By Brandy Thurston, Director of Sports Information
(Lancaster, Pa. – March 2, 2014) The defending North Eastern Athletic Conference (NEAC) champions made it a third straight title Sunday afternoon, as Morrisville State College topped number one seeded Lancaster Bible 73-65 in Lancaster to earn the automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Men’s Basketball Championship Tournament.
The Mustangs are the first team in the NEAC’s 10-year history to win the championship three times, and in three consecutive years. The win has Morrisville State entering the NCAA selection show, scheduled Monday afternoon at 12:30, with a 19-8 overall record.
Tournament most valuable player honors went to senior guard Jordan Prior (Cortland, N.Y.) who for a second straight day in the tourney led Morrisville State to a win behind his team high 16 points. Prior dumped 26 on Abington to lead the Mustang charge in the semifinal round Saturday evening.
Prior added three assists and a steal to his tallies on the day while Kucjok Ater (Syracuse, N.Y.) and Tom Wilk (Cortland, N.Y.) proved to be a challenge for the Chargers inside, as they combined for 25 points and 16 rebounds. Wilk added a team high four blocks to his tallies.
Brandon Hanks (Syracuse, N.Y.) added nine points to go along with his team high 10 rebounds, dishing out three assists and stealing another three, while teammate Will Thomas (Morrisville, N.Y.) came off the bench to contribute nine points in the winning effort.
Albert Suniga netted 30 points on 8-of-10 from beyond the arc, while teammate CJ Dunston added 10 points and five rebounds.
Morrisville State picked up where they left off the day prior, hitting 48.6% from the floor in the first half, including draining 7-of-18 from long range to build up a 42-23 halftime lead.
The Mustangs took advantage of a rough Lancaster Start, building up a 24-7 lead nearly nine minutes in before racking up as many as a 19 point lead behind an overall 18 point collection in the paint and 10 point accumulation on Charger miscues in the first half.
In the second, Morrisville State posted a 23 point lead at the 11:49mark on a three by Thomas, but Lancaster turned the tables and put together a 24-8 run over the ensuing eight minutes to make it a seven point game with 2:47 to go.
Morrisville State was able to withstand the late Lancaster Bible surge, converting 7-of-10 free throws down the stretch to secure the title win.
The Mustangs hit 24-of-53 shots from the floor on the day (45.3%) and went 7-for-17 from beyond the arc, as they held Lancaster to just 33.3% in shooting from the floor (22-of-66 shots).
Prior, Hanks recognized by NEAC on All-Conference Teams
(Morrisville, NY – Feb. 25, 2014) The North Eastern Athletic Conference (NEAC) announced its 2013-14 men’s basketball season award winners Feb. 25, naming Morrisville State College seniors Jordan Prior (Cortland, N.Y.) and Brandon Hanks (Syracuse, N.Y.) to its first and second teams, respectively.
Prior started in all 25 games at guard and had an explosive final collegiate season to earn first team honors, leading Morrisville State in scoring, averaging 16.5 points per game for the Mustangs. On the season he posted eight 20+ point games, recording a career high 26 points high twice on the season, once against Wells and a second time against Lancaster Bible.
Against the conference leaders Lancaster Bible, he tied a career best seven 3-point field goals, posting additional game highs of 10 made free throws and seven assists against Penn St. Abington.
While in conference play, Prior averaged 48.1% in shooting from the floor, 44.2% from beyond the arc, 79.2% from the free throw line, averaged 16.9 points, 3.7 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game. His efforts earned him NEAC player of the week accolades in November.
Prior holds seven top 10 spots in conference rankings, including sitting in 9th in the overall rankings in field goals (124-268), fourth in 3-pointers (62-147), third in free throws (103-127), third in free throw percentage (81.1%), 10th in assists (71), fourth in points (413), and fifth in points per game (16.5).
The graduate of Cortland High is majoring in resort and recreation management at Morrisville State. He is the son of Prudy and Eric Prior of Cortland.
Hanks earns second team all-conference accolades, after starting in 24 games for the Mustangs at point guard, while averaging 12.7 points per game.
Throughout the season he posted 17 double digit scoring games, netting a high 30 points against Keuka in the second half of the season on 6-of-7 shooting from the floor, 1-1 in3-point field goals and 17-of-19 in shooting from the free throw line. Five times he has registered games with 17 or more points, and twice recorded a double-double in points and rebounds.
Hanks also posted a game high nine assists versus SUNYIT while recording a season high 12 rebounds, reaching double figures in rebounds twice more, including 11 against Penn St. Abington.
Within conference play, Hanks averaged 31.3 minutes per game, and shot 44.8% from the floor, 36.6% in 3FG, 75.3% from the free throw line, while averaging 13.3 points, 6.4 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 1.2 steals per game.
A two-time all-conference third team selection at guard, Hanks ranks in the top 15 in nine different stats categories in the NEAC, including ninth in free throws (79-102), eighth in FT% (77.5%), fifth in defensive rebounds (127), eighth in rebounds (159), 11th in rebounds per game (6.4), sixth in assists (91), 11th in steals (32), 11th in points (317), and 15th in points per game (12.7).
Along the way, Hanks became the third Mustang in program history to cross the 1,000 threshold, and to date holds three top spots in the Morrisville State record books, including assists, 3-point field goals made, and defensive rebounds.
The graduate of Henninger High is majoring in criminal justice at Morrisville State. He is the son of Michelle and Shawn Hanks of Syracuse.