The Dolphins finished the 2023–24 season 15–17, 9–7 in NEC play, tied for fourth place.[2] As the no. 4 seed in the NEC tournament,[3] they defeated Fairleigh Dickinson in the quarterfinals,[4] before falling to Merrimack in the semifinals.[5]
Offseason
Following the 2023–24 season, Le Moyne lost Luke Sutherland, Kaiyem Cleary, Mike DePersia, Nate McClure and Isaiah Salter, who graduated. Sutherland and Cleary were the team's top two scorers, Cleary led the team in rebounds, and DePersia was the starting point guard, leading the team in assists and steals.[6]
Victor Panov, a 6' 7" power forward from Saint Petersburg, Russia committed to Le Moyne on November 20, 2023.[7] However, he decommitted on April 10, 2024.[8] Later that month, Panov committed to Drexel.[9]
C.J. Moore entered the transfer portal on March 18, 2024.[10] Jamel Melvin, who was injured and redshirted the previous season season, entered the transfer portal on March 26.[11] After redshirting the previous season, Mason Landdeck transferred to Seattle Pacific on April 3.[12]
On May 8, Le Moyne announced that Jakob Blakley and Isaac Nyakundi had signed letters of intent. Blakley is a 6' 0" guard, who was a first team all-conference, second team all-city and second-team all-state high school player, scoring more than 1,000 career points. As a senior at Walter Payton College Preparatory High School in Chicago, he averaged 28 points, 4.5 rebounds and 4.0 assists per game. Nyakundi is from Duluth, Minnesota but attended the MacDuffie School in Granby, Massachusetts, where he was a two-year captain. As a senior, he averaged 18 points and 13 rebounds per game. As a junior, he recorded 20 double-doubles.[13]
On June 20, assistant coach Jamie Young left Le Moyne to become an assistant at Villanova.[14] On the same day, Le Moyne announced that Elijah Burns had been hired as an assistant coach. Burns was an assistant at Saint Rose during the 2023–24 season.[15]
Le Moyne announced that six transfer students were added to the team on July 23. These were guards Will Amica from Albany and Robby Carmody from Mercer, redshirt junior forward Dwayne Koroma from UT Arlington, junior forward Freds Pauls Bagatskis, also from UT Arlington, junior guard Zek Tekin from Siena and redshirt freshman forward Trevor Roe from Radford.[16]
Will Amica was at Albany for four years, appearing in 29 games. He is a graduate student with at least two years of eligibility remaining. Amica played in 19 games off the bench during the 2023–24 season.[16]
Robby Carmody began his collegiate career at Notre Dame before transferring to Mercer for the 2023–24 season. He has one year of eligibility remaining. Carmody played in 29 games with 19 starts for Mercer during the 2023–24 season, averaging 7.5 points in 17.4 minutes per contest.[16]
After starting his collegiate career playing for Iona and then Salt Lake Community College, Dwayne Koroma spent the previous season at UT Arlington. He has two seasons of eligibility remaining. Koroma played in 33 games with 14 starts during the 2023–24 campaign.[16]
Freds Pauls Bagatskis played for Latvia at the 2023 FIBA U20 European Championship Division B and averaged a team-high 17.3 points per game and led all players in the tournament with 27 three-point field goals. He has at least two years of eligibility remaining. Bagatskis started his collegiate career at Georgia Tech before transferring to UT Arlington for his sophomore year and becoming Dwayne Koroma's teammate. He played only two games during the 2023–24 season, before suffering an ankle injury in practice that ended his campaign.[16]
Zek Tekin has two seasons of eligibility remaining after playing two seasons for Siena. Tekin played in 23 games with 20 starts as a sophomore during the 2023–24 season, averaging 9.0 points, a team-high 3.0 assists, a team-high 1.1 steals and 2.1 rebounds in 23.3 minutes per game.[16]
Trevor Roe, who was a 1,000-point scorer and an All-Central New York honoree at Fayetteville–Manlius High School, returned to the Syracuse metropolitan area after spending his freshman season at Radford in 2023–24, and has four seasons of eligibility remaining. Roe's whose father, Matt, played basketball at Syracuse from 1986 to 1989. The younger Roe scored 500 points as a high school senior and earned first team all-league and first All-Central New York honors.[16]
The Dolphins also announced that Sam Donnelly, a graduate student at Le Moyne, who was a practice player with the Le Moyne women's team the previous two seasons, had been added to the roster.[16]
The Northeast Conference released its preseason coaches' poll on October 24, 2024. The Dolphins were picked to finish fourth in the conference.[25]
Rank
Team
1 (tie)
Central Connecticut (5)
Wagner (4)
3
Fairleigh Dickinson
4
Le Moyne
5
LIU
6
Chicago State
7
Mercyhurst
8 (tie)
Saint Francis
Stonehill
() first-place votes
KenPom ranking
Le Moyne was ranked 335th of 364 Division I teams in the preseason Pomeroy rankings.[26]
Preseason All-Conference Team
Fifth-year senior guard Darrick Jones Jr. was the only Dolphin selected as a member of the NEC Preseason All-Conference Team.[27]
Season highlights
Pre-conference season
The Dolphins traveled just over three miles for their season opener at Syracuse on November 4, 2024. Le Moyne shocked the Orange by holding them to 32% shooting from the floor in the first half and led by five points at intermission. With the Dolphins leading by a point, a 9–0 Syracuse run gave the Orange a 76–68 lead with 4:31 to play. However, Le Moyne responded with a 6–2 spurt, getting three points each from Will Amica on a triple and Freds Pauls Bagatskis on three free throws. Trent Mosquera's three-pointer cut the Syracuse lead to two points with 1:02 left, and another triple from Bagatskis made it 83–82 with 22 seconds on the clock. After the Orange hit one of two from the line, the Dolphins turned the ball over with six seconds to play, and Syracuse hit two more free throws, handing Le Moyne a heartbreaking 86–82 loss. Bagatskis scored 18 points to lead five Dolphins in double figures and had a team-high five rebounds. Zek Tekin had 10 points, four rebounds, a game-high six assists and a steal.[28][29][30]
Will Amica and Zek Tekin were named NEC Prime Performers for the first week of the season. Amica averaged 14 points, 5.5 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game and shot 52.6% from the floor and 83.3% from three-point range. He came off the bench to score 12 points in 13 minutes on 5-for-9 shooting from the field and 2-for-2 from beyond the arc at Syracuse. He was 3-for-4 on three-pointers in a 16-point, eight-rebound performance against Cal State Northridge. Tekin averaged 12.7 points, three rebounds, 5.3 assists and two steals per game, shooting 64.7% from the field. He led the Dolphins with 17 points, including a 10-for-12 mark from the free-throw line, against Cal State Northridge.[29][31][32]
The Dolphins visited two-time defending national champion UConn, ranked no. 3 in the AP poll,[33] on November 13. Le Moyne took an early 7–4 lead in the first 2:42 of the game, but UConn responded with a 10–0 run. The Dolphins got back within three points, but another first-half 10–0 spurt over 5:19 put the Huskies firmly in control. UConn ended the game on an 11–4 run and cruised to a 90–49 victory. Dwayne Koroma scored 13 points and grabbed five rebounds to lead Le Moyne. AJ Dancler finished with five points and three assists.[34][35]
The Dolphins participated in the Island U Invitational, a showcase event hosted by Texas A&M University–Corpus Christi, and met UT Martin on November 22. AJ Dancier scored 16 points to lead Le Moyne to a 65–53 victory over the Skyhawks. Ocypher Owens added 11 points, nine rebounds and three blocks for the Dolphins. Dwayne Koroma scored 11 points, grabbed eight rebounds and had three steals as Le Moyne improved to 2–4 on the season. The Dolphins held UT Martin to 25% shooting from the floor and 10% from three-point range.[36][37]
The following day, the Dolphins fell, 82–61, to host Texas A&M–Corpus Christi. The Islanders broke open a close game with a 13–0 run in the middle portion of the first half. Ocypher Owens scored 14 points to lead Le Moyne and added six rebounds, three assists and two steals. Nate Fouts finished with 11 points, seven rebounds and three steals. Robby Carmody added 13 points and three assists.[38][39]
Le Moyne shot 60.4% from the floor, a new program record for the Division I era, and held off a late charge in an 81–77 win at Manhattan on November 29. After the Jaspers cut the Dolphins' 16-point lead down to two, AJ Dancler hit a step-back triple with 1:12 to play to stall the rally. A pair of free throws by Robby Carmody with nine seconds left sealed the Le Moyne victory. Dwayne Koroma scored 17 points on 8-for-9 shooting from the floor and added five rebounds and five assists, despite being limited to 22 minutes by foul trouble. Ocypher Owens led the Dolphins with 18 points and nine rebounds and added six assists. Zek Tekin finished with 16 points, eight assists, five rebounds and three steals for Le Moyne. Carmody had 15 points and three steals. This was Le Moyne's first win over Manhattan in the seventh all-time meeting between the programs, the most recent being February 2, 1957.[40][41][42]
Dwayne Koroma and Ocypher Owens were named NEC Prime Performers for the fourth week of the season. Koroma averaged 15.5 points, 6.5 rebounds and five aassists per game while shooting 75% from the floor. Owens averaged 12.5 points, 8.5 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game and shot 50% from the field.[41]
The Dolphins hosted Army in a thriller on December 3. The Black Knights had a 14-point lead with less than five minutes to play, but Le Moyne stormed back and tied the game on Dwayne Koroma's layup with four seconds left. Army held another late lead in overtime, but AJ Dancler tied the score at 82 for the Dolphins. Zek Tekin then stole the ball, but his three-pointer at the buzzer was off the mark. Tekin's pair of free throws in the closing seconds of double overtime tied the game again. Ryan Curry's three-pointer with 6.9 seconds remaining in triple overtime broke a tie and gave Army a 103–100 lead. Dancler shot a three-pointer at the buzzer, but it was off the mark, and Army held on for the win. According to the KenPom win probability metric, the game was the third most exciting game up that that point in the Division I season. Koroma and Ocypher Owens each had their first career double-double for Le Moyne. Koroma finished with 19 points, 15 rebounds and two steals. Owens had 14 points, 11 rebounds and four blocks. Tekin matched Koroma for team-high scoring honors with 19 points and added seven rebounds, five assists and three steals. Jalen Rucker scored 34 and added 13 rebounds, five assists and six steals for Army.[43][44][45]
Dwayne Koroma and Ocypher Owens were named NEC Prime Performers for the fifth week of the season. Koroma averaged 12.5 points, 12.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 1.5 blocks and 1.5 steals per game while shooting 71.4% from the field. Koroma would have been leading Division I in field-goal accuracy were he not playing for a transitioning team. Owens averaged 13 points, 10 rebounds, 2.5 assists and two blocks while shooting 52.2% from the floor.[44]
Jakob Blakley was named NEC Rookie of the Week after hitting eight three-pointers and scoring 28 points in the Dolphins' 106–51 win over SUNY Delhi on December 14. Blakley entered the game with only three triples in his collegiate career. He also grabbed five rebounds and had three steals in the game, both new career highs. Robby Carmody scored 14 points in only 10 minutes of action for Le Moyne. Freshman Isaac Nyakundi came off the bench to score 11 points and grab seven rebounds.[46][47][48]
AJ Dancler scored a career-high 20 points and grabbed three rebounds to lead the Dolphins to an 80–76 win at Dartmouth on December 18. Robby Carmody's three-pointer gave Le Moyne a 69–66 lead, and Nate Fouts followed with a pair of free throws to put the Dolphins ahead by five points with 1:41 to play. Dancler answered a Big Green basket with a triple to extend the lead to six points, but Dartmouth hit another three-pointer with 33 seconds to play. Zek Tekin sank four free throws, and Carmody hit two more in the closing seconds to seal the victory. Carmody finished with 13 points, three rebounds and two steals, while Fouts added 13 points, five rebounds and three assists. Tekin had 12 points, six rebounds, six assists and three steals, and Dwayne Koroma snatched a team-high seven rebounds while scoring 10 points.[49][50]
Le Moyne's December 22 game at Notre Dame fulfilled a promise made nearly 70 years earlier. In March 1955, Notre Dame athletic director Moose Krause was the keynote speaker at the Dolphins' annual athletic banquet. While making his remarks, Krause said that he hoped Notre Dame and Le Moyne could schedule a basketball game in the not too distant future.[51] In the first-ever meeting between the programs, the Fighting Irish went on a 16–2 run over a span of 4:27 to extend their three-point lead to 34–17. The Dolphins were unable to close the gap and fell, 91–62. Dwayne Koroma scored a career-high 22 points to lead the Dolphins and added eight rebounds, two assists, two steals and a blocked shot. Graduate transfer Robby Carmody had 13 points, three rebounds and two steals against his former teammates. AJ Dancler finished with 10 points, three assists and three rebounds.[52][53]
AJ Dancler and Dwayne Koroma were named NEC Prime Performers for the seventh week of the season. Dancler averaged 15 points, three rebounds and two assists while shooting 50% from the floor and 41.7% from beyond the arc. Koroma averaged 16 points, 7.5 rebounds and 1.5 steals while shooting 81.3% from the field and 100% from three-point range.[54]
AJ Dancler was named an NEC Prime Performer for the eighth week of the season. Dancler scored 17 points and had three assists and four steals while shooting 3 for 5 from beyond the arc in the Dolphins' 88–69 loss at Niagara on December 29. Ocypher Owens had a double-double for Le Moyne with 11 points, 10 rebounds, three assists and a blocked shot. The Dolphins finished their non-conference schedule with a record of 5–10.[55][56][57]
Conference season
LIU hosted Le Moyne at Barclays Center in the NEC opener for both teams on January 3, 2025. Leading by a point in the second half, the Sharks went on a 24–6 run over a span of 9:14 to break the game open and cruised to a 78–62 victory. LIU shot 56% from the floor and 54% from distance for the game. Ocypher Owens had a double-double for the Dolphins with 19 points, 12 rebounds and five blocks. Robby Carmody added 16 points and two steals for Le Moyne.[58][59][60]
^Le Moyne did not play during the 2020–21 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Consequently, this is Champion's sixth year as the team's head coach but only his fifth season.
^The campus, including the Le Moyne Events Center, has a Syracuse mailing address but lies within the adjacent town of DeWitt.
^Graduate student who did not play college basketball as an undergraduate. Donnelly has only one year of eligibility remaining.
