BUFFALO, N.Y. – A pair of former local athletes helped Medaille College in Buffalo, N.Y. enjoy one of the more successful men’s basketball seasons in school history.
(Photo: Greg Bean (left) and Jonathan Smith with the AMCC Trophy. Photo courtesy of Medaille Athletics)
Jonathan Smith and Greg Bean, both Clarion Area graduates, played roles in the Mavericks AMCC Title winning team that lost in the first round of the NCAA Division III playoffs to Susquehanna to conclude a 21-7 season.
Smith was a freshman forward for Medaille who played in 27 of the 28 games averaging 6.2 points and 4.1 rebounds per game while shooting 44.3 percent from the floor.
“Playing for Medaille and transitioning from high school to college basketball has been an eye-opening experience,” Smith told ClarionSportsZone.com. “It can be challenging balancing classes, practice, traveling and studies, but in order to be a college basketball player you have to be willing to make sacrifices and put the work in. Winning the AMCC championship and going to the NCAA Tournament my freshman year is just a great accomplishment. It’s awesome.”
Bean is an assistant coach for the Mavericks joining the Medaille staff after a successful run as the head boys’ coach at Redbank Valley where his Bulldogs won the District 9 Class 2A title in 2015 and advanced to the PIAA quarterfinals that year.
“this season has been an unbelievable experience,” Bean told ClarionSportszone.com/ “We have a great group of young me, and it’s been neat to see Jonathan fit in and excel on and off the court. The amount of time and effort these guys have put in to get to where we are does not go unnoticed. To see the excitement of our players in the final seconds of the (AMCC) championship game was unlike anything I have ever experienced.”
Special thanks to ClarionSportszone.com for allowing us to use a portion of their story.
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