While Geneseo experiences a frozen vortex, the men’s basketball team has been red hot, winning its last eight games. The team now sits just one game out of first place in the SUNYAC conference behind SUNY Brockport. One player can’t be singled out for the team’s success; multiple players on the team are statistically ranked in the conference. Forward junior Gordon Lyons is first at rebounds per game (10.9) and field goal percentage (.686) and is fifth in points per game (19.5). Guard senior Connor Fedge is first at free throw percentage (.892), ninth at points per game (16.3) and 11th at assists per game (3.0). Guard senior Thomas Decker ranks seventh in the conference at assists with 3.5 per game.
Head coach Steve Minton also noted the play of forward junior Devon Anderson, saying, “He has really stepped up his play. He has scored for us. He has rebounded for us. He has been a big part of our success of late.”
Lyons plays upwards of 30 minutes per game – another SUNYAC ranking at seventh – which means he is involved with much of the gaming scheme. Being as dominant as he is, one might think this scheme is simple, but Minton said otherwise.
“It’s actually more difficult than you think,” he said. “You could think it could be simple: Come down, do this, get the ball to Gordon and play from there. But that’s not how it is.”
During the current seven-game win streak, the Knights have won by double digits in five of the games. Regarding how the team is scoring seemingly at will, Minton said, “Since we have so many different weapons, it’s not necessarily a style of play as it is when one guy gets keyed on another guy is getting good shots.”
In the game against SUNY Oswego, it was much of the same for the Knights. After the first half, Lyons led the way with 12 points, forward junior James McKenna added 11 and Anderson scored another eight. The Lakers came out strong in the beginning of the second half, but the Knights were just too much to handle as they cruised to victory, 81-73.
Fedge led the Knights with 20 points and scored his 1000th career point at Geneseo. Lyons finished the game with 16 points and 13 rebounds, Anderson finished with 16 points and five rebounds off the bench and McKenna added 14 points.
The Knights face Brockport on the road in a battle for first place in the conference at 8 p.m. on Saturday Feb. 1.