The Medgar Evers College Cougars look to improve upon last years campaign with veteran leadership, Head Coach Merrill Davis Jr. is confident that his returning cast has the ability and skills to make a strong run at the CUNYAC title and an NCAA berth.
The Cougars have seven returning players from the 2005-2006 squad. However, they will need to gel from the start of the season because of a very tough 2006-2007 schedule. Along with games in the ever competitive CUNYAC, Medgar Evers College plays home games against tough non-conference opponents such as, Rowan (November 21), Hamilton (November 25) and Rutgers-Newark (December 12). The Cougars also travel to NYU (December 2), Yeshiva (December 17) and Ramapo (January 22) this season.
Medgar Evers College will begin its 2006-2007 campaign on the road at the New England College Tournament in Hennicker, New Hampshire on Friday November 17 against the host school. This will give Coach Davis’ cougars an early quality test.
“Our non-conference schedule is very difficult,” says Coach Davis, “but it will prepare us for our conference games.”
Coach Davis, who is in his third year, has improved the team each year. Since becoming the Head Coach in 2004-2005 he has recruited the 2004-05 CUNYAC Rookie of the Year Kenneth Griffin (Brooklyn, NY/Transit Tech) and last season’s CUNYAC Rookie of the Year Thomas Armstrong (Brooklyn, NY/Transit Tech) in which he will be looking on to lead his team early in the season. With sophomores Clovis Esis (Brooklyn, NY/Boys & Girls) and Julius Johnson (Brooklyn, NY/Abraham Lincoln) spearheading a young but talented team, the Cougars are looking forward to achieving all of their preseason goals.
| CONFERENCE HEADLINES |
The College of Staten Island Men's Basketball team (8-12 Overall, 5-4 CUNYAC) put together their best effort of the season, defeating the Medgar Evers Cougars (8-14 Overall, 4-6 CUNYAC) by a score of 76-70 Saturday afternoon at the Sports and Recreation Center in Willowbrook, NY.Both squads made the most of their attempts from the floor in the opening frame, as CSI shot a blistering 60.7 percent from the floor in the game's first twenty minutes, while the Cougars connected on 46.9% of their attempts. The Dolphins also did a fine job on the boards, out-rebounding the Cougars 18-13. As the teams headed into the locker room at halftime, CSI held a 12 point advantage, 47-35. Sophomore center Sean Weismuller put together a strong first half for his squad, netting 15 points to go along with seven rebounds and three assists. Senior guard Mike Jones played one of his better halves of the 2006-2007 campaign, netting 11 points. For the Cougars, it was senior guard Travis Kennedy leading the way for his squad in the first half with nine points to go along with three rebounds.
CSI would continue their crisp play as the second half began, eventually ballooning their lead up to 15, 52-37, thanks to a Robert Mesjasz jumper with 16:45 remaining on the contest. From there, however, the Cougars would put together a 15-4 run to get themselves back into the game, cutting their deficit to four, 56-52, with 10:20 remaining in the game. The game stayed tight throughout the ensuing six minutes, as the Dolphins held a 66-61 lead with 4:03 remaining in the game.
From that point, the Dolphins began to pull away. building their lead back up to 11, 74-63, with just 1:36 to play, thanks to back-to-back layups from Jones and Mesjasz, a jumper by Weismuller, and another layup by Jones. The Dolphins would not relinquish the lead, holding on for a crucial conference victory.
The Dolphins connected on a remarkable 70.0% of their attempts in the second half, and converted on 64.6% of their attempts from the floor for the game. Weismuller led the charge for CSI, posting a double-double, scoring 22 points to go along with 11 caroms and six assists. Mesjasz and Jones were also key contributors in the victory, each scoring 19 points. For the Cougars, it was sophomore forward Clovis Essis putting together a solid performance in a losing effort, posting a double-double with 12 points to go along with 11 rebounds, two assists, and two steals. Junior guard Perry Wilkes scored a team-high 16 points.
Brooklyn, NY Junior guard Ahmad Mosby (Jersey City, NJ) netted 18 points in Ramapo’s 95-62 victory over Medgar Evers to improve to 14-3 on the year. Medgar Evers falls to 7-12 with the non-conference loss at the Bradley Center in Mahwah.The Roadrunners opened to a 46-31 halftime lead hitting 19-39 (49%) from the field forcing 15 Medgar Evers turnovers. Ramapo fell behind by seven points just under three minutes into the game until Omar Alston (Carteret, NJ) sparked a 14-2 run at 15:38. Mosby tied the game 13-13 hitting a lay up at 14:27 and Kevin Findlay (Roselle, NJ) gave the Roadrunners the edge, 15-13 at 13:16 with two good free throws. Ramapo kept the lead and jumped ahead by as many as 15 in the final minutes to control the game, 46-31 heading into the intermission.
Senior Antoine Pryor (Elizabeth, NJ) and junior Mosby led the team with nine points each in the half while Tim Wesley (Jersey City, NJ) netted six of his own. Sophomore Jason Marshall (Hackensack, NJ) grabbed a team high four steals in the first 20 minutes of play. The Roadrunners out-rebounded the Cougars, 23-16 and sunk 20 points off turnovers to grab the 15 point edge. The Cougars were led by Ronald Holloway (Brooklyn, NY) with eight points in the half while Perry Wilkes (Brooklyn, NY) netted seven of his own. Medgar Evers hit 12-28 (43%) in the half.
The second half was much the same as the first with the Roadrunners pacing the entire way. Ramapo grabbed their biggest lead with 8:56 to go in the game when Wesley hit a three-pointer to go ahead by 34, 82-48. The Roadrunners forced ten more Cougar turnovers in the final minutes for a game total 25.
Mosby finished with 18 points while Pryor and Wesley wrapped up the night hitting a combined 12-23 recording 16 points each. Mosby dished out a team high ten assists for the double-double and Pryor dished out five of his own while grabbing three steals. Ramapo finished the night hitting 38-76 (50%) while Medgar Evers hit 22-67 (33%). Medgar’s Wilkes walked away with a team high 16 points in the loss and Jamaal Jesseimy (Brooklyn, NY) followed wit a close 15.
| 2006-07 SCHEDULE |
Date Opponent Location Time/Result Fri.Nov. 17 New England College Tourney Away 5:30 pm/7:30 pm Sat.Nov. 18 (U-Maine Presque Isle, Framingham State, NEC) 12:00 Noon/2:00 pm Tue.Nov. 21 Rowan Home 7:00 pm Sat.Nov. 25 Hamilton Home 3:00 pm Wed.Nov. 29 St. Joseph’s (Suffolk) Away 7:00 pm Fri.Dec. 1 Pratt Home 7:00 pm Sat.Dec. 2 NYU Away 1:00 pm Tue.Dec. 5 Lehman Home 8:15 pm Thu.Dec. 7 York Away 8:00 pm Tue.Dec. 12 Rutgers-Newark Home 7:45 pm Sun.Dec. 17 Yeshiva Away 2:00 pm Fri.Dec. 29 Lehman Tournament Away 5:00 pm/7:00 pm Sat.Dec. 30 (Briarcliffe, St. Joseph’s (Vt.) Lehman)Away 1:00 pm/3:00 pm Wed.Jan. 3 Staten Island Home 7:15 pm Fri.Jan. 5 NYCCT Away 7:00 pm Wed.Jan. 10 CCNY Away 5:00 pm Fri.Jan. 12 John Jay Home 7:30 pm Wed.Jan. 17 Hunter Home 7:30 pm Fri.Jan. 19 Baruch Home 7:30 pm Mon.Jan. 22 Ramapo Away 7:00 pm Wed.Jan. 24 Brooklyn Home 7:30 pm Sat.Jan. 27 Staten Island Away 3:00 pm Fri.Feb. 2 York Home 7:30 pm Wed.Feb. 7 NYCCT Home 7:00 pm Sat.Feb. 10 Brooklyn Away 3:00 pm Sun.Feb. 18 CUNYAC First Round @ CCNY TBA Wed.Feb. 21 CUNYAC Semi Finals @ CCNY TBA Fri.Feb. 23 CUNYAC Final @ CCNY TBA
| 2006 - 07 ROSTER |
# Name Ht Yr Pos. High School Hometown
1 Clovis Essis 6-5 So. F/C Boys & Girls Brooklyn, NY
2 Haydeen Lambert 6-0 So. G Harry S. Truman Bronx, NY
3 Kelvin Fraser 6-9 Fr. C Foreign Brooklyn, NY
5 Kallai Sharpe 5-7 Fr. G Morrow Atlanta, GA
10 Julius Johnson 6-5 So F/C Abraham Lincoln Brooklyn, NY
11 Thomas Armstrong 6-0 So. G Transit Tech Brooklyn, NY
14 Samuel Deadwyler III 6-2 Jr. G Brooklyn, NY
15 Kenneth Griffin 6-4 Jr. F Transit Tech Brooklyn, NY
21 Jamaal Jessimy 6-0 Sr. G Erasmus Hall Brooklyn, NY
22 Ronald Holloway 6-3 Fr. G/F Boys & Girls Brooklyn, NY
23 Perry Wilkes 5-10 Jr. G Van Arsdale Brooklyn, NY
25 Travis Kennedy 6-5 Sr. G/F Westinghouse Brooklyn, NY
33 Keegan Garcia 6-4 Jr. F Arima Senior Brooklyn, NY
35 Cordell Alleyne 5-9 Fr. F Bryant Brooklyn, NY
44 Jonn-Lloyd Gill 6-2 Jr. G/F Signal Hill Brooklyn, NY
Head Coach: Merrill Davis Jr.
Asst. Coach: Steven Chase
Asst. Coach: Sean Syles
Asst. Coach: Shaun Jerome