Greg Wall

MEN'S BASKETBALL HEADS TO THE SECOND CITY TO FACE NEC NEWCOMER CHICAGO STATE SATURDAY

1/17/2025 4:07:00 PM

By: Dylan Dariano, Athletic Communications Graduate Assistant

Le Moyne (6-12, 1-2) vs. Chicago State (1-17, 1-2) - NEC
Info: Saturday, Jan. 18 | 2:00 p.m. ET / 1:00 p.m. CT | Chicago, Ill. | Jones Convocation Center
Video: NEC Front Row (http://necfrontrow.com/game/12735)
Radio: FOX Sports 92.5 FM/1490 AM
Live Stats: https://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=546076

Chicago, Ill. – The Le Moyne College men's basketball team will look to earn back-to-back conference victories as it travels to take on Chicago State University on Saturday, Jan. 18 at 2:00 p.m. ET.

Series History:
Le Moyne and Chicago State will be meeting for the first time in the two programs' histories as the 2024-25 season marks the Cougars' first in the Northeast Conference.

Common Opponents:
Aside from NEC rivals that both teams will face in coming months, Le Moyne and Chicago State both faced off against CSUN in non-conference action earlier this season. The Dolphins fell to the Matadors, 97-75, during their home opener on Nov. 6, while the Cougars lost, 81-57, on the road on Dec. 21.

Both squads have already faced-off against LIU once this season, as well, coming away with losses against the Sharks. Le Moyne dropped the matchup in its conference opener at Barclays Center, 78-62, on Jan. 3 just days before Chicago State lost, 53-39, on the road, as well, on Jan. 5.

Dolphins' Season:
Le Moyne sits with a 6-12 record after going 5-10 through the non-conference portion of their season schedule and starting NEC play 1-2. After being defeated by LIU to kick-off conference action, the 'Phins fell to FDU, 78-62, at home in double overtime last Friday, Jan. 10. The team secured its first conference win in its most recent game against Mercyhurst, beating the Lakers, 79-63, at home last Sunday, Jan. 12.

Redshirt junior forward Dwayne Koroma (Berlin, Germany/Bishop Walsh (Md.)/Iona/Salt Lake C.C./UT Arlington) led the charge against Mercyhurst, putting together team-highs in points (16), field-goals made (seven), rebounds (10), and steals (two) while adding three assists in 34 minutes of action. Koroma is currently second on the Dolphins in points per game with 11.4 and leads the squad in both field goal (.744) and three-point percentages (.500).

Sophomore guard AJ Dancler (Indianapolis, Ind./Southport), who has dropped 9.7 points per game and is second on Le Moyne in assists with 38 through 16 games played, also had a big night in the win over the Lakers. Dancler earned the start and recorded 14 points on 5-8 shooting, seven rebounds, and a team-leading four assists.

In just 12 minutes off the bench, senior forward Ocypher Owens (Orlando, Fla./Orlando Christian Prep/Indian River State) was able to round up 12 points (six of which came via the charity stripe), three rebounds, and one assist. Owens currently leads Le Moyne with 13.2 points and 8.5 rebounds per game, along with 14 total blocks in a team-high 32.9 minutes over his 11 appearances this year. Through three conference games, Owens leads the NEC in rebounds (9.3) and field-goal percentage (.654), while sitting third with 17.3 points per game.

Fifth-year guard Darrick Jones Jr. (Richmond, Va./Oak Hill Academy/Towson) was effective all around, tallying nine points, one rebound, two assists, one block and one steal against Mercyhurst on Sunday afternoon. Jones Jr. is currently averaging 6.6 points per game, thanks in large part to his 38.7% three-point clip this year.

Junior forward Freds Pauls Bagatskis (Riga, Latvia/Complejo Educativo Mas Camarena/Georgia Tech/UT Arlington) saw 15 minutes of action off the bench against the Lakers and added nine points on two three-pointers and three free-throws along with one assist in the victory. Bagatskis has battled to stay on the court this season but is averaging 6.8 points and 2.4 rebounds in 21.0 minutes per game through his nine appearances.

Through three conference matchups, Le Moyne is second in the NEC in scoring, behind only FDU, tallying 75.7 points per game, but is allowing the most points to opposing squads at a 77.3 rate per game thus far. The Dolphins are also behind FDU at the top of the ranks in both rebounds (38.0) and assists (13.67) per contest.

A Look at the Cougars:
Chicago State struggled mightily to begin the 2024-25 campaign, going 0-15 in non-conference matchups from Nov. 4 through Dec. 29. The squad was able to notch its first victory of the season, first NEC victory in program history and first win of newly-appointed head coach Scott Spinelli's CSU career all in its opening conference matchup of the season, as it took down Wagner, 64-52, on the road on Jan. 3.

Since then, however, the Cougars have lost two straight after falling to LIU, 53-39, on Jan. 5 and Stonehill, 68-52, in their first home conference matchup this past Sunday, Jan. 12.

Senior forward Noble Crawford started and led the team in scoring against Stonehill, dropping 15 points while going 5-6 from the free-throw line and adding five rebounds, one assist, and a pair of steals. He leads the Cougars in points per game with 9.4 this season and is second on the squad in both assists (32) and steals (20) through 17 appearances.

In 25 minutes off the bench, junior guard Saxby Sunderland became Chicago State's only other double-digit scorer in their latest matchup, totaling 10 points while draining six of his seven free-throw opportunities, one rebound, and one assist. Sunderland is averaging 6.4 points and has a .811 conversion rate at the line through 18 games played.

Senior forward Cameron Jernigan and Troy McKoy, Jr. were both effective in over 20 minutes off the bench as Jernigan rallied seven points and brought in a team-leading six rebounds while McKoy recorded six points and a pair of rebounds, assists and steals against Stonehill. Jernigan leads Chicago State in blocks with 14 and is second on the team in field-goal percentage (.446) while McKoy is averaging 7.3 points per game with 16 steals this season.

The final four starters for Chicago State combined for 14 points on 4-22 shooting with nine rebounds, one assist, two blocks, and one steal against the Skyhawks. The starters included junior guard Jalen Forrest, who is second on the team with 8.8 points per game, senior forward Dailliss Cox, who leads the squad with a .459 field-goal percentage, junior guard Matthew Robinson, Jr., who is at the top of the stat sheet in three-point percentage (.347), and junior forward Quincy Allen, who has put together 6.1 points and 3.7 rebounds through seven appearances in 2024-25.

Chicago State has struggled all around this season as it sits last in the conference in points per game (51.7), field-goal percentage (.367), three-point percentage (.222) and assists per game (9.0) and are ranked second-lowest, ahead of only Mercyhurst, in rebounds per game (29.7) through three conference matchups so far.

What's Next:
Le Moyne will host Stonehill College (10-9, 2-2) at home on Ted Grant Court in back-to-back matchups with the women's squads on Monday, Jan. 20 at 7:00 p.m.

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