High Hopes as Men's Basketball Season Tips Off

The 2017-18 Alfred State basketball team has high hopes as they open up their season tomorrow (11/17). The Pioneers return eight players from last year and have nine players with experience wearing the blue & gold.

Juwan Toliver (Buffalo/McKinley), Marcus Rhett (Middletown), Dante Jordan (New York/Law and Public), and Tyler Elliott (Perry) all return after having significant roles on the team last year.

• Toliver played in all 26 games and made 22 starts last year. He averaged 8.3 points per game and 5.7 rebounds. He also passed out 66 assists.
• Rhett started 24 games and aveaged 8.5 points per game and 4.1 rebounds.
• Jordan played in 25 games and made 12 starts last year. He averaged 7.6 points per game and 4.2 rebounds.
• Elliott started and played in 15 games last year. He averaged 8.2 points per game and 7.6 rebounds.

Head Coach Jerry Jusianiec (19th season, 217-278) will count on Tahaij Lewis (Rochester/Greece Olympia), Alexshay Pearce (Rochester/Charlotte), and Owen Spencer (Perry) to be key contributors from the start.

The 2017-18 schedule features 25 games with ten of those contests played at home. The road contests features trips all throughout New York, Pennsylvania, and Ohio. The team will look to qualify for the ACAA Tournament held the last weekend in February at Pine Manor College.

In 2016-17 the Pioneers finished the season with a 9-17 record. Twelve of their contests were decided by two possessions or less. The team qualified for the ACAA semifinals but lost a four-point contest.

The Pioneers open up the season tomorrow when they begin play in the Specialty Tees Tournament. Friday's action will be played at Alfred State with Alfred University taking on D'Youville at 5 p.m. and the Pioneers battling Cazenovia at 7 p.m.