The Geneseo men’s basketball team was unable to defeat visiting SUNY Brockport on Friday Jan. 30, dropping the game 71-68. The Knights were able to bounce back, however, when they beat SUNYAC-leading SUNY Oswego on Tuesday Feb. 3 by a score of 59-55.
The Knights hoped to match up evenly with Brockport due to their similar records, but head coach Steve Minton said that their turnovers severely limited the team’s chances for success. Geneseo recorded its highest turnover total of the season in this game with 23.
“We made too many turnovers throughout the game,” Minton said. “We were very careless with the basketball and when you do that, it’s easy to say that one possession could have made a difference.”
The game came down to the wire as the Knights went on an 11-1 run with about a minute and a half left in the game. Senior forward Gordon Lyons recorded his 16th double-double of the season with 16 points and 11 rebounds.
Minton had high praise for his only team captain and said that Lyons has traits that he hopes the team will mirror.
“[Lyons] is someone very responsible on the court as well as off the court,” Minton said. “He’s a fantastic leader by example and he is vocal in the right way with the right people. He’s one of the best leaders I’ve ever had. He understands how to motivate his teammates to play to a higher level.”
Lyons’ on-court ability is evident, as he is leading the team in many statistical categories such as points per game with 20.1, rebounds per game with 13.1, field-goal percentage at 54.8 percent and minutes per game with 36.8. Minton noted that Lyons’ ability is proven on the court, as he has reached every “bar that is set for him as a player over the course of four years” but also that this bar has extended to his role as a captain and that “he seems to be meeting those standards.”
Minton also said that the team has showed signs of carrying on his example.
“I really like our young guys and they’ve got to see how [Lyons] does things. Not just him, however, but all of our seniors––the culture and what they want to see the basketball program to have,” Minton said. “I think from that standpoint, we’ll continue to see a strong group of guys who know how