, and a 12-8 record overall. St. Lawrence is the hottest team in the league, winning five of its last six games. The Saints earned a split last weekend, beating RPI 81-62 after a 70-68 loss to Union.
Junior guard Kyle Edwards leads the team with 15 points per game, shooting 42 percent from beyond the arc, second only to Herman. Forwards Ben Crawford and Riley Naclerio, as well as guard Willie Zachery provide the Saints with balanced scoring, each averaging 11 points per game.
Clarkson comes into the weekend at 8-13 overall, sitting in eighth place in the league standings at 5-7 after dropping five of the last six games. Last weekend, the Golden Knights dropped both games, falling at RPI 61-55 on Friday, and then losing at Union the next day, 65-56. Guard
Felix Abongo leads the team in scoring at 14.0 points per game as well as rebounding, reeling in 6.8 caroms per game. Forward
Derek Hart is second in the conference in field goal percentage at 56.5 percent and leads the league in blocked shots with 46. Hart is second on the team in both scoring (12.9) and rebounding (5.7).
The Tigers are 46-33 all-time against Clarkson, and 27-32 against St. Lawrence. Earlier this season, RIT dropped road contests to both teams, losing 75-68 against Clarkson on Jan. 15, and 87-82 to St. Lawrence the next day. RIT has beaten St. Lawrence at home in three of the last four seasons.
Come out and support the Tigers as they compete for their first Liberty League Championship.
