Centerville, MA-- The Sage Colleges' men's basketball team will be making the team's second post-season appearance this after garnering the No. 8 seed in the 2013 Eastern College Athletic Conference Metro NY-NJ Tournament on Monday afternoon. Sage (13-13) will face top seeded Richard Stockton College (19-7) on Wednesday, February 27 in the quarterfinals at RSC in Galloway, NJ. The Game time has been set for 7 p.m. for the Sage-RSC contest.
Seeds
No. 1 Richard Stockton (19-7) vs. No. 8 Sage (13-13)
No. 2 SUNY-Old Westbury (22-4) vs. No. 7 Baruch (17-10)
No. 3 New York University (15-10) vs. No. 6 New Jersey City (14-12)
No. 4 Mt. St. Mary (19-8) vs. No. 5 John Jay (15-13)
The tournament will open on February 27 with the four first round match-ups and will continue on March 2 and 3 on the campus of the highest remaining seeded team at game times to be determined.
The appearance in the ECAC tournament is the second for the four-year old Gators that earned a spot in the 2011 Upstate ECAC Division III Tournament. Under the guidance of Head Coach Brian Barnes, the 2012-2013 Gators have hit a number of high-water marks this season, including picking up a first berth to the Skyline Conference Tournament, while also tying the single-season mark for most wins (13).
Against the Rams of Farmingdale State in the Skyline Conference Tournament, Sage's rookie forward Melvin Ford (Voorhees, NJ/Eastern Regional) poured in a career-best 16 in the game. Joining his as the Sage high-scorer was junior guard Jeff Stopera (Scotia, NY/Scotia Glenville) who also connected for 16 points with eight assists. Senior center Ryan Sager (Stuyvesant, NY/Ichabod Crane) chipped in for nine points but led Sage in rebounding with eight caroms. Senior forward Matt Farbotko (Rouses Point, NY/Northeastern Clinton) connected for nine points as well in the contest.
Named the Skyline Conference Co-Player of the Week and the ECAC Metro Division III Player of the week last week, Farbotko brings a personal-best 390 points and a 15.0 ppg average into the tournament. He moved his career leading total to 1,221 points, while racking up 517 rebounds over the course of his 93 games played. He was the team's high scorer eight times this season.
Sage's junior guard Mason Horne (Albany, NY/LaSalle Institute) leads the Gators with a team-best 410 points, a Sage single-season record. He poured in 16.4 ppg in his 25 games played and started. He was the Gators' top scorer 12 times on the campaign. He is moving ever closer to his 1,000th career point as he stands at 975 points in 75 games played.
Senior center Ryan Sager (Stuyvesant, NY/Ichabod Crane) has paced the team in rebounding with his 224 rebounds and 8.6 rpg average. He added a personal-best 10.8 ppg along the way, while starting all 26 games for the Gators. He also leads Sage in blocked shots (32), while shooting 60.1% from the floor (113-188). Over the course of his career, he has laid claim to a pair of Sage career records, most blocked shots (75), while adding a blistering 57.7 FG% (287-497). He has also added 704 points which is No. 3 on the career list, while his 516 rebounds, is No. 2 on the career list
Stopera leads the Gators with his 111 assists and 51 steals. He is the team's fourth leading scorer with a personal-best 9.1 ppg average. He has started all 26 games for Sage with a 32.0 minutes per game average. Stopera elevated his career resume to include 398 assists No. 1), 176 steals (No. 1) with 578 points (No. 4), with 79 starts in 84 games played (No. 2) as a Gator. He added a 75.7% free throw percentage over the course of this past year and now has a 77.2% career FT%.
Ford saved his best performance for the Gators in the Skyline tournament as he shot 5-7 from the floor and connected for seven rebounds with a block and a steal. Over the course of the season he started 14 of the 25 games he has played in as a rookie. Ford owns a 5.3 pg average with a 3.9 rpg average in his 18.9 minutes a game. He has 25 steals with eight blocks as well.
Junior guard Ryan LaBelle (E. Berne, NY/Berne-Knox-Westerlo) has made six starts over the course of the season and finished with a 4.2 ppg average. He added 1.7 rpg in 22 games played and averaged 14.1 minutes a game with 16 assists.
Senior Will Hennep (Wheatley Heights, NY/Half Hollow Hills West) has played in 25 games for the season with a 4.3 ppg average. He has 31 steals and has racked up back-to-back personal bests. He tallied a personal-best 14 points at St. Joe's and then added 15 points in the win over Old Westbury on Senior Day to cap the regular-season strong.
Sophomore center Jacob Sopchak (Rhinebeck, NY/Rhinebeck) has played in 18 games and is second on the team with his 21 blocked shots. He owns a 2.3 rpg and 1.8 ppg average in 10.4 minutes a game.
Freshman center Brandon Hornedo (Central Islip, NY/Central Islip) has played in 15 games for the Gators and has a 2.4 ppg and 1.7 rpg average in that time on the court. Sophomore guard Troy Nwanna (Washington, DC/Mercersburg Academy) connected for a 6.3 ppg average in 15 games played with six starts. He averaged 18.2 minutes a game with a 3.9 rpg average.
Rookie guard Matt LaClair (Bethlehem, NY/Albany Academy) has played in 16 games for the team and tallied a 1.4 ppg average. Junior Denzel Paschal (E. Greenbush, NY/Catholic Central) has seen more time as well on the floor. Paschal has played in 16 games with a 2.3 ppg average and a 1.6 rpg average. Freshman forward Devon Zurlo (Glens Falls, NY/Glens Falls) has also played some time for Sage in 11 games this season.
