2016-17 Liberty League Men's Basketball Championship Central

February 22, 2017

Team Seeding
1. Skidmore College – Roster | Stats
2. St. Lawrence University – Roster | Stats 
3. Union College – Roster | Stats
4. Hobart College – Roster | Stats

How they reached the Championship...It was a night of upsets in the Liberty League semifinals on Wednesday as both road teams and lower seeds Union (3rd seed) and Hobart (4th seed) advanced to the league championship game. The Dutchmen forced double overtime against second-seeded St. Lawrence and it was Deshon Burgess who had the buzzer-beating three-pointer to send the team to the championship, 110-108. Burgess totaled 34 points on the night, which tied his career high set earlier this season. Greg King set a new career points high with 21 and tied his rebounding career high with 11. Wade McNamara added 16 and Kevin Weckworth scored 15. In the later game, fourth-seeded Hobart knocked off top seed and regular season champs Skidmore. Colin Doughtery registered a game-high 26 points and two others scored double digits in Tucker Lescoe (12 points) and Pete Drescher (10 points). Luke Ruddy grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds to go with seven points.

Earlier this season...Union swept the season series but as the league semifinals prove anything can happen in this tournament. In January, the Dutchmen won by eight in overtime by a score of 69-61. Burgess hit a three-pointer with 7.4 seconds remaining in regulation to force the extra frame. In the overtime, Union pulled away from Hobart for the victory. Burgess finished with a game-high 25 points, 11 rebounds and a game-high four assists. The Statesmen were paced by Jamal Lucas who had 21 points and a team-best 13 rebounds. 

Earlier this week (on Sunday), when these two teams met, the Dutchmen were again victorious on their senior day. McNamara led the way with game-highs of 30 points and 17 rebounds. Burgess had 12 points and Zachary Bouton added nine. Hobart had four players in double figures, including Dougherty and Lucas who both had 19 points apiece. Lescoe and Matt Walsh each added 10 as well as a combined 15 boards.
 

CHAMPIONSHIP: #4 Hobart at #3 Union February 25, 2017 - Schenectady, N.Y. - 2 p.m. Directions / Live Video / Live Stats
	(3) Union 15-10 (10-6 Liberty League) Leaders: PPG- Deshon Burgess, 19.3 RPG- Wade McNamara, 10.2 APG- Deshon Burgess, 2.7
	(4) Hobart 16-10 (10-6 Liberty League) Leaders: PPG- Colin Dougherty, 16.9 RPG- Jamal Lucas, 4.7 APG- Colin Dougherty, 2.7
Regular Season Matchups (Union leads 2-0) January 10, 2017: Union 69, Hobart 61 February 19, 2017: Union 70, Hobart 64

 

Tournament Preview

The 2016-17 Liberty League Men’s Basketball tournament kicks off tonight with semifinal games in Saratoga Springs and Canton, New York. Top-seeded Skidmore College hosts No. 4 seed Hobart College and No. 2 seed St. Lawrence hosts No. 3 Union College. The Thoroughbreds are seeking their third straight league title as they come into the tournament with a program best 14-2 league mark. The Statesmen return to the league championship after just missing it last year, they will be appearing in their seventh tournament in the last eight years. It will be also the fourth time the two teams will battle each other since 2010. St. Lawrence, the second seed, returns to the postseason for the second consecutive season. Last season, the Saints advanced to the championship game. Union rounds out the four teams and it will also be the Dutchmen’s second straight appearance. The game between Union and St. Lawrence will be a rematch from last year’s semifinals when the Dutchmen hosted the Saints.

Skidmore: The Thoroughbreds boast one of the league’s top offenses as they lead the league in field goal percentage (.484) and 3-point field goal percentage (.370). They are also ranked second in points per game (79.2). They are led by senior Aldin Medunjanin and sophomore Edvinas Rupkus. Rupkus is currently ranked second in the league in scoring (20.9 PPG) and Medunjanin is ranked ninth (16.1 PPG). Rupkus also paced the team in rebounds with 7.5 per game while Medunjanin is tops in assists (5.6). The team is also shooting a league-best 79.5 percent from the free throw line, ranking them fourth nationally.

Hobart: Hobart has one of the top defenses in the Liberty League as they have are tops in field goal percentage defense (.409) and three-point field goal percentage defense (.300). They are currently ranked second among league leaders in scoring defense (68.9 PPG). The Statesmen have a trio of players averaging double figures—Colin Dougherty (16.6 PPG), Jamal Lucas (12.4 PPG) and Tucker Lescoe (12.3). All three are ranked among the top-20 league leaders in scoring. Dougherty and Lucas share the team-lead in rebounding with 4.6 per game.

St. Lawrence: St. Lawrence leads the league in scoring offense with 84.4 points per game. The Saints are also among league leaders in field-goal percentage (second, 0.477) and three-point field goal percentage (second, 0.356). A trio of upperclassmen headline this year’s team in junior Riley Naclerio, senior Kyle Edwards and senior Willie Zachery. Nacelrio is the team’s leading scorer with 18.5 points per game, good for fifth among league leaders. He also has a team best 8.0 reobunds per game. Edwards and Zachery are also averaging double-figures with 16.6 and 12.6 points per game respectively. They are also ranked among the league’s top-20 scorers.

Union: The Dutchmen are second among league leaders in 3-point field goals made with 205 (8.5 per game), thanks to Wade McNamara (46), Kevin Weckworth (43) and Deshon Burgess (35). Those three also lead the team in scoring with Burgess averaging a team-high 18.7 points per game. McNamara averages 15.9 points per game and Weckworth scores 10.3 per game. McNamara also leads the team in rebounds (10.3 per game) and Union has the best rebounding offense in the league with 39.3 per game.
 

SEMIFINAL 1: #3 Union at #2 St. Lawrence February 22, 2017 - Canton, N.Y. - 7 p.m. Directions / Live Video / Live Stats
	(2) St. Lawrence 20-5 (13-3 Liberty League) Leaders: PPG- Riley Naclerio, 18.5 RPG- Riley Naclerio, 8.0 APG- Willie Zachery, 4.2
	(3) Union 14-10 (10-6 Liberty League) Leaders: PPG- Deshon Burgess, 18.7 RPG- Wade McNamara, 10.3 APG- Deshon Burgess, 2.6
Regular Season Matchups (SLU leads 2-0) December 30, 2016: St. Lawrence 75, Union 63 January 28, 2017: St. Lawrence 90, Union 85

 
 

SEMIFINAL: #4 Hobart at #1 Skidmore February 22, 2017 - Saratoga Springs. N.Y. - 8 p.m. Directions / Live Video / Live Stats
	(1) Skidmore 19-6 (14-2 Liberty League) Leaders: PPG- Edvinas Rupkus, 20.9 RPG- Edvinas Rupkus, 7.5 APG- Aldin Medunjanin, 5.6
	(4) Hobart 14-10 (10-6 Liberty League) Leaders: PPG- Colin Dougherty, 16.6 RPG- Colin Dougherty/Jamal Lucas, 4.6 APG- Colin Dougherty, 2.7
Regular Season Matchups (Skidmore leads 2-0) January 14, 2017: Skidmore 70, Hobart 69 February 10, 2017: Skidmore 87, Hobart 83

 Past Liberty League Men's Basketball Tournament Results:

2015-16
Semifinals:
(1) Skidmore 82, (4) Vassar 71
(3) St. Lawrence 91, (2) Union 85

Championship:
(1) Skidmore 72, (3) St. Lawrence 68

2014-15
Semifinals:
(1) Skidmore 72, (4) RIT 51
(3) Clarkson 69, (2) Hobart 59

Championship:
(1) Skidmore 68, (3) Clarkson 64

2013-14
Semifinals:
(1) Hobart 78, (4) Clarkson 69
(2) Vassar 66, (3) Skidmore 62
 
Championship:
(1) Hobart 75, (2) Vassar 74

2012-13
Semifinals:
(1) Hobart 77, (4) Skidmore 71
(3) RPI 85, (2) Union 77
 
Championship:
(1) Hobart 72, (3) RPI 63
 
2011-12
Semifinals:
(2) Skidmore 76, (3) St. Lawrence 67
(1) Hobart 73, (4) Union 53
 
Championship:
(2) Skidmore 69, (1) Hobart 66
 
2010-11
Semifinals:
(4) Hamilton 62, (1) Hobart 60
(3) Skidmore 76, (2) RPI 69
 
Championship:
(3) Skidmore 68, (4) Hamilton 52

2009-10 
Semifinals:
(3) Hobart 83, (2) Skidmore 76
(1) St. Lawrence 74, (4) Union 59
 
Championship:
(1) St. Lawrence 109, (3) Hobart 90,

2008-09
Semifinals:
(3) RPI 64, (2) Hamilton 55
(1) St. Lawrence 88, (4) Clarkson 64

Championship: 
(3) RPI 72, (1) St. Lawrence 65