2004 SUNYAC CHAMPIONS !!!

Men Earn 2004 SUNYAC Tournament Title

The SUNY Potsdam Bears downed the top seeded Brockport Eagles in the 2004 Championship Match to win the SUNYAC Men’s Basketball Championship Crown. After leading 41-37 at half-time, the Bears finished the game with an 84-76 victory.

The 2004 conference tournament win, the first for Potsdam since 1987, guarantees the Bears a bid to the upcoming NCAA Division III Playoffs. Three Potsdam players were chosen for the SUNYAC All-Tournament Team including Edane Barton who was named the Tournament MVP. Barton a junior guard was joined by junior guard Evril “Jr.” Clayton and junior forward Christian Turner. Clayton was previously named to the 2003-04 All-Conference Team while Barton and Turner each received Honorable Mention.

“I’m really proud of the way we played today. The guys competed hard for 40 minutes. We moved the ball around well and made several big plays,” noted Coach Sherry Dobbs. Dobbs, now in his first year as head coach, took Potsdam to its first appearance in a SUNYAC basketball title game since 1990.

Potsdam grabbed the lead early in the game and never surrendered it in the first half thanks, in part, to Barton’s 13 points. The Bears built their lead to 8 points with 5:49 left in the half, which turned out to be their biggest lead of the day.

Early in the second period, Brockport kept pace with the Bears and finally took a brief lead at the 12:45 mark with a score of 60-58. Clayton buried a three on the next possession and Barton connected from downtown to put the Bears back up 64-60. The Golden Eagles did manage a tie, 71-71, with six minutes left before the Bears took the lead for keeps. Potsdam outscored Brockport 13-5 in the final six minutes of play.

Barton finished the day with 22 points to lead all scorers followed by Clayton with 21 and Turner with 19. Barton also topped the Potsdam boards with 8 rebounds.

The 2004 NCAA Division III men’s Basketball Championship selection process begins at approximately 10:30 p.m. Sunday (3/1) evening. The Bears will learn at that time who they play and where their first NCAA playoff contest will be.