The 2023–24 Le Moyne Dolphins men's basketball team represents Le Moyne College during the 2023–24 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Dolphins, led by fourth-season^{[lower-alpha 1]} head coach Nate Champion, play their home games on Ted Grant Court in the Le Moyne Events Center in DeWitt, New York^{[lower-alpha 2]} as first-year members of the Northeast Conference.

Previous season

The Dolphins finished the 2022–23 season 15–15, 11–9 in Northeast-10 play to finish in a four-way tie for fifth place.^[1] As the no. 6 seed in the NE10 tournament,^[2] they defeated Saint Michael's in the first round,^[3] before falling to Bentley in the quarterfinals.^[4] This was Le Moyne's final season as a member of the Northeast-10 Conference, as on May 10, it was announced that they would begin their transition to Division I, joining the Northeast Conference.^[5] They officially joined the conference on July 1.^[6]

Offseason

Following the 2022–23 season, Le Moyne lost Xavier Wilson, who graduated.^[7] Wilson was third on the team in points per game with 9.7 and minutes per game with 24.^[8]

Zy'Ever Wingfield and Jeremiah Washington were regular members of the Dolphins' rotation, both appearing in all 30 games and playing about 17 minutes per contest. Wingfield had seven starts, and Washington had 10. Wingfield averaged 7.6 points per game, and Washington averaged 5.3.^[8] Wingfield transferred to Virginia–Wise,^[9] and Washington transferred to Texas A&M International.^[10]

Prior to the announcement of Le Moyne moving to Division I, Jamel Melvin transferred in from Northern Colorado.^[11] Melvin played only 11 games with the Bears in 2022–23, and averaged just six minutes per appearance.^[12]

Two weeks after the move to Division I was announced,^[5] Le Moyne signed Ball State transfer Kaiyem Cleary^[13][14] and junior college transfer Ocypher Owens.^[15] Cleary appeared in 21 games for the Cardinals in 2022–23, averaging just five minutes per appearance.^[16] Owens was named to the all-conference second team in the NJCAA Southern Conference.^[17]

Isaiah Elmore appeared in the Dolphins' first 18 games of the 2022–23 season, starting 17 of them, but he did not play the rest of the season. In August, Elmore and Kevin Constant transferred together to Roberts Wesleyan.^[18] Elmore was Le Moyne's leader in rebounds per game with 5.0 and contributed 5.8 points per contest, averaging 17 minutes. Constant appeared in 29 games, including five starts, and averaged 5.5 points and 15 minutes per game.^[8]

Jamie Young joined the Dolphins' coaching staff on October 3, as an assistant. This is Young's return to college basketball after 23 years in supporting roles in the NBA. He was an assistant coach for the Philadelphia 76ers the previous two seasons. Prior to that, he was with the Boston Celtics for 20 years in various roles, including 10 years as an assistant coach. Young was serving as a Celtics advance scout, when the team won the 2008 NBA championship. He got his start in the NBA as an assistant video coordinator for the New Jersey Nets in the 2000-01 season. Young's first college job was as an assistant coach at Division III Greenville from 1998 to 2000.^[19][20]

Departures

Le Moyne Departures

Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Reason for Departure
Kevin Constant	11	F	6'1"	180	Sophomore	Lawrence, MA	Transferred to Roberts Wesleyan[18]
Isaiah Elmore	24	F	6'9"	225	Sophomore	Tampa, FL	Transferred to Roberts Wesleyan[18]
Jack Poirier	13	G	6'1"	180	Sophomore	Scituate, MA	Transferred to Ave Maria[21]
Jeremiah Washington	0	G	5'10"	165	Junior	Chicago, IL	Transferred to Texas A&M International[10]
Xavier Wilson	10	F	6'7"	210	Senior	Spring Valley, NY	Graduated[7]
Zy'Ever Wingfield	2	G	6'4"	185	Sophomore	Richmond, VA	Transferred to Virginia–Wise[9]

Preseason polls

Season notes

The Dolphins' top two scorers from the previous season, Luke Sutherland and Isaiah Salter, returned to the team and were joined by several Division I transfers.^[23]

Darrick Jones Jr. hit a three-pointer from the top of the key early in the Dolphins' season opener at Georgetown for Le Moyne's first points scored as a Division I program on November 7. Ball State transfer Kaiyem Cleary led the Dolphins with 11 points, all in the second half, and seven rebounds. Georgetown used a 9–2 run to take a 12–5 lead early in the game. The Hoyas extended the lead with an 8–0 run that made the score 20–7. After a brief flurry led by Jones, Trent Mosquera and Mike DePersia got the Dolphins within single digits at 28–19, the Hoyas closed the first half with a 19–4 run that gave them a 47–23 halftime lead on their way to a 94–57 victory. Jones and Luke Sutherland each contributed nine points for Le Moyne in the losing cause.^[26][27][28]

The Dolphins took on another Big East opponent, when they visited Vilanova on November 10. Led by Darrick Jones Jr. and Luke Sutherland, Le Moyne got off to a quick start and took an early 8–4 lead. The Wildcats responded with an 8–0 run to surge ahead, 12–8. However, the Dolphins responded with a run of their own led by Kaiyem Cleary, Mike DePersia and Ocypher Owens to take a 20–17 lead. Villanova used a 21–4 run to take control of the game, pushing their lead to 38–24. Le Moyne got no closer than 10 points down the rest of the way, as the Wildcats cruised to an 83–57 victory. Sutherland led the Dolphins with 15 points, and Isaiah Salter added 10. Cleary grabbed six rebounds for Le Moyne, while DePersia contributed six assists.^[28][29][30]

Le Moyne used first-half runs of 16–2 and 20–2 to build a 47–15 lead and never looked back on their way to a 105–46 victory, their first as a Division I program, over Division III SUNY Canton in their home opener on November 13. Five Dolphins had double-figure scoring games led by Kaiyem Cleary with 21 points, Nate McClure with 16, Darrick Jones Jr. with 13 and freshman AJ Dancler with 12. Redshirt freshman Nate Fouts made his collegiate debut and scored 11 points with three assists and two blocked shots. Cleary shot 8-for-10 from the field, while adding seven rebounds and two steals in just 16 minutes. McClure hit six of his seven shots, including 4-for-5 shooting from three-point range. Dancler grabbed five rebounds and dished out five assists. The Dolphins shot 32-for-37 on two-point field goals for the game, including 15-for-16 in the first half.^[31][32]

The Dolphins raced out to an early 10–0 lead in the opener of their four-game California road trip at San Diego on November 17. The early run was sparked by five points from Darrick Jones Jr., who finished with 11 points and three rebounds. With Le Moyne leading by eight at 27–19, the Toreros went on a 17–1 run that pushed them into the lead for good. San Diego opened the second-half scoring with a tree-point play to extend their lead to 12 at 46–34, and the Dolphins responded with a 6–0 run, including four points from Ocypher Owens, who finished with 21 points, eight rebounds and two blocked shots. The Toreros reasserted control over the game with a 22–9 run on their way to an 80–71 victory. Mike DePersia had 12 points, six assists and five steals for the Dolphins.^[33][34]

Ocypher Owens was named an NEC Prime Performer for the season's second week. He averaged 15.0 points, 5.7 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 2.7 blocks and 1.0 steals and shot 54.3% during week 2. Through the season's first two weeks, Le Moyne averaged just 9.2 turnovers per game, ranking first in the NEC and 24th in Division I with a 6.6 turnover margin. The Dolphins topped the NEC with an assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.74. Graduate student guard Mike DePersia was the catalyst, leading the NEC in assist-to-turnover ratio at 3.67. DePersia topped the NEC with 4.4 assists per game and had only six turnovers in 129 minutes over the season's first five games.^[35]

Le Moyne recorded its first victory over a Division I opponent as a Division I program, an 80–70 win at Cal State Northridge on November 21, in their opening game of the Golden State Hoops Jam, a multi-team event sponsored by Pacific. Luke Sutherland led the Dolphins with 24 points and five rebounds. Le Moyne started five graduate students for the first time in the program's history, and they responded by sprinting to an 11–4 lead to start the game, getting early scoring from Sutherland, Nate McClure (12 points, four rebounds and three steals for the game) and Isaiah Salter. After Le Moyne fell behind, 15–12, Mike DePersia (eight points, nine assists, four rebounds and three steals for the game) sparked a 19–2 run with a pull-up jump shot. The Matadors could not get closer than three points behind the rest of the way. The Dolphins closed out the game with strong free-throw shooting, finishing the game 31-for-34 from the charity stripe.^[36][37][38]

The Dolphins suffered a heartbreaking defeat when they visited Pacific on November 24, for their final game in the Golden State Hoops Jam. The teams exchanged the lead several times throughout the tightly contested game. With the score tied at halftime, Le Moyne scored the first seven points of the second half to take a 49–42 lead. The Tigers used a timeout and responded by scoring the next six points to cut the Dolphins' lead to one. Le Moyne went ahead, 70–69, on a three-point play by Kaiyem Cleary, who led the team with 19 points and added six rebounds and three steals. Cleary drove the baseline for a dunk and then converted the free throw with 2:03 to play. Neither team was able to score again until the closing seconds. Lesown Hallums Jr. hit a pair of free throws with 14.4 seconds remaining to put Pacific ahead, 71–70. Mike DePersia, who had his first career double-double with 10 points and a career-high 12 rebounds along with three steals and two assists, drove the lane and drew a foul with 1.9 seconds remaining. He missed the first shot, but made the second to tie the score at 71. The Tigers called timeout and then made a long pass to Hallums, who dribbled once and then hit a fadeaway jump shot from just inside the three-point line at the buzzer to give Pacific the 73–71 victory.^[39][40]

Mike DePersia and Luke Sutherland were both named an NEC Prime Performers for the season's third week. DePersia averaged 9.0 points, 8.0 rebounds, 5.5 assists and 3.0 steals and had an 11.0 assist-to-turnover ratio while shooting 50.0% from the floor. Sutherland averaged 18.0 points, 3.5 rebounds and 1.0 blocks and shot free throws at a 92.3% clip during week 3.^[38]

Le Moyne ranked 293rd of 362 Division I teams in the season's first release of NET rankings by the NCAA on December 4.^[41] This was 68 spots higher than the Dolphins' preseason Pomeroy ranking. Le Moyne's initial NET ranking was higher than four of the other eight Northeast Conference teams. Le Moyne's Pomeroy ranking through games of December 3, was 351, up 10 spots from their preseason Pomeroy ranking.^[42]

Luke Sutherland scored an NEC season-high 35 points in the inaugural Battle of the Interstate at Binghamton, but it was not enough as Le Moyne fell, 91–79. Sutherland was 12-for-17 from the field, including 5-for-7 from beyond the arc, and hit all six of his free throws. His 35 points were the most by a Le Moyne player since the Dolphins' current head coach, Nate Champion, scored 35 in a November 2013 game that went to overtime. Sutherland also had three rebounds, three assists and two blocked shots. The Bearcats were presented a newly minted trophy to commemorate their victory in front of Binghamton's largest home crowd in nearly two years.^{[43][44][45][46]}

Luke Sutherland was named an NEC Prime Performer for the season's fifth week. He averaged 26.0 points, 3.5 rebounds and 1.5 blocks and shot free throws while shooting 61.3% from the floor and 57.1% from three-point range during week 5. Through the season's first five weeks, Sutherland was the NEC's leader in free-throw shooting accuracy at 91.2%.^[46]

Le Moyne hosted a Division I opponent for the first time since an 88–75 loss to Siena in 1991, and for the first time since becoming a Division I program, on December 16, when they faced Dartmouth. With the Big Green leading, 8–7, the Dolphins went on a 15–6 run to open an eight-point lead with nine minutes to go in the first half. Kaiyem Cleary had the first eight of the 15 points, and Luke Sutherland scored the final seven during the run. A Trent Mosquera three-pointer stretched Le Moyne's lead to nine points at 32–23 with 4:15 left in the half. However, Dartmouth closed the half with a 13–4 run that tied the score at 36 at the break. The game remained tight in the opening stages of the second half, but the Dolphins closed the game with a 32–9 run over the final 13:12, which included a stretch of 15 straight points scored by Le Moyne. Sutherland had 11 of the 15 points, including three three-pointers and a layup. The Dolphins held the Big Green scoreless over the final 2:51 to secure an 80–54 victory, their first win over an Ivy League opponent. Sutherland finished the game with 24 points, while shooting 10-for-15 from the field and 4-for-8 from behind the arc, and added four rebounds, three assists, two steals and a block. Cleary contributed 19 points, shooting 4-for-6 from the floor and 3-for-4 from three-point range, while collecting six rebounds. Nate McClure had 12 rebounds for the Dolphins.^[47][48]

Luke Sutherland's performance against Dartmouth earned him NEC Player of the Week honors, the first time a Dolphin has been so recognized. Through the first six weeks of the season, Sutherland led the NEC in free-throw shooting at 91.2%. Also on the strength of his game against Dartmouth, Kaiyem Cleary was named an NEC Prime Performer for week 6.^[49]

Ocypher Owens was named an NEC Prime Performer for week 7. In the games against Houghton and at Penn State, Owens averaged 19.5 points, 5.5 rebounds. 3.0 assists and 1.0 steals, shooting 55.6% from the field. His 26 points against Houghton^[50] set a new career high.^[51]

Ocypher Owens's performance in the Dolphins 78–72 loss at Fairfield on December 30,^[52] earned him NEC Prime Performer status for the second consecutive week. Owens had 16 points, eight rebounds, three assists and two steals while shooting 7-for-13 from the floor in the setback.^[53]

Le Moyne played its inaugural NEC game on January 6, at Fairleigh Dickinson. Down by 10 points with less than 12 minutes to play, the Dolphins went on an 18–0 run over a stretch of 6:21, sparked by freshman AJ Dancler, who scored eight of his 10 bench points during the run. Le Moyne closed the game by outscoring the Knights, 25–4, over the final 11 minutes. The Dolphins' 18–0 run put them ahead by eight points, but Fairleigh Dickinson answered and cut Le Moyne's lead to 67–63 with less than two minutes to play. The Dolphins' defense shut down the Knights the rest of the game, while Le Moyne, the NEC's leading team in free-throw shooting percentage, hit five of six free throws in the closing moments to put the game away and claim a 74–63 victory. Kaiyem Cleary had 23 points and eight rebounds, both new career highs, for Le Moyne.^[54][55][56]

Kaiyem Cleary's January 6 performance against Fairleigh Dickinson put him on the list of NEC Prime Performers for week 9.^[55]

Roster

Schedule and results

Source:^[61]

Notes

References