From Staff and Wire Reports
Several local college winter sports teams are set to begin post season play. MVCC, Utica College, Herkimer College, Hamilton College, SUNY Poly and Morrisville State College will all begin tournament play this week, in a variety of sports.
The Utica College men’s and women’s hockey programs have earned the right to host ECAC West Conference Tournament quarterfinal playoff hockey at the Utica Memorial Auditorium. The men will host Elmira on February 24th at 7 p.m. a the Utica Memorial Auditorium . Then, on Thursday, February 25th, the women host Cortland State at 7 p.m. at the same venue.
The Lady Hawks basketball team of Mohawk Valley Community College enter the post season tournament with a single blemish on their Region III record at 20-1, earning them the second overall seed. MVCC will host fellow Mountain Valley Conference member North Country Community College (13-8) in the opening round of the tournament on Tuesday, February 23rd. The Saints came up short in a pair of meetings between the two teams this season falling to the Hawks 70-61 in the more recent matchup.
On the men’s side, the Generals from Herkimer College have earned the top seed after a 21-2 record in Region III competition this year; Herkimer will host the Red Barons from Corning Community College (11-10) who earned the eighth seed. When the two teams met at Corning in November the Red Barons emerged the victor with a 77-62 win over visiting Herkimer, who will be looking to avenge the loss at home on Tuesday evening. A pair of Mountain Valley Conference members complete the top half of this year’s bracket when the Vikings of Hudson Valley Community College vist the Hawks of Mohawk Valley Community College in their quarter-final match-up. The #4 Hawks defeated the #5 Vikings in their two meeting this season with a two point victory on the road and an eight point win at home.
The North Eastern Athletic Conference (NEAC) office announced its 2015-16 Women’s Basketball Championship Tournament pairings Sunday, selecting Morrisville State College as its second overall seed in the North Division.
Morrisville State (18-7, 14-4 NEAC) will host third seed Wells College (16-9, 12-6 NEAC) on Tuesday, February 23 at 7 p.m. in the John W. Stewart Center for Student Activities Gymnasium on the Morrisville State campus.
The Mustangs men’s basketball team is the #1 seed in the North bracket for the upcoming NEAC Tournament. Morrisville (18-7, 14-3 NEAC) will receive a first round bye, along with tournament host Lancaster Bible College, who finished the regular season with a 24-0 overall record, capturing the regular season NEAC title with a 17-0 record. Morrisville State will face the winner of Gallaudet (17-7, 14-4 NEAC) and Penn St. Berks (8-16, 8-10 NEAC) Saturday at 3 p.m. in Lancaster.
SUNY Poly (13-12, 12-5 NEAC) and Wells College (12-12, 10-7 NEAC) clinched the second and third seeds out of the North Division, with the winner of that quarterfinal round at SUNY Poly advancing to face Lancaster Bible on Saturday as well.
The SUNY Poly Ladies hoop squad also clinched a playoff spot after claiming their second straight North Division title with a 17-1 NEAC record while finishing 20-5 overall.
The Colonial Hockey Conference league announced its women’s championship tournament field, selecting Morrisville State College women’s hockey as the third overall seed in the six team tournament field. The Mustangs wrapped up their first regular season of NCAA competition with an overall record of 9-13-3, posting a 9-3-2 league record to claim the third overall seed.
Morrisville State will host sixth seed Johnson and Wales on Saturday, February 27 at 4 p.m. on the Mustangs home ice in the first round.
The Hamilton College men’s hockey team (13-7-4 ) clinched the fourth seed in the upcoming NESCAC Championship and will host a quarterfinal Saturday against fifth-seeded Middlebury at 4 p.m.
