VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (January 8, 2020) – The SUNY Delhi men's basketball team was ranked fifth in this week's edition of the USCAA Division I Coaches Poll. Head coach Zack Thomsen's team pulled in three straight victories this past week over SUNY Canton, Northern Vermont Johnson and Northern Vermont Lyndon to improve to 10-6 on the season.
With a 7-3 record entering winter break, Delhi suffered its first losing streak of the season with defeats to Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Utica, and Hartwick. The Broncos turned it around with a 58-54 win over SUNY Canton on Saturday, and completing a Northern Vermont University sweep of Johnson, 85-61 on Monday and Lyndon, 108-92, on Tuesday. The latter marked Delhi's this 100-point game on the season.
Senior guard Justin Daoud reached 1,000 career points on Monday's victory over the Badgers, hitting the milestone with a layup late in the game. He added 18 points against Lyndon for a career total of 1,018 points. Daoud, who leads the team with 12.5 ppg. and 8.4 rpg., was the first of potentially several Broncos that could reach 1,000 points this season. Payton Dean has 966 points, while William Knight has 958 points and Jordan Fragale 931 points.
Dean has posted double-doubles in the last three games for five on the season, including a season-high 23 points against NVU Johnson Monday. He ranks second with 7.9 rpg. and sixth in scoring with 9.5 ppg. Fragale logged his second 20-point game this season with 26 points versus NVU Lyndon.
Delhi has nine more regular season games, with sights set on another successful postseason. The Broncos are set to host the ACAA Men's Basketball Tournament the weekend of Feb. 29-Mar. 1 as they look to capture their second straight conference title. They also look for their first USCAA National Tournament appearance, which begins Mar. 12 at Penn State Fayette. The USCAA Division I Tournament consists of eight at-large bids.
The Broncos are back home for three consecutive games, starting with Morrisville State Thursday at 3:00 p.m., Maine Fort Kent Saturday at 2:00 p.m., and Pine Manor Tuesday at 5:00 p.m.