Campus Watch

By Keith McShea

Andrew Wagner, an Iroquois High grad and junior defenseman at Mercyhurst, was named a Divsion II All-American for the second straight season. The team was announced Monday by the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association.

The 6-3 Wagner was the Lakers' top defenseman, recording 25 ground balls and 11 caused turnovers while defending the opposition's top attackman each week. 

Last season Wagner received the William C. Schmeisser Award as Division II's Most Outstanding Defender.

Wagner and Mercyhurst will play in Sunday's Division II championship game against Le Moyne at 1 p.m. at Philadelphia's Franklin Field.

Wagner is one of many Western New York natives on the rosters of the teams participating in the national championship games this weekend in Philadelphia.

By Rodney McKissic

Canisius gained some much needed help in their backcourt with the addition of former Stetson guard Chris Perez.

The 6-foot-3, 210-pound Perez, who also played one season at Liberty, has already graduated from Stetson and will be eligible to play immediately. He has one season of eligibility remaining.

Perez is expected to fill the void created by the graduation of Isaac Sosa, the Golden Griffins' third-leading scorer behind Billy Baron and Harold Washington at 11.6 points a game.

Canisius not only loses both Sosa and Washington but reserve guards Alshwan Hymes and Reggie Groves, who had one season of eligibility remaining but has graduated and will not return to the team.

Also not returning are a pair of freshmen: Guard Jermaine Johnson, who will transfer to a junior college, and forward Tyrel Edwards who is seeking to attend an NAIA school.

In 31 games including 30 starts, Perez was Stetson's second-leading scorer at 15.1 points. He shot 48.6 percent from the floor overall and 31.1 percent from 3-point range. He also averaged 4.1 rebounds and led the team in steals with 35.

by Amy Moritz
@amymoritz

Buffalo State today announced the hiring of Candice Moxley as its women's hockey coach. Moxley was a former standout for the Niagara program, playing from 2001-05 and was a member of the Purple Eagles Frozen Four team her freshman year. At Niagara, she played in 135 games scoring 34 goals with 78 points. 

Most recently, Moxley spent the last three seasons as an assistant at Ohio State under Nate Handrahan, a former player and coach at Niagara.

Her coaching experience includes serving one season as head coach at Trinity College School in Port Hope, Ontario and two years as an assistant at Robert Morris where she also worked with Handrahan.

Moxley takes over a Buffalo State program which went just 6-18-1 this season as a member of ECAC D-III West. The Bengals have not had a winning season since 2000-01 when the team went 11-4-1 as a Division III independent.

Since Niagara eliminated its women's hockey program, Buffalo State is the only Western New York college to sponsor a varsity women's hockey program.

 

photo courtesy Buffalo State Athletics

By BOB DICESARE

The mass exodus from the Niagara basketball program continued over the weekend as freshman forward TJ Cline tweeted that he's landed at Richmond of the Atlantic 10. That came on the heels of the anticipated news that all-MAAC guard Juan'ya Green and his lifelong friend and Niagara teammate Ameen Tanksley both are joining former Purple Eagles coach Joe Mihalich at Hofstra. They will sit out next season and be eligible in 2014-15.

By Rodney McKissic

The mass exedous from Niagara in the wake of Joe Mihalich's departure continues with freshman T.J. Cline giving a verbal commitment to attend Richmond according to a source.

Cline, the son of Hall of Famer Nancy Lieberman, visited Charlotte last week and informed the 49ers staff on Saturday that he would attend Richmond. The 6-foot-8, 220-pound Cline was named to the MAAC All-Rookie Team after averaging 7.9 points and 4.6 rebounds in 33 games. He also led the Purple Eagles in 3-point shooting percentage with 33.6 percent.

Cline must sit out the 2013-14 season per NCAA transfer rules, but will have three seasons of eligibility remaining. The news comes just days after Juan'ya Green and Ameen Tanksley joined Mihalich at Hofstra.

by Amy Moritz
@amymoritz

Carsen Chubak decided to forgo his senior season at Niagara as the goaltender signed an American Hockey League contract with the Adirondack Phantoms, the top affiliate of the Philadelphia Flyers.

Chubak was the Atlantic Hockey Player of the Year and was a Top 10 Hobey Baker finalist. He led Niagara to the program's fourth NCAA tournament appearance and first Atlantic Hockey regular season title. This season he went 23-7-5 with a 1.91 goals against average and a .930 save percentage.

"We are happy for Carsen and wish him well with his professional endeavors," Niagara coach Dave Burkholder said in a release from the school. "The Phantoms are getting a very dedicated and focused individual."

The Phantoms went 31-38-7 in their fourth year in the AHL.

photo from www.purpleeagles.com

By BOB DICESARE

Niagara coach Chris Casey has landed his first recruit as he strives to stablize a Niagara basketball program that continues to be hit by defections.

Niagara has signed Karonn Davis,  6-2 combo guard from Friends Central near Philly, but sources say the Purple Eagles are losing senior-to-be Malcolm Lemmons, who has elected to transfer. Lemmons, a reserve guard, joins All-MAAC guard Juan'ya Green and rebounding leader Ameen Tanksley on the transfer wagon that's crowding since coach Joe Mihalich was announced as the new head coach at Hofstra. Sources say Green and Tanksley are preparing to visit Hofstra, which was not forbidden when they were granted their transfers by the Purple Eagles.

Could another defection be forthcoming?

By Bob DiCesare

St. Bonaventure basketball picked up its third recruit in the last 10 days today when 6-4 JUCO guard Andell Cumberbatch signed a national letter of intent. Cumberbatch, a native of East Orange, N.J., averaged 14.2 points and 8.2 rebounds last season.

"We're really impressed with the progression and improvement Andell has made in just one year," Bona coach Bona Mark Schmidt said in a university release. "He's a hard worker and his dedication and commitment has clearly yielded results. He's a great shooter who also crashes the glass hard, which is a rare combination we're looking to take advantage of right away."

The Bonnies also recently landed Xavier Smith, a 6-7 forward from Plano, Texas, and Denzell Gregg, another 6-7 forward, out of Syracuse. Both are high school recruits.

 

By Bob DiCesare

Justin Moss, a 6-foot-7 forward, has signed with UB out of Indian Hills Community College and is expected to step right in and play according to Bulls coach Bobby Hurley.

"Justin is going to be a great addtion to the program," Hurley said in a news release. "I'm confident that he will be an immediate contributor next year."

By Bob DiCesare

When coach Joe Mihalich left Niagara for Hofstra last month Purple Eagle fans could take comfort in the wealth of talent he was leaving behind.

It’s time to get uncomfortable.

All-conference guard Juan’ya Green and rebounding leader Ameen Tanksley have been granted transfer requests and are leaving the university, athletic department spokesman Derick Thornton confirmed today. The two sophomores are Philadelphia natives and lifelong friends.

Steven Means, a former defensive end at the University at Buffalo taken by Tampa Bay in the fifth round of the NFL draft, talks about growing up playing football in Buffalo:

By Rodney McKissic

Rutgers transfer Eli Carter just Tweeted he has narrowed his choices to Maryland and Florida. It was reported earlier this week that UB and new coach Bobby Hurley were among a host of schools in the hunt for the Scarlet Knights' leading scorer from a year ago. The 6-foot-2 guard averaged 14.9 points last season.

Carter played at St. Anthony’s in Jersey City with Hall of Famer Bob Hurley, Sr. which put UB in the mix. Bobby Hurley also hired former St. Anthony’s assistant Eric Harrield at UB.

 

---UB is believed to be in the mix for former Rutgers guard Eli Carter, who is transferring from the school.The 6-foot-2 guard averaged 14.9 points last season and was the Scarlet Knight's leading scorer.

The irony of Carter possibly playing in Western New York won’t be lost on St. Bonaventure coach Mark Schmidt.

Carter committed to the Bonnies in October, 2009 and later signed with the school, only to ask out of his letter of intent in May of the following year. Carter developed into a high-major player during his senior season at St. Anthony’s in Jersey City like his coach, Hall of Famer Bob Hurley, Sr., said he would and decided to attend Brewster Academy (N.H.). Carter signed with Rutgers in April, 2011.

Obviously in the Bulls’ favor is that Hurley’s son, Bobby, is coaching at UB, but he also hired former St. Anthony’s assistant Eric Harrield.

Working against UB is that others are in pursuit of the high-scoring guard including Florida and Duke. Florida assistant Rashon Burno played for Hurley at St. Anthony’s while Carter’s best friend, Cleveland Cavs guard Kyrie Irving, played at Duke.

---Rodney McKissic

Niagara University staged a welcoming event for new basketball coach Chris Casey, who paid tribute to Joe Mihalich and shared his excitement about the university's program.

---St. Bonaventure announced the signing of Denzel Gregg, a 6-foot-7 forward from Syracuse, who played his last two seasons at St. Thomas More Prep School in Connecticut.

Gregg helped St. Thomas to a 24-8 record and a spot in the National Prep School Tournament semifinals this past season. Gregg averaged 12 points and six rebounds a game for a balanced team that featured 10 players who received college scholarships.

“We’re most excited about Denzel's tremendous upside,” Schmidt said in a statement released by the school about the 17-year-old Gregg. “He's a long, athletic forward whose versatility will allow him to guard multiple positions at the defensive end and create mismatches on the offensive side of the ball.”

ESPN College Basketball analysts graded Gregg as one the top-125 class of 2013 forwards in the nation, and the New England Basketball Recruiting Report ranked him as the No. 22 overall prospect in his class.

An ESPN analyst had the following to say about the 195-pound senior:

“Gregg is an explosive athlete with incredible leaping ability. He's as quick off his feet as he is high above the rim, a terrific lob catcher and the type of finisher who can instantly change the momentum of a game.”

Gregg is St. Bonaventure’s first commitment this year.

---Rodney McKissic

by Amy Moritz

The University at Buffalo athletics department is dealing with the death of track and field athlete Brian Archie. The senior was found unresponsive at his apartment late last night. Police do not suspect foul play.

Archie was a standout at Niagara Falls High School. He won the long jump at the indoor state championships becoming the first male state champion in Niagara Falls school history. In 2009, he finished third in the long jump and eighth in the 100 meters at the state outdoor meet while winning Section VI titles in the long and triple jumps.

Last year with the Bulls, he placed sixth in the long jump at the Mid-American Conference Indoor Championships and was ninth in the event at the Outdoor Championships.

 

Niagara named Chris Casey its new men’s basketball coach Monday, ending a 12-day search to replace Joe Mihalich, who departed for Hofstra after 15 seasons.

Casey spent the last three seasons at Long Island University Post, where he took the Pioneers to two Division II NCAA Tournaments in 2012 and 2013, finishing with a 62-25 record.  In 2011-12, Casey was named East Coast Conference coach of the year and the Metropolitan Basketball Writers Association Division II coach of the year.

This season, LIU Post finished with an 18-9 record and finished tied for second in the conference with a 13-5 ECC record, which was a determining factor Niagara, which returns its core group after claiming the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference regular season championship.

All of Niagara’s players attended Monday’s press conference to announce Casey’s hiring and Casey has three scholarships to fill. The Purple Eagles last NCAA appearance was in 2007.

---Rodney McKissic

--UB didn't have any live special teams play during Saturday's annual Blue & White Game but senior Branden Oliver, the Bulls top tailback, fielded punts.

The 5-foot-8, 202-pound Oliver will field punts next season in part to jump start the return game, but also to enhance his pro prospects. No returns took place and all punts were fair-caught as Oliver and Devin Campbell took turns fielding punts for both teams.

A windy, cold afternoon at UB Stadium was a good time to break Oliver in as a returner. In the second quarter Oliver, the Blue team tailback, fumbled a punt as part of the White team, giving the Blue team great field position and eventually led to the first touchdown of the game.

"It wasn't on purpose and I didn't know it was going to happen like that," Oliver said, laughing. "To the tell you the truth, I have to get used to the wind up here, this is my first year doing it so I have to get used to that."

Kicker Patrick Clarke connected on 2 of 3 field goals. After missing a 41-yarder in teh second quarter, he was good from 20 and 28 yards in the fourth. Punter Tyler Grassman, who punted for both teams, averaged 42.6 yards on 14 punts, including a game-long 60-yarder. Brian Orzechowski, a junior from Lockport, punted three times for an average of 39.5 yards.

---The defense showed flashes of what could potentially be one of the best defenses in the Mid-American Conference.

The Blue team, which featured most of the first team starting offense, led 7-0 at the half and to just 320 yards of total offense for the game. For Khalil Mack, one of the leaders on the White team, it wasn't good enough.

"I can't say that I'm happy, you can't be satisfied playing this game and you always want to get better," said Mack, who finished with three tackles, a forced fumble and a hurry. "There are certain things that we can improve on but we did a solid job as a group."

White safety Adam Redden (St. Francis) led both teams in tackles with 6.5 and a tackle for a loss, while linemen Dalton Barksdale and Max Perisse paced the Blue team with four tackles. Linebacker John Aubel finished with two sacks and Beau Bachtelle one. Aubel, Bachtelle, Redden, Khalil Mack, Jake Stockman and Kendal Patterson each had tackles for losses. White team was credited with four breakups while Blue recorded three.
"They really came out with something to prove and I really enjoyed watching the way they handled themselves on the field," Quinn said. "They pursued to the ball very well and wrapped up well. I was really pleased with that side of the football in the first half.

---Sophomore Tony Daniel and redshirt freshman Collin Michael will battled it out for the third spot at quarterback behind Joe Licata and Alex Zordich and both struggled on Saturday.

Daniel was 3 of 12 for 22 yards while Michael was 2 of 6 for 17 yards. Both were sacked twice.

---Quinn said the team will forgo the rotating captain system in favor of returning to four captains for the 2013 season. The players will determined before the start of the season. The captains on Saturday for the Blue team were Oliver, Fred Lee, Jasen Carlsen and Alex Neutz and for the White were Mack, Colby Wa, Beau Bachtelle and Najja Johnson.

---Way, a senior defensive end, was named the 1958 Lambert Cup Team Scholarship Award winner at Saturday morning's Champions Breakfast. ... Alex Dennison, Andre Davis, Jake Pickett, John Kling, Ron Willoughby, Albert McCoy and James Potts all sat out the spring game because of injuries. ... Players report for training camp Aug. 4 and open the season at Ohio State Aug. 31.

---Rodney McKissic

---Spring practice comes to close Saturday at UB with the annual Blue and White game and for the first time in recent memory, the team will be divided for a full scrimmage.

In the past, largely because of a lack of depth, the format was offense vs. defense with a complex scoring system. But the balance in the recruiting classes under fourth-year coach Jeff Quinn have afforded the Bulls an opportunity to split the team evenly.

"I know the kids are really excited about it because it's more realistic in terms of game-like situations," Quinn said Friday. "This is the right way to do it. If I could have done in the previous years I would have, but our recruited hadn't caught up with the balance over the last couple of years."

There won't be live special teams play when the game begins at 2 p.m. at UB Stadium. The Bulls are a bit thin at the line on both sides of the ball, but that will allow some underclassmen to play more snaps.

"We have to play smart, we're a football team that's competed in 14 practices and done an outstanding job understanding the tempo and understand how to protect one another but still play full speed," Quinn said.

---Rodney McKissic

by Amy Moritz

Canisius College Hall of Famer Gina Castelli is back in the head coaching game.

Le Moyne College named Castelli their women's basketball coach today. She spent this past season as the Director of Player Development at Rhode Island after she spent 22 seasons as the head coach for Siena. After the 2011-12 season, Siena and Castelli had reached a "mutual decision" to part ways.

Castelli is the winningest coach in Siena basketball history with a 336-296 record (.532). She went 225-146 in the MAAC for the third-most wins in conference history. She was the MAAC Coach of the Year five times (1991, 1994, 1998, 2001, 2002) and led the Saints to seven regular season conference titles and one MAAC tournament championship in 2001.

A 1986 graduated of Canisius, her 1,524 career points ranks fifth in program history while her 578 assists and 273 steals rank third. She was induced into the Golden Griffins' Hall of Fame in 1997.

She takes over a Le Moyne program which finished this past season at 6-20 overall and 4-18 in the Northeast-10 Conference.

by Amy Moritz

USA Synchro, the organization that serves as the national governing body for synchronized swimming in the United States, released a statement about the recent decision of Canisius College to move the sport from varsity to club status for next season:

"We at USA Synchro are heartbroken to learn that Canisius College will be demoting one of the most successful sports in its collegiate history from varsity to club status. We believe that athletics is about achieving excellence, and the synchronized swimming team has done just that. No sport in the college's history has achieved the number of all-Americans and national medal winners as has Canisius College synchronized swimming, which recently finished fourth at an NCAA national competition."

Executive director Julie Swarts urged athletes, coaches and fans of the sport to contact Canisius athletics director Bill Maher.

In her statement Swarts also wrote:

"Synchronized swimming is a sport on the rise. Over the past five years, the number of members has steadily continued to rise in the U.S. We believe collegiate synchronized swimming is just coming into its own promoting excellent athletes and outstanding students. We hope Mr. Maher will hear the synchro community, the potential loss for his institution, and reconsider the status of this wonderful program."

For the record, the NCAA dropped the sport of synchronized swimming from its emerging sport list in 2010. The NCAA does not sponsor a championship for the sport at any level. Since losing emerging sport status in 2010 other schools which have removed synchronized swimming from its varsity program include the University of Alabama, Birmingham and Keuka. 

Canisius College can still participate in the U.S. Collegiate Nationals, sponsored by USA Synchro, and other meets across the country. The program, however, will not receive financial assistance from the Canisius athletic department including student-athlete scholarships.

by Amy Moritz
@amymoritz 

Former St. Bonaventure guard Jessica Jenkins is having a solid first season in professional women's basketball.

Playing for Keflavik of the Iceland-Dominos League, she has helped to guide her team to the championship series scheduled to begin on Saturday.

She had 16 points with seven rebounds and eight assists in the decisive contest of a five-game series to send her her club to the championship round.

In 31 regular season games, Jenkins averaged 17.5 points, 4.8 rebounds and 3.0 assists. She has 10 20-plus point performances this season and three 30-plus games.

You can follow Jenkins on Twitter at @jessjenks14

Photo courtesy www.gobonies.com

by Amy Moritz

Calling all would-be softball sluggers.

In between today's softball doubleheader between Canisius and Niagara at the Demske Sports Complex, the Griffs will host a Home Run Derby open to the public to raise money for the Susan G. Komen Foundation. For $5 you get three swings, whether you can crank the home runs or squib out a single.

The competition is expected to begin around 4:30 p.m. and finish around 5 p.m.

The first game of the MAAC doubleheader starts at 3 p.m. Canisius is 17-14 overall and 2-2 in conference play while Niagara is 4-24 overall and 1-5 in the MAAC.

by Amy Moritz

Erie Community College travels to Jamestown today for a twinbill in Region III baseball action. But the best story of the day is in the dugout.

Head coach Joe Bauth is two wins away from 800 career victories with the Kats' program.

ECC is 17-11 overall and 5-0 in Region III.

Bauth is in his 22nd season with the Kats baseball program, the longest tenured coach at ECC. He has led the Kats to six Region III titles and five NJCAA World Series appearances. The last two years, the Kats have compiled 30-win seasons.

In 2011, the team went 30-18 and finished fourth at the NJCAA World Series. Last season, the Kats went 32-17 and were the Region III Tournament runner-up.

ECC plays at Finger Lakes Community College on Tuesday.

Bobby Hurley has his first recruit at UB after receiving a verbal commitment from Deyshonee Much from Redemption Christian Academy in Troy.

The 6-foot-4 Much previously played at Gates-Chili in suburban Rochester before attending prep school at Redemption. He also drew interest from Canisius, Rhode Island, Texas State, Northern Kentucky, Northeastern, Canisius, Fairleigh Dickinson and Monmouth.

Much committed to Hurley last weekend.

---Rodney McKissic

Niagara's Joe Mihalich has been named the coach at Hofstra University according to a source. The school has scheduled a press conferenced for noon Wednesday to officially announce the hiring.

Mihalich, the winningest coach in MAAC history, led a young Purple Eagles squad to the league's regular season crown and a berth in the NIT last season.

---Rodney McKissic

Niagara senior defenseman and co-captain Jason Beattie has signed an amateur tryout contract with the Rochester Americans.

Beattie, who scored the lone goal in the Purple Eagles' season-ending 2-1 loss to North Dakota in the NCAA Tournament last week, becomes the 19th Niagara product to join the active pro hockey ranks. Beattie, a stay-at-home type of defenseman, will play for the Amerks, the Buffalo Sabres' minor-league affiliate, for the remainder of the regular season and post season. The 6-foot-3, 220-pound Beattie finished with seven goals and 25 points during his 106-game career at Niagara.

"This is a great opportunity for Jason," Purple Eagles coach Dave Burkholder said.  "He has prepared himself for this, and we know he will do well.  Everyone with Niagara hockey are very proud of his accomplishment."

By Bob DiCesare

Some 10 years ago Rochester businessman Tom Golisano offered the University at Buffalo football program unspecified millions if the school agreed to changed its name to New York State University. The offer, quite obviously, wasn't accepted. But a similar rebranding has momentum within the UB athletic department and could come to the fore during the upcoming football season.

Sources say that athletic director Danny White is agressively pursuing a rebranding of the department with the emphasis changing from Buffalo to New York. I'm told the iniative, as least as of now, stops short of a full-fledged name change but will accentuate the New York ties to leverage UB's status as the state system's flagship university. The project has been referred to from within the department as the "New York Bulls" initiative.

The final product, if implemented, could make waves within the region. It's difficult to emphasize "New York" without de-emphasizing "Buffalo." At the same time, if such a shift were to take hold it could broaden awareness of the institution. One coach told me of using a recruiting pitch that goes: UB is to New York as, say, Ohio State is to Ohio. Over the long haul, a rebranding could potentially provide UB (or whatever it's called) a broadened yet clarified identity.

Does Golisano have anything to do with this initiative? I'm not certain. But I do know that White, since his arrival, has met with Larry Quinn, Golisano's right-hand man during his Buffalo Sabres ownership years. And suddenly it seems there's more money floating around the athletic department given the buyout owed departed basketball coach Reggie Witherspoon and the creation of a new position in athletic administration.

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The announcement that UB will play its Nov. 29 "Black Friday" football game against Bowling Green at Ralph Wilson Stadium raised some eyebrows. The season finale always has been a tough sell -- even during the championship season -- with the crowd typically 5,000 or so.  So why is UB moving the game to a venue more than double the size of UB Stadium? Because the opportunity was there and it's a perk for the players to play in an NFL Stadium.

If UB wins the MAC East it's conceiveable NFL prospects such as Khalil Mack, Bo Oliver and Alex Neutz will play their final three games in NFL stadiums. The MAC title game is played at Ford Field in Detroit, as is the Little Ceasar's Bowl to which the MAC has a tie-in.

by Amy Moritz

The college hockey season came to an end for Canisius, Niagara and Atlantic Hockey this weekend. But there were three more weekly conference awards to hand out.

Canisius forwards Patrick Sullivan and Ralphy Cuddemi earned honors along with Niagara's Carsen Chubak.

Sullivan (Derby) was the Player of the Week after scoring a goal with an assist in the Golden Griffins 4-3 loss to No. 1 Quinnipiac in the East Regional in Providence on Saturday.

Cuddemi was the Rookie of the Week after picking up an assist on Stephen Farrell's goal.

Chubak was the Goaltender of the Week after making 41 saves in Niagara's 2-1 loss to North Dakota in the West Regionals in Grand Rapids on Friday. Chubak is a Top 10 Finalist for the Hobey Baker Award.