The Onondaga Community College men's basketball team will tip off the 2015-2016 season on Saturday evening when they host Dutchess Communioty College in the opening round of the 2015 Onondaga Community College Classic. The Lazers and Falcons tip at 7:00 pm in the SRC Arena and Events Center in the final game of the day, immediately following a 5:00 pm contest between Bunker Hill Community College and Northampton Community College. Saturday's two winners will meet in SRC on Sunday afternoon at 2:15 pm for the Classic championship, while the two losing teams will meet at 2:00 pm in Allyn Hall in the consolation game.
Complete Classic HistoryThe Lazers, the defending Classic champions, are coming off of a 16-13 season which saw the program make its 15th consecutive post-season appearance, as the team advanced to the Mid-State Athletic Conference semi-finals. Sophomore forward
Kameron DiSanto and sophomore guard
Steven Dolgos were named among the top returning players in the nation and are expected to be key performers for the Lazers. DiSanto averaged 11.1 points and 4.7 rebounds a year ago and is Onondaga's top returning scorer and rebounder. Other returnees include co-captain forward
Thomas Towner and forward
Baron Correll. Co-captain
Nikeem Deleon also returns to the court after playing for the Lazers two seasons ago and redshirting a year ago following a pre-season injury. Guard
Jordan Bandera and forward
Rex Ryan also redshirted a year ago and look to make their collegiate debuts. Sophomore guards
Samuel Bovalino and
Kyle Matousek are playing for the first time.
A talented freshman class, headlined by three high school all-state players, completes the roster.
Zachary Sawyer was a two-time all-state selection at Waterville High School, including earning 1st team honors as a senior. He is joined by Waterville teammate
Hunter Williams, a 4th team all-state selection, and
Jacob Slobe, also a 4th team pick, from Red Creek. Forward
Brian Daily of two-time state titlist Westhill High School, guards
Kevin DiCola from Auburn,
Terron Lemons from Murry Bergtraum,
Zachery Wilcox from Hamilton, and
Mentor Gashi from Monticello round out the freshman class.
Dutchess will be making their first appearance in the Classic. The Falcons opened their season with an 81-75 win over SUNY Ulster on Sunday afternoon. They will also play Rockland Community College on Thursday evening before making the trip to Syracuse. Elijah Williams paced Dutchess in their win over Ulster with 18 points, while Steve Jean-Baptiste picked up a double double with 16 points and 10 rebounds.
Bunker Hill will be making their second Classic appearance, as the Bulldogs competed in the innaugural event in 2007. Bunker Hill opened their season on Tuesday with an 87-69 win at the Community College of Rhode Island and will also play Holyoke Community College before coming to town. The Bulldogs feature three of the top returning players in Region 21 in forward Fredens Deneus (15.9 ppg and 16.4 rpg last year) and guards Rubens Guerrier and Ivan Delacruz. Forward Anthony Gilardi has also been named one of the top freshmen in the nation.
Northampton will be making their third consecutive Classic appearance. The Spartans have been the Classic runners up in each of the past two seasons, falling to Anne Arundel Community College in 2013 and the Lazers last year. They will open the season on Thursday at Passaic County Community College before heading to the Classic. The Spartans have 20 freshmen on their 21-man roster, led by Bryson Walton, who was named among the nation's top newcomers.
