- Purchase Tabbed to Defend Championship -
New York, N.Y. – Vying for its third consecutive Skyline crown, Purchase has been selected to capture the 2014-15 men's basketball title in voting conducted by the league's ten head coaches. Farmingdale State was selected to finish fourth in the poll, after finishing 18-9 overall in the 2013-14 season.
The Rams feature a young program for the 2014-15 campaign, after losing five seniors, four of which were starters. Second year head coach Brendan Twomey welcomes back seven players, along with the addition of two transfers, seven freshmen and a walk-on. Senior team captain Justin Bailey (Jamaica, N.Y.) will look to lead this young squad into the Conference playoffs. Bailey averaged 8.7 points, 3.4 rebounds and had 27 steals last year from his guard position. Coach Twomey states, "We brought in a bunch of new faces, I'm looking forward to working with them and building off last season."
The Panthers received nine first-place votes and 81 overall points coming off a program-best 26-3 campaign and an appearance in the second round of the 2014 NCAA Tournament. PC welcomes back senior center Joel Neri, a first-team All-Conference and second-team NABC All-District selection who averaged 15.9 points and 7.4 rebounds a year ago.
Sage earned one first-place vote and finished second in the preseason poll with 62 points, followed closely by Old Westbury (61), Farmingdale State (60) and Mount Saint Mary (56). Junior forward Melvin Ford averaged 11.6 points and 6.5 rebounds last season as Sage registered its most victories (15) in the five-year history of the program, while OW welcomes back sophomore center Mark Gjonlekaj (10.3 ppg., 5.3 rpg., 51 blocks).
Under the direction of first-year head coach Kevin Spann, St. Joseph's-L.I. placed sixth with 44 points, followed by Mount Saint Vincent (36), Yeshiva (23), Maritime (19) and Sarah Lawrence (9).
The opening round of the 2015 Skyline Men's Basketball Championship will be held on Tuesday, Feb. 24, with the semifinals scheduled for Thursday, Feb. 26. The title game will be played on Saturday, Feb. 28, with the winner receiving the league's automatic berth to the 2015 NCAA Men's Basketball Championship.
The Skyline also welcomes its newest member, Sarah Lawrence College, to the conference this season. SLC will play a full conference schedule but will not be eligible for the 2015 Skyline and NCAA Championships as they complete their final year of NCAA Division III provisional membership.
2014-15 Preseason MBB Coaches Poll (Points)
- Purchase (9) - 81
- Sage (1) - 62
- Old Westbury - 61
- Farmingdale State - 60
- Mount Saint Mary - 56
- St. Joseph's-L.I. - 44
- Mount Saint Vincent - 36
- Yeshiva - 23
- Maritime - 19
- Sarah Lawrence - 9
(First-place votes in parentheses)
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