Farmingdale Games to air

Sports Radio Network's (WSRN) coverage of New York Collegiate Athletic Conference basketball continues Tuesday afternoon as the 2003 NYCAC postseason commences with quarterfinal action live from Charger Gym on the University of New Haven campus in West Haven, Conn.

Doubleheader action will pit four of the conference’s elite programs with the victors able to punch their own ticket to the NYCAC semifinals, set for Friday, March 7 in Brookville, N.Y.

In the opener, Dani Thomas and the sixth-seeded Southampton Lady Colonials (15-12, 14-10 in NYCAC) face off against Jill Angotta and the third-seeded New Haven Lady Chargers (19-8, 18-6 in NYCAC), while in the nightcap, Ismael Caro and the fourth-seeded New Haven Chargers (19-8, 17-7 in NYCAC) play host to Brent Welton and the fifth-seeded Philadelphia Rams (16-11, 15-9 in NYCAC).

WSRN's webcast, which can be accessed from Sports Radio Network's official website http://www.sportsradionet.com, will get underway at 5:15 with a 15-minute pre-game show, preceding the women’s match-up.

The Lady Chargers, led by first-year head coach Mimi Walters, put the defensive clamps on the Lady Colonials’ offense in their two regular season meetings, limiting them to a paltry 29% field goal efficiency in two hard-fought victories – 63-53 on Jan. 8 at Charger Gym and 55-49 on Feb. 12 in Southampton.

Thomas, the conference’s leading scorer at 23.3 points per game, was held to 38 total points on 10-of-47 shooting, including a 5-of-26 performance in the six-point home defeat. But Thomas and her Lady Colonial teammates ended the 2002-03 regular season on a high note by defeating Philadelphia University 76-68, knocking the Lady Rams out of a first round home game.

Thomas had a game-high 26 points, while teammates Kerri Rueb and Nyree Frazier chipped in with 13 and 12 points, respectively.
For New Haven, Angotta led her team in scoring with a 14.4 points per game average, which included a 21-point, 11-rebound effort at Southampton. Freshman forward Amanda Freeman had 16 points in the home victory.

The Lady Chargers, who finished their regular season falling at Adelphi 68-56, had already clinched a quarterfinal home game by virtue of a 69-47 victory at Bridgeport. Angotta led the charge with 20 points, while Freeman and fellow freshman Jessica Chambers added 12 and 10 points each.

The Lady Chargers finished the NYCAC season winning 10-of-12 home games, including six consecutive, while the visiting Lady Colonials finished 5-7 on the road.

In the nightcap, New Haven, in its first season in the conference, look to knock off NYCAC veteran Philadelphia.

The teams split its two meetings during the regular season. Back on Dec. 7, the Rams, behind a 25-point performance by Welton, defeated the Chargers 80-71, but the Chargers rebounded with a 62-61 home victory on Jan. 19, with Caro leading all scorers with 19 points and a game-high eight assists.

Welton, who led the Rams in scoring with a 16.5 points per game average, is joined by teammates Brian Tomko (14.1), Graham Edwards (12.0) and Tayron Thomas (11.9) as the other double figure scorers during the regular season, but it was junior point guard Brett Storm who lit up the Chargers in the two regular season match-ups, averaging 19.5 points while converting on 11-of-23 three-pointers.

For New Haven, Caro, a transfer from Division I Creighton University, led the team with a 14.4 points per game average and dished out 141 assists (5.3 per game) to lead the conference.

He keyed an 11-game conference winning streak, but it was junior forward Keith Wright who led the Chargers in scoring against the Rams, averaging 16.5 points and 10 rebounds per contest. Senior Alberto Alberdi’s three-pointer with 1:22 remaining broke a 59-59 tie as the Chargers earned the split with the one-point win.

Despite dropping a 78-74 decision to Bridgeport to close out its home schedule, New Haven finished 10-2 at Charger Gym. Conversely, Philadelphia evened its road record at 6-6 with an impressive 71-49 victory at Southampton to close out the regular season.

Rob Goldenberg will handle the play-by-play duties while Alon Avital will provide color commentary.

Sports Radio Network's live and exclusive coverage of NYCAC basketball will conclude on Friday, March 7 with a quadrupleheader, featuring semifinal action in both the women’s and men’s brackets and on Saturday, March 8, as the NYCAC will crown its 2003 women’s and men’s tournament champions. Action on both days will emanate from the brand new Pratt Recreation Center on the C.W. Post campus of Long Island University in Brookville, N.Y.

Robert Goldenberg
917-747-0617
Sports Radio Network
sportsradionet@aol.com
www.sportsradionet.com

Date of Press Release - 03/01/03