Cortland Men's Basketball to Face F&M in NCAA First Round Friday at Endicott
Cortland Sports Information Department
Cortland has earned a spot in the 64-team NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Tournament for the second straight year and will play Franklin & Marshall College in the opening round on Friday, March 6, as part of a four-team regional hosted by Endicott College of Massachusetts.
Friday's other first-round game at Endicott features the host Gulls versus Neumann University. The Cortland-F&M game is scheduled for a 4 p.m. start, with Endicott versus Neumann at 6:30 p.m. Friday's winners will play Saturday at Endicott at 6:30 p.m., with that winner advancing to the tournament's "sweet 16."
Cortland (23-4), under third-year head coach Maurice Kearney, automatically qualified for the national tournament by repeating as State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) champions. After winning the league regular-season title with a 17-1 record, the top-seeded Red Dragons hosted the conference semifinals and finals and defeated Plattsburgh, 96-71, and Oswego, 84-51, for the title.
Cortland won its ninth league title, including back-to-back crowns for the first time in program history, and the Red Dragons will be making their eighth NCAA appearance. Cortland lost to eventual national runner-up NYU in last year's first round. The Red Dragons have advanced to the "sweet 16" twice (1999 and 2000) and the second round three times (2006, 2013, 2016).
The Red Dragons' 23 wins are one shy of the school single-season record of 24, set on three previous occasions (1999-2000, 2005-06, 2012-13). Cortland enters the tournament on a 15-game winning streak, the second-longest single-season streak in school history behind the 1999-2000 team's 18-game streak (Cortland won 23 straight games spanning the 1951-52 and 1952-53 seasons).
Senior Aaron Coston (Kerhonkson/Rondout Valley) averages 14.9 points per game and also leads the Red Dragons with 7.9 rebounds and 3.3 assists per contest. He's shooting 59.8 percent from the field overall and 43 percent (37-of-86) from 3-point range. Senior Kendall Arcuri (Staten Island/St. Joseph by-the-Sea) averages 13.2 points, 7.1 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game. He shoots 47 percent overall and 45 percent (47-of-104) from the arc. Coston ranks 10th in school history with 1,285 career points and Arcuri is 14th with 1,222 career points.
Senior Isaiah Austin (Albany) averages 10.4 points per game. He's made a team-high 57 3-pointers. Junior Joel Davis (Watertown) averages 9.7 points per game, leads the team with 29 steals and shares the team lead with Coston with 29 blocks. Freshman Nolan Raymond (Queens Village/Vermont Academy) averages 9.3 points and 2.5 assists per contest.
F&M (22-5) entered the Centennial Conference tournament as the fourth seed with a 10-3 league record. The Diplomats beat Swarthmore, 80-59, in the opening round before losing to top-seeded and eventual champion Gettysburg, 69-45, in the semifinals. F&M is making its second straight NCAA appearance and 27th overall - the Diplomats have advanced to the "sweet 16" 17 times, most recently in 2018, and have played in five "final fours," the last in 2009.
Endicott (26-1) is ranked 13th nationally by D3hoops.com. The Gulls have won 20 straight games, with their only loss coming at Colby, 93-89, on Nov. 22. Endicott won the Conference of New England regular-season title with a 16-0 record and defeated Western New England, 87-66, in the conference tournament championship game.
Neumann (19-9) earned an NCAA automatic berth by winning the Atlantic East conference title. The Knights, seeded fourth in the league tournament, defeated fifth-seeded Marywood, top-seeded Marymount and second-seeded Gwynedd Mercy to claim the title.
