2008 Woodie Awards
Men's and Women's Hoops Start Strong
Thomas Walters
Issue date: 12/1/05 Section: Sports
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The Pioneers put any doubts to rest in their opening game by defeating the College of St. Joseph 81-55 in the first round of the SUNYIT Tip-Off Tournament.
Junior transfer Ray Bryant collected a team high 19 points and added 4 rebounds.
Senior Shawn Brown chipped in with 18 points while junior Jack Lighthall added 14 points.
With the win, the team moved into the final game to play host team SUNYIT.
"We played really well for it being our opening game," Lighthall said. "But it is only one game, so I hope our players keep their focus and not let one win go to their heads."
The Pioneers did keep focus as they beat SUNYIT 90-77 to win the tournament.
Senior guard and tournament MVP Justin Cichon, who dropped 39 points in the championship game alone, led the Pioneers.
Also contributing to the victory were Ray Bryant and senior Willie Lucas. Bryant had with 12 points and 6 rebounds while Lucas added a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds.
After being crowned tournament champions, the Pioneers did not let up and went on to defeat Oneonta 78-69.
Once again, the game was dominated by Bryant, who led the way with 24 points and 14 rebounds. Also contributing to the win was Willie Lucas with 18 points and freshman Doug Herring with 17 points.
Head coach Andrew Goodemote knew the importance of getting off to a good start.
"Starting 3-0 is good to help build confidence for a young team," Goodemote said. "We still need to work on rebounding and free throw shooting if we are going to compete in the league.
"It's hard to say how good we are after playing only three games, but I am pleased on how we have played so far," Goodemote added.
The Lady Pioneers got off to just as good of start as the men did.
The Lady Pioneers opened up their year by hosting the Utica College Tip-Off tournament.
Their opening round game was a 71-47 victory over Centenary College.
The Lady Pioneers were led by freshman standout Whitney Frament who had 19 points. Also contributing was junior star player Ava Thomas who scored 13 points but had 19 rebounds.