By: Zack Jordon and Matt Palisin
FREDONIA, N.Y. – The Fredonia State men's and women's basketball teams continue conference play with doubleheaders this Friday and Saturday in Steele Hall. It is unlikely that this weekend will produce the on-court 'fireworks' that occurred last weekend when three scoring records were set or tied and a major milestone was reached. On the sidelines, though, Steele Hall should be buzzing.
Friday is Faculty and Staff Appreciation Night. Members of all Fredonia State athletics teams gave personal invitations to many of the professors who will be recognized as a group at the games. According to organizer and Assistant Athletic Director
Megan Valentine, the event takes place "to recognize faculty and staff members who continually go above and beyond for their students and ultimately to better integrate academics and athletics on campus." There will be a reception for the invitees from 5-7 p.m. in the Bob Steele Room.
Saturday at halftime during the women's basketball game, the FCA Lady Lions of Dunkirk – a seventh- and eighth-grade team – will participate in a scrimmage in celebration National Girls and Women in Sports Day. The Lions will meet with the Blue Devils' players after the game to talk some basketball and college life. There will also be about 20 raffle prizes, including some donated by the Buffalo Bills, Sabres and Bandits, as well as reduced admission.
Later that evening, the Steele Hall ice arena will play host to the annual Pink the Rink game. The sellout streak for that event is expected to continue.
But back to basketball…
Tip-off for the women on Friday vs. Cortland is set for 6 p.m. with the men following at 8 p.m. Saturday's contests vs. Oswego will be at 2 p.m. and 4 p.m., respectively.
The Blue Devil men, 4-13 overall and 1-9 SUNYAC, dropped the game in Cortland earlier in the year despite a 20-point effort from sophomore guard
Robert Lyles. For Cortland, senior captain Kevin McMahan, the SUNYAC's second leading rebounder (10.2 per game), registered a double-double with 15 points and 11 rebounds in that contest.
The Fredonia State men also feature the conference's third-leading scorer in
Tyrone Clark (20.8 per game). Clark is coming off a game at Buffalo State on Tuesday that saw him turn in 18 points, 11 assists and seven rebounds. The high-flying senior has also become a crowd favorite with an assortment of dunks each game. Last weekend, Clark tied a 29-year old record with 45 points in a single game.
The Cortland men come into Steele Hall with a 5-5 conference record, and are 10-7overall.
The FSU ladies (9-7, 4-6) hope the home court gives them the advantage and look to avenge a close 82-75 road loss from earlier this season. The SUNYAC's leading scorer,
Becky Hebert (22.0 ppg), poured in 29 points for the Devils in that game. The Red Dragons (11-6, 7-3) had two 20-point efforts coming from senior Megan Touhey (27) and sophomore Caysea Cohen (20).
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Saturday afternoon Fredonia State welcomes Oswego to town. The men and women each fell victim to the Lakers at Oswego earlier in the month. The Oswego women (6-11, 2-8) will play at Buff State the night before their contest in Steele Hall. The Laker men enter the weekend at 11-6 and 5-5.
In addition to Clark's record for the men last Friday, Hebert became the women's all-time leading scorer the same night. Saturday afternoon saw
Jaimie Warren reached the 1,000-point plateau and a Plattsburgh player became that team's all-time leading scorer.
