Men's Basketball To Host Pioneer Valley Classic This Weekend
SPRINGFIELD, Mass., Nov. 30, 2007 – Springfield College will serve as the host for the Pioneer Valley Men's Basketball Classic for the weekend of Nov. 30-Dec. 1. The Pride will welcome local rivals Westfield State, Western New England, and defending Division III National Champion Amherst to Blake Arena.In addition, Springfield College will honor Dr. James Naismith, its renowned alumnus and former faculty member who invented the game of basketball at the college in 1891, when it dedicates and names its newly refurbished basketball court in his honor, in ceremonies on Friday, Nov. 30, at 7:45 p.m., in Blake Arena, in the Physical Education Complex.
Richard B. Flynn, Springfield College president, and Craig F. Poisson, the college’s senior associate director of athletics, will preside over the unveiling of the graphics, “James Naismith Court,” embedded in each end zone floor.
Westfield and Amherst will be the opening game of the Classic at 5:30 on Friday evening and will be followed up by a contest between the host Pride and Western New England at 8:00 pm. On Saturday, Amherst and Western New England will square off at 1:00 pm before Springfield and Westfield State will play at 3:00 pm.
The Pride enter the tournament on a 13-day layoff after last playing on November 17th in the championship game of the Wesleyan Invitational. In its last contest, the Pride fell to Rhode Island College, 71-62, and currently has a 1-1 record this season. Springfield is paced by its senior guard, Jamaal Gibbs, and his 16.5 points per game. In the 2004-05 campaign, the Pride took on WNEC and Westfield State in the Pioneer Classic and posted a pair of wins against its local foes.
Western New England currently stands at 2-2 and is coming off a 73-68 win over MCLA on Tuesday evening. Matt Maynard and Asif Abdul-Wadud have led the way for the Golden Bears as they are each netting 14.5 points per game. WNEC also played in the Wesleyan Invitational to open up the season and had the same results as the Pride, topping Wesleyan and falling to Rhode Island College.
The Westfield State Owls enter the Classic with a 2-2 record, most recently cruising past Nichols, 85-54, on Tuesday. Dave Jaehnig is averaging 15.3 points per game to lead an efficient Owls' offense that is shooting just over 47% from the field as a team. Westfield State won its season-opener against Alfred, before falling to Gordon and Elms in its next two contests.
Amherst, the defending Division III National Champions, enters the Classic with an unblemished record of 3-0. The Lord Jeffs, who have beaten their opponents this season by an average of just under 40 points, is led by Brandon Jones' 16.7 points per game. Amherst has cruised past Hunter, Southern Vermont, and Emmanuel, and has 13 players averaging double-digit minutes of playing time.
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Head Coach Charlie Brock
Charlie Brock in 2009-10 will enter his 12th season as the head coach at Springfield College. Brock’s achievements as a coach are certainly impressive, as he has taken three schools to the NCAA Division III Tournament and has an overall, 29-year record of 394-363 for a winning percentage of .520. Read more.