Men's Basketball Home Thursday Against Le Moyne
11/2/2005 4:09:19 PM | Men's Basketball
SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- The preseason No. 16-ranked Syracuse men's basketball team will play its second and final exhibition game of the season at home on Thursday, Nov. 3, against cross-town rival Le Moyne College, at 7 p.m. Tickets are available online at www.suathletics.com and through the Carrier Dome Box Office four hours before tip-off. Adult tickets are $10, while student and youth tickets are $5.
SU is ranked No. 16 in the ESPN/USA Today Preseason Coaches' Poll. It defeated the College of Saint Rose, 86-73, in its first exhibtion game on Nov. 1. Senior guard Gerry McNamara led the way with a game-high 29 points, while junior starters Demetris Nichols (13 points, eight rebounds) and Darryl Watkins (10 points, nine blocks) were also factors.
This will be the first exhibition game of the season for Le Moyne. The Dolphins posted an overall record of 11-17 a season ago. They finished 9-13 in the Northeast-10, including wins in eight of their final 12 regular-season contests to finish in ninth place in the 15-team conference standings. Le Moyne returns four starters, including last year's top scorer Matt Cooper (14.5 ppg) out of Fulton, N.Y. Senior Sid Pond (Watertown, N.Y.) was the team's top rebounder (9.0 rpg, 11.1 ppg), while guards Corey Smith (8.8 ppg, 3.9 rpg) and Jason Holmes (11.7 ppg, 3.4 rpg) will be two others to watch.
This will be the final tune-up for Syracuse before it officially begins the 2005-06 season against Bethune Cookman on Nov. 8, in the opening round of the 2K Sports College Hoops Classic Benefiting Coaches vs. Cancer. Syracuse's Carrier Dome is serving as one of the regional sites. In the first game on Nov. 8, Cornell and St. Francis (Pa.) will meet at 6 p.m. The Orange entertains Bethune Cookman at 8 p.m. The two winners will meet on Nov. 9, at 8 p.m. and will be playing for the right to advance to Madison Square Garden for the semifinals on Nov. 17. A consolation game will be played at 6 p.m. at the Carrier Dome on Nov. 9. All four games will be televised from Syracuse by ESPNU.
For more information about the 2K Sports College Hoops Classic Benefiting Coaches vs. Cancer, click here: http://www.gazellegroup.com/cvcclassic/
