Dominican Basketball Does 180

The 'College Sports Notebook' is published each Friday. Please send items of interest—including local athletes competing at out-of-town colleges—to marcmaturo@aol.com.

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What a difference a year makes.

Last season, the men’s basketball team at Dominican College opened with seven straight losses before turning things around under veteran coach Joe Clinton of Pearl River.

This year, the Chargers opened with four straight victories.

But the string was snapped as Caldwell College rallied from an eight-point deficit at the half to earn a 76-69 victory in a Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) game at the Hennessy Center in Orangeburg.

The Chargers look to start a new streak on Saturday when they welcome Concordia College (4-2) in a CACC contest scheduled for 3 p.m. on Coach Baxter Court at the Hennessy Center in Orangeburg.

The Chargers jumped out to an early 15-4 lead against Caldwell, and extended their lead to 30-14 with 6:22 remaining in the first period.  Caldwell closed out the first half with six consecutive points to cut the lead to 33-25 at the break.

Dominican led 47-36 with 14:40 left in regulation when the Cougars came back with a 12-1 run to tie the contest at 48-all. 

Later, a three-point bucket by Leon Porter of Laurel, MD, regained a 59-58 advantage for the Chargers with 6:07 to play, but a 9-3 run by Caldwell opened a 68-62 lead with 3:32 to play. 

DaVonne Dunlap of Kingston trimmed the deficit to three points (72-69) with 44 second left, but the Cougars scored the final four points of the contest for the margin of victory.

Dunlap led four Chargers in double figures with 32 points.  Porter finished with 14 points, five assists and three steals, while Cory Quimby of Otisville had the game’s only double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds. 

Sophomore Khaleev Ginyard of Brentwood added 11 points in the loss.

Dominican women break through

Led by Bianca Harris of Teaneck, NJ, with 11 points and 12 rebounds, the Lady Chargers of Dominican College posted its first win of the season in exciting 53-48 fashion over the visiting Cougars of Caldwell College in its CACC opener.

Dominican, 1-4 overall, used an 11-2 tear to lead 34-24 at intermission.

Caldwell cut the deficit to five points (50-45) with 35 seconds left in regulation and made it a three point game (50-47) with 11 seconds left, but the Lady Chargers closed out the game going 3 of 4 from the free-throw line.

Guard Shannon Lavelle of Floral Park had 10 points, while Lindsey Lopez of Elmwood Park, NJ, had seven points and three steals. KC Jentzen of Pearl River, a sophomore forward who is averaging better than 10 points a game, had an off-night, shooting 3 of 9 from the floor for six points.

Dominican is back in action tomorrow against visiting Concordia at 1 p.m., in a CACC contest that precedes the men’s game.

Army tames Valiants

Jen McSharar of Garnerville used to watch women’s basketball at West Point as a youngster, and her first experience actually playing Army, although resulting in defeat, was something she would not want to miss.

“It was a great experience, and was a tough game just as I expected,” said the junior forward out of North Rockland HS.

McSharar, consistently a top rebounder for the Valiants at 5-foot-10, had just four rebounds in a 70-41 loss to Division I Army, a game in which Taylor Wilson of Pearl River was held to nine points and one assist.

The Cadets held a huge size advantage throughout the roster, but McSharar did not see that as the decisive factor.

“We were off our game, we didn’t play our game,” said McSharar. “They’re a tough team, but overall we learned a lot from them. We didn’t shoot well (11 of 54 as a team); it was a huge arena, just a different setting, but kind of cool.”

Manhattanville showed its resiliency with a bounce-back 71-67 win over Eastern Connecticut State, as Wilson scored a team-high 21 points, and McSharar pulled down a team-high eight rebounds.

“Eastern Connecticut is another tough school, and in previous years we didn’t play well against them,” recalled McSharar. “In fact, last year we lost by a lot, so it was a huge win, a huge game for us.”

The Valiants, who fell to 3-3 following a 75-52 loss to Eastern in their Freedom Conference opener, visit once-beaten NYU (4-1) on Saturday at 7 p.m.                       

Huskies take on the Irish

Junior Justin Daniels of Suffern hopes to add to his scoring total when the Northeastern University hockey team continues its Midwest swing against ranked opponents in the Central Collegiate Hockey Association (CCHA) with a pair of tilts in South Bend, Ind.

Daniels, a forward, is tied for third on the team in scoring with nine points.

The Huskies meet the No. 2/3-rankedIrish today and tomorrow (Dec. 3), marking the first time in more than 10 years that Northeastern and Notre Dame have met on the ice.

The Huskies will open December at Notre Dame’s brand-new facility, the Compton Family Ice Arena. The last meeting between ND and NU occurred on Oct. 27, 2001 at Matthews Arena and was settled as a tie, 3-3.

Since joining Hockey East in 1984-85, the Huskies have never skated in three consecutive games against an opponent from the CCHA. This weekend will be the first time that has happened since joining the league.

Lady Spartans sparkle

Briana Sloper of Williston Park scored a game high 23 points to pace the St. Thomas Aquinas College women’s basketball team past Wilmington University, 56-50, in New Castle, DE.

There were four deadlocks and three lead changes following the break before STAC took charge with a late 7-0 run. A basket by Sloper capped the run, giving the visitors an insurmountable 53-46 advantage with 41 seconds remaining in the contest.

Riley Harrington of Irvington chipped in with eight points and four boards while Bianca Kowgios of Yonkers handed out eight assists to help STAC improve to 3-3 on the season.

The Lady Spartans return to action on Saturday when they travel to face Lincoln (PA.) before opening their East Coast Conference schedule on Wednesday when Queens College visits Sparkill.

The women’s teams meet at 5:30 p.m., with the men’s game to follow at approximately 7:30.

The Spartan men’s team, which opened the season with two straight victories, is hoping to stop a four-game slide. STAC is coming off an 81-68 setback at Wilmington University, a game in which Justin Brown of Uniondale led the Spartans with 20 points, tying for game-high honors.

Owls howl

Pearl River alum Luke Houston, a freshman guard, scored 16 points and added a team-high four assists as the Southern Connecticut State University men’s basketball team overtook Saint Rose, 86-74, in New Haven, CN.

Houston, who was an all-state choice for the Pirates, was one of four Owls to reach double figures in the Northeast-10 Conference game at Moore Field House.

The Owls, who improved to 3-2 overall and 3-1 in conference play, rallied from a 10-point second-half deficit to keep Saint Rose from posting its first win of the season.

Southern Connecticut State visits American International College (2-3) on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. in Springfield, MA, at the Yellow Jackets’ Butova Gymnasium.

Mortarboard musings

• Rutgers University’s hopes for a share of the Big East football championship were squashed by Connecticut, which ran away to a 40-22 victory in East Hartford, CN.  Rutgers (8-4, 4-3 Big East) had an outside chance at a BCS bowl bid if it had won. UConn (5-6, 3-3) can become bowl eligible with a win at Cincinnati on Saturday. Senior Pat Kivlehan of West Nyack, a defensive back and key member of the special-teams units, should have another game as the Scarlet Knights, for the sixth time in seven years, are expected to find out their non-BCS bowl destination and opponent on Sunday.

• The men’s hockey team at St. Thomas Aquinas College, which is meeting East Stroudsburg University tonight (Dec. 2), takes on Fordham University on Sunday at Playland Ice Casino in Rye at 1:30 p.m.

• James McManus of Pearl River is a junior defenseman on the Maritime College hockey team. The Privateers, 8-5-1, meet powerhouse Alvernia University (13-1-2) on Saturday at the Body Zone and Fitness Center in Wyomissing, PA. The first puck is set to drop at 6:30 p.m. Maritime is then off until Dec. 9 when it is scheduled to meet Raritan Valley Community College at Parkwood Ice Rink in Great Neck at 10:15 p.m.

• Margaret Moore of Pearl River is a freshman on the Iona College track and field team, and is expected to compete in sprints and jumps for the Gaels. Iona is competing today (Dec. 2) at the Fordham Season Opener at Lombardi Fieldhouse in the Bronx. The Rams’ sprinting contingent includes junior Michael Bongiorno of New City, an alum of Clarkstown South.

• Junior Jessica Biggs of Nanuet, a graduate of Paramus Catholic, is averaging six points and three rebounds per game for the Mercy College women’s basketball team. The Warriors, 0-6, try again for that elusive first victory with a game at Molloy College (3-4) in Rockville Centre on Dec. 7 at 6 p.m.

• Freshman Steve Maldonado of Nyack is looking for his first competition as a heavyweight on the Norwich University wrestling team in Northfield, VT. The Cadets continue their early-season tournament action on Saturday at the R.I.T Invitational in Rochester.

• Junior Josephine Pucci of Pearl River, a member of the back line, has nine points on two goals and seven assists for the Harvard University women’s hockey team. The Crimson, 5-4, visit Providence at 7 p.m. on Dec. 8, and then return home on Dec. 9 to challenge New Hampshire. Harvard lifted its record to 6-4 with a 2-1 victory over Dartmouth in Hanover, NH.

• Albertus Magnus alumna Brittany Griffin of Suffern finished off a solid
  night with 11 points and seven rebounds as the College of Mount Saint
  Vincent women’s basketball team dropped a double-overtime thriller to St.
  Joseph’s-L.I., 78-75, in Patchogue. The loss dropped Mount Saint Vincent
  to 1-3 overall and to 0-1 in Skyline Conference play. The Mount returns to
  action on Tuesday when they travel to Staten Island for a non-conference
  contest at 7 p.m. Amy Delva of Nanuet, another Albertus Magnus graduate,
  is averaging seven points for the Dolphins.

• Tappan Zee graduate Chris Fusco, and Richard Meany of Stony Point are members of the men’s swim team at Manhattan College, which is rolling along at 8-3. The Jaspers challenge Saint Peter’s and Montclair State in Jersey City on Dec. 9, and host the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy in Riverdale at 2 p.m. on Dec. 10.

• Matt Willows of Congers is breaking into the lineup as a freshman forward on the University of New Hampshire men’s hockey team. Willows, who was graduated from Clarkstown North in 2009, was recruited by the Wildcats after playing two seasons with the New Jersey Hitmen in the Eastern Junior Hockey League. Willows has appeared in two games, with three shots on goal, for the Wildcats, who are 6-6-2. UNH visits Massachusetts-Lowell tonight at 7, and then hosts Mass-Lowell on Saturday night at 7.

• Adam Kaiser of Stony Point, a junior forward, has a goal and two assists for the Wesleyan University hockey team. The Cardinals (3-2) visit Amherst (3-1) on Saturday at 7:30 p.m., and then visit Hamilton (2-1-1) on Sunday at 3 p.m. BrianInfante of Pomona is a junior defenseman at Hamilton.

• The Rockland Community College women’s basketball team, looking for its second win of the season, hosts Sullivan CC on Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. Melissa Loughhane of Pearl River is averaging 13 points per game for the Lady Hawks, while Christine Brezovsky of Nanuet is averaging eight. Samantha Gabriel of Spring Valley has a four-point norm for RCC.

• Sophomore guard Jose Pena-Benjamin of Rahway, NJ, is leading the Nyack College men’s basketball team in scoring with 13 points a game. The Warriors, who have yet to post a victory, host winless Mercy College on Saturday at 7 p.m., so something has to give. Nyack then visits Concordia (4-2) in Bronxville on Tuesday, also at 7 p.m.

• Alaina Walker of Pomona, an alumna of Albertus Magnus, is averaging five points and five rebounds, with 10 assists, for the once-beaten St. Bonaventure women’s basketball team. The Bonnies (5-1) visit Binghamton on Saturday at 2 p.m., and then host Indiana (2-3) on Wednesday at 7 p.m. Incidentally, the Bonnies had another national TV game added to the schedule as CBS Sports Network officials announced they will broadcast the Feb. 18 home contest against Xavier. The game against the Musketeers will now begin at 2 p.m., as opposed to the originally scheduled time of 1:30, and is part of a doubleheader with the men against Rhode Island.