Men's basketball: SUNY Orange begins pursuit of national championship
MIDDLETOWN – Tom Rickard is not bashful about stating this may be the most incredible SUNY Orange men’s basketball team he has ever coached.
It would be hard to argue otherwise.
The Colts are 29-1, owning the second-best mark in the nation, and are ranked No. 5 in the NJCAA Division II poll. The only blemish was a narrow loss to SUNY Sullivan – a team Orange had already beaten twice – in the Region XV championship, spoiling what had been a 28-game winning streak (the loss may have proved beneficial because Orange drew Raritan Valley in the district final while Sullivan matched with and lost to 29-1 No. 2 Niagara County).
The Colts have spent two days busing to Danville, Ill., to compete in the national tournament. As one of 16 teams in the finals, Orange is seeded No. 6 and begins play noon Wednesday against No. 11 Scottsdale (the first six games are scheduled for Tuesday). Win or lose, every team will play four games at nationals.
“We did not shy away from having this as one of our goals,’’ Rickard said of making nationals and competing for the crown. “We talked weekly about the national tournament and winning some games had we actually qualified.’’
Rickard had a strong hunch about this year’s team – many had played supporting roles from a season earlier and returned with an understanding of how challenging it is to win in Region XV. These athletes had played with one another in club and high school ball, as well, so there was already a chemistry established.
We are at Parkland College for our last practice before we tip it off tomorrow in the big dance. Orange President, Dr Young, spent 17 years here before going to Orange. Big thanks to @parklandcollege for allowing us a couple hours on your awesome campus! pic.twitter.com/7q4w5jIYAV
— SUNY Orange Colts (@OCCCAthletics) March 21, 2023
“We have a bunch of new players, new pieces,’’ said Chester’s Kevin Stein, “but the four of us who played last year were obviously more mature, so this year we’re coming in with a little more experience, more knowledge … we know how to lead better.’’
Most importantly, these talented players didn’t care who got the credit.
“We’re not selfish,’’ Stein said. “It’s not about who scores, as long as Orange scores – as long as two points go up on the scoreboard I think everybody’s happy. It doesn’t matter if someone scores zero if you get 10 rebounds and 20 assists. None of the stats matter as long as it’s a (win).’’
Orange sports a starting lineup that have five players averaging double-digit scoring: Washingtonville’s Romeo Aquino leads at 23.8 points per game, followed by O’Neill’s Darius Boben (17.0), Stein (16.6), Middletown’s Keon Gill (13.4) and Pine Bush’s Tim Linton (11.1). The Colts will play 10 deep, with additional valuable contributions from Newburgh’s George Patsalos (9.2) and Middletown’s Jared Smalls.
“I'm excited,’’ said Aquino, voted the top player in Region XV. “I'm so glad I'm experiencing it with these group of guys and this coaching staff and our athletic department.’’
Orange is a high-energy team, challenging all over the floor on defense and pushing the ball on offense, equally adept at going inside and the Colts are shooting from the outside. Orange averages an incredible 99.7 points and 49.6 rebounds per game – the team topped 100 points on 14 occasions, including highs of 133, 123, 122 and 121 points. The Colts shoot 53 percent, including 34 percent from 3-point range, and show their unselfishness with 22.7 assists per contest.
“I've never had a team that stayed focused on a daily basis more than this team,’’ Rickard said. “They never had highs; they never had lows. They always gave a good effort in practice, they never had this wavering in focus – that was very important, that they stayed on task.’’
The players have confidence headed into nationals.
“I feel like we could take it all,’’ Aquino said. “I’ve got complete trust in my guys.’’
Twitter: @KenMcMillanTHR
@SUNYOrangeMBB clinch the #6 seed in the NJCAA National Tournament and will face off against Scottsdale on March 22nd at 11am pic.twitter.com/iTMLye1jbs
— Jon Back (@CoachJonBack) March 14, 2023
NJCAA Division 2 tournament
FIRST ROUND
Tuesday, March 21
Game 1 - No. 9 Chesapeake vs. No. 8 Macomb, 10 a.m.
Game 2 - No. 14 Arkansas State Mid-South vs. No. 3 Henry Ford, noon
Game 3 - No. 16 Florida Gateway vs. No. 1 Davidson-Davie, 2 p.m.
Game 4 - No. 15 Central vs. No. 2 Niagara County, 4 p.m.
Game 5 - No. 13 Johnson County vs. No. 4 Danville, 7:30 p.m.
Game 6 - No. 10 Mott vs. No. 7 Milwaukee Area Tech, 9:30 p.m.
Wednesday, March 22
Game 7 - No. 11 Scottdale vs. No. 6 SUNY Orange, noon
Game 8 - No. 12 Waubonsee vs. No. 5 Iowa Lakes, 2 p.m.
QUARTERFINALS
Wednesday, March 22
Game 10 – Winners of games 3 and 1, 7 p.m.
Game 11 – Winners of games 4 and 6, 9 p.m.
Thursday, March 23
Game 15 – Winners of games 2 and 7, 7 p.m.
Game 16 – Winners of games 5 and 8, 9 p.m.
SEMIFINALS
Friday, March 24
Game 21 – Winners of games 10 and 16, 7:30 p.m.
Game 22 – Winners of games 11 and 15, 9:30 p.m.
FINALS
Saturday, March 25
Semifinal winners, 8:30 p.m.
Consolation bracket
Wednesday, March 22
Game 9 – Losers of games 3 and 1, 4 p.m.
Thursday, March 23
Game 12 – Losers of games 4 and 6, noon
Game 13 – Losers of games 5 and 8, 2 p.m.
Game 14 – Losers of games 2 and 7, 4 p.m.
Friday, March 24
Game 17 – Winners of games 13 and 9, 10 a.m.
Game 18 – Winners of games 12 and 14, noon
Game 19 – Losers of games 11 and 15, 2 p.m.
Game 20 – Losers of games 10 and 16, 4 p.m.
Placement games
Saturday, March 25
Seventh – Winners of games 17 and 18, 1 p.m.
Fifth – Winners of games 19 and 20, 3 p.m.
Third - Losers of games 21 and 22, 6:30 p.m.
Live stats and video available at NJCAA.org
This article originally appeared on Times Herald-Record: SUNY Orange men's basketball confident into junior college nationals
