Men’s Basketball are 2023 Liberty League Champions
The St. Lawrence University Men’s Basketball team defeated RPI 50-42 in OT on Sunday afternoon in the Liberty League Championship game, to win the 2023 edition of the Liberty League Championship. This improved the Saints’ record to 19-7 heading into the NCAA Division III Men’s Basketball Tournament.
St. Lawrence had the number two seed heading into the Liberty League Tournament, giving them a first round bye with their first game of the tourney being in the semifinal round. In the semifinals, they played the number three seed, the Hobart Statesmen.
It was a close and exciting semifinal contest, with the two teams going back and forth all game in hopes of reaching the Liberty League Championship game. Hobart led 31-26 after the first half of the play, but the Saints won the second half 40-35, putting the game at a tied score of 66-66 at the end of regulation.
In overtime, St. Lawrence prevailed, outscoring the Statesmen 14-12 in the overtime period to get an 80-78 win. Aidan Macaulay led the Saints in scoring with 20 points, Gavin Macaulay had 17 points, and the other three starters, Trey Syroka, Trent Adamson, and Will Engelhardt, had 12 points each.
In the other semifinal game, the number four seeded RPI Engineers defeated the number one seeded Ithaca Bombers 49-44, advancing to face St. Lawrence in the championship game. As the Saints were a higher seed than the Engineers, they hosted the championship game at 2 pm last Sunday afternoon in the Burkman Gymnasium. It was an electric atmosphere with a great turnout and an outstanding fan base cheering on the Saints.
Just like the game against Hobart, this one was also close, and took overtime to decide a winner. St. Lawrence got off to a good start, taking a 31-21 lead into halftime. RPI came back in the second half, outscoring St. Lawrence 21-11 in this half and sending the game to overtime with a tied score of 42-42 at the end of regulation. In overtime, the Saints scored eight points and didn’t give up any, defeating the Engineers 50-42 to win the championship game.
After the final buzzer sounded, the St. Lawrence students who attended the game stormed the court to celebrate the victory with the players, showing how high the campus spirit is for this team.
For the Saints, Will Engelhardt scored 17 points and grabbed ten rebounds, Trent Adamson added 12 points, and Trey Syroka had ten points. Syroka was named the Most Outstanding Player of the tournament, as he had 22 points, 11 assists, five rebounds, and four steals in the two tournament games that St. Lawrence had.
Their victory over RPI gave the Saints their first Liberty League tournament championship victory since the 2009-2010 season, when they defeated Hobart 109-90 at Burkman Gymnasium to win the championship.
St. Lawrence earned the Liberty League’s automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Men’s Basketball Tournament with their Liberty League tournament championship victory. They will travel to Stockton University in Galloway Township, New Jersey, to play the University of Mary Washington on Friday, March 3, at 4:00 pm in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.