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 The CUNYAC Senior Men’s
Basketball Tournament is set to get underway at York
College in
Queens, New York
with four quarterfinal contests on Saturday, February 21. The four winners will meet in the semifinals
on Tuesday, February 24 and the championship game will be held on Friday,
February 27. All of the action will take
place at York.
Staten
Island earned the #1 seed and will face #8 seeded CCNY, the
defending CUNYAC champions. The Dolphins
are being led by All-Stars Michael
Stewart (Westinghouse/Brooklyn, NY) and Michael Nebavlakis (FDR/Brooklyn, NY). Stewart, a junior, averaged 18.3 points (5th
in the league), 4.0 assists, and connected on 60 three-point field goals this
past season. Nebavlakis, who is ninth in
scoring (15.2 pg.) and sixth in rebounding (8.4 pg.) is one of the top
frontcourt players in CUNY. Senior Neville Lestrade (Curtis/Staten Island,
NY) has also been a strong inside presence, averaging 8.5 rebounds and 2.6
blocks per game, which is second in the league.
CCNY rebounded from a slow start to qualify for the tournament. The Beavers will look to junior forward Darryl France (Van Buren/Queens, NY)
and classmate Avain Guardine
(Northeast/Manhattan Center) for scoring and leadership. France is contributing 17.2 points
and 5.7 rebounds per game while Guardine averages 13.6 points and 2.7 steals
per game.
Second-seeded John Jay, who has
enjoyed their best season ever under first-year head coach Mike Brown, must
face #7 seeded York
in their home gym. All-Star guards Pablo Palma (Norman Thomas/New York, NY)
and Tim White (Archbishop
Molloy/Queens, NY) are two of the finest players in the conference. Palma
finished second in the league in scoring (20.6 ppg.) and was fifth in
three-point field goals (2.28 pg.), while White poured in 17.2 points and was
fourth in three-point goals (2.38 pg.). York is being led by
Rookie of the Year candidate Terrin
Johnson (Curtis/Brooklyn, NY). The
freshman center is scoring 10.6 points per game and leads the team in
rebounding (7.8 pg.). Junior Michael Thompson (Albany/Jamaica, NY)
has been solid as well, averaging 10.7 points, 2.4 steals, and 5.8 rebounds per
game. Senior guard Jesse Cotton (Canarsie/Brooklyn, NY) is the team’s top long-range
shooter (36 three-point goals).
Lehman, the #3 seed, was one of
the biggest surprises of the season and will meet #6 seeded Hunter. Senior All-Star guard Jonathan Rojas (Walton/Bronx, NY) averaged a team-high 17.2 points
per game, grabbed 6.3 rebounds and added 1.9 steals per game. Junior Andre
Bagot (Sullivan C.C./Bronx, NY) is perhaps the best lead guard in the
conference, and is averaging a league-high 7.4 handouts per game as well as
10.4 points and 2.1 steals per game. Junior center Miguel Jorge (Dominican
Republic) chipped in with 12.8 points per
game and also led the team with 47 trifectas.
Hunter boasts a dynamic backcourt duo in senior Lorcan Precious (Staples/Westport, CT) and Ricardo Reimers (Martin Van Buren/Queens Village, NY), both
All-Stars this season. Precious led the
league in scoring (22.0 ppg.) and is second in assists (6.1 pg.). He is also second in the league in
three-point goals (3.0 pg.) and lead the league in free throw percentage
(.874). Reimers is third in the league
in scoring (19.7 ppg.) and eighth in rebounding (8.0 pg.). Freshman guard Gerald Ciarleglio (Cardinal Mooney/Bradenton, FL) is adding 10.7
points per game.
Fourth seeded Baruch and #5
seeded City Tech figures to be an exciting match-up. Baruch placed two on the All-Star squad in
junior forward Sime Marnika (Archbishop Molloy/Long Island City,
NY) and senior center Garry Etienne (Holy Cross/Jamaica, NY). Marnika is averaging 12.2 points per game and
is third in rebounding (10.4 pg.) and blocks (1.9 pg.), and Etienne is posting
12.7 points and 9.1 rebounds per game.
Junior guard John Burzo (St.
Peter’s/Brooklyn,
NY) is adding 14.9 points and has connected
on a team-high 51 three-point goals this season. City Tech has received a monster season from
center Shacun Malave (Clinton/Bronx,
NY), who is a top candidate for CUNY Player of the Year honors. The junior is averaging 19.5 points, 10.6
rebounds, and 5.9 blocks per game (second in the nation). Junior forward Jason Senior (Boys and Girls/Brooklyn, NY) and senior forward Roger Redhead are also key
contributors. Senior is netting 14.4
points per game and Redhead is adding 13.5 points and leads the league in
three-point goals (3.3 pg.).
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