Jesse Winter is already the leading scorer in Cortland State men's basketball history, but has another destination in mind. Cortland photo by Darl Zehr Photography

Jesse Winter is one of five seniors on the Cortland State men's basketball team. He shares an off-campus house with the other four.

This means Winter sees the other guys a lot -- pretty much everywhere he goes, in fact. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, though.

The quintet is an inseparable group, five young guys living out their final year of college together. But five great college friends don't automatically make up a strong nucleus on a basketball team. That takes years of work, thousands of repetitions in practices, and sometimes even then, it just never comes together. 

Winter and his classmates are a perfect model of how it can come together.

Cortland (20-3, 14-2 SUNYAC), with its 87-47 win against New Paltz State on Tuesday night, clinched at least a share of the conference title. The Red Dragons, who are riding a 12-game winning streak, lead the SUNYAC by two games with two left to play. A 22-7 season last year left Cortland on the outside looking in come NCAA Tournament time, but the Red Dragons did cap 2012 by winning the ECAC Upstate New York championship.

"It might be a surprise to a lot of people on the national scene that we're having a year like this, but ... going into the season, we really did have these expectations," Winter said. "We knew we were bringing back all these players and we knew what we did in the previous season where we went 22-7, that we could make a run and be a pretty solid team."

Winter, a 5-11 point guard, became the program's all-time leading scorer Feb. 5 in Cortland's 84-56 win over Oneonta State. The dynamic guard, who immediately stepped into a starting role as a freshman in 2009, has exemplified consistency and balance over his four-year career, two traits that veteran coach Tom Spanbauer was immediately enamored with in his recruitment of Winter.

"He just brings the ability to run a team, number one," Spanbauer said. "And then he has the ability really to utilize dribble penetration. He's got a real good change of speed and he's able to get by his primary defender many times and get into the paint and draw some attention. And from there he's an outstanding decision maker."

Winter, a two-time captain, leads the team in scoring (15.7 PPG), assists (4.7 APG) and 3-point shooting (39 percent). But beyond the numbers, Winter's impact can perhaps best be measured in the success of his teammates. Guards Jeremy Smith and Harrison Hefele, forward Brian Manning and center Dan Sternkopf -- Winter's four housemates -- are all once again enjoying strong individual seasons.

Smith, the team leader in 3-pointers made, trails only Winter in scoring. The versatile Hefele provides everything from rebounding to steals. Sternkopf starts at center and leads the team in blocks. And Manning, a fifth-year senior, averages 11.5 points and five rebounds per game as the first option off the bench.

The five seniors, along with junior forward Kevin McMahon and sophomore guard Lamard Herron, make up Cortland's seven-player rotation -- six of whom play at least 22 minutes a night.

Winter is the engine that drives an offense that's putting up just under 80 points per game, which ranks in the top 30 nationally. Over the course of Cortland's current 12-game winning streak, the Red Dragons have shot 50 percent or better in 10 of those games. Winter said Cortland's veteran group has developed a strong sense of when to get out and run in transition, and when to turn to set plays in the half-court offense.

"The thing with us is that we're not like some teams that we play against, where we're just strictly focused on offense," Winter said. "What we like to focus on is, let's play some tough defense and let's force the other team into some turnovers so we can get out in transition."

Spanbauer, now in his 18th year as his alma mater's coach, guided Cortland to a program-best 24-5 record in 1999-2000. That mark is well within striking distance for this year's team, though Winter said the players remain focused on winning the SUNYAC and securing an NCAA tournament bid, two goals that have eluded this year's senior class so far.

"That's what everybody is playing for," Winter said. "I'm sure it's not just my team but every team. That's a goal that, even before the season, you want to make the [NCAA] tournament, you want to make a run."

If Cortland is to reach the NCAA tournament, it will be the team's first berth since 2006. Winter, who currently stands at 1,444 career points, could become the first Cortland player to eclipse the 1,500-point plateau.

Winter said he was relieved to break the record at home, in front of his friends and family. But he wasn't just happy to be showered with congratulations, hugs and tweets -- he was pleased to get it over with before any potential postseason play, so his teammates wouldn't be worried about helping him reach the record. As it’s been since he stepped foot on campus four years ago, the team comes first.

"It probably came into mind I guess midway through junior year," Winter said of the scoring record. "Because, honestly, coming to a school, you don't really look at that because you don't really know where you stand, you don't really know how your career is going to play out. ... I just kind of looked. I wasn't sure if I'd actually have a chance of getting it, but I just peeked at it."

This season has the makings of a banner year for the Red Dragons. The team hasn't lost since Jan. 8 and has won its last three games by a staggering margin of 33.3 points. 

Consistency. That's the name of the game for Winter and his Cortland teammates. And it just might be the key to a tournament run. 

Men's Northeast: Amherst clinches NESCAC's top seed

Amherst won its second straight NESCAC regular-season crown, but the Lord Jeffs certainly had to earn it.

Amherst entered this week needing wins against Williams and Middlebury, two teams still alive for the top seed, to clinch the regular-season title. Amherst rode a balanced effort to a 65-48 win against Williams on Sunday, but it took a triple-overtime instant classic Tuesday night to make everything official.

Aaron Toomey drained a 3-pointer with 2.9 seconds remaining in the third overtime to lift Amherst to a 104-101 win against Middlebury. The Lord Jeffs never would have reached the third overtime without the heroics of forward Willy Workman, who intentionally missed a free throw, recovered his own rebound and put in the layup late in the second extra frame.

Workman finished with 30 points, 13 rebounds and five assists while Peter Kaasila added 29 points (on 13-of-19 shooting) and 11 rebounds for Amherst, which capped off its second straight 10-0 record in NESCAC play. Middlebury got 30 points from Joey Kizel and 17 each from Jake Wolfin and Nolan Thompson, but was ultimately forced to settle with the No. 3 seed in the conference tournament.

As always, the NESCAC tournament promises some quality matchups. Expect a rematch of Williams and Middlebury (Williams won 64-63 in the only meeting this season), along with Amherst and Tufts in round two.

Men's East: Stevens takes control of Empire 8

The Empire 8 is now in the hands of Stevens. The Ducks routed Ithaca 87-65 on Saturday to take a one-game conference lead with just two games to play.

Stevens faces Alfred and St. John Fisher on the road, an easier task than Ithaca faces with its home games against Utica and Nazareth. Stevens, however, has shown over the last two to three weeks that it's a force to be reckoned with.

After an 80-69 loss to Ithaca on Jan. 25, the Ducks have rattled off six straight wins to move into the Empire 8 driver's seat. Sheldon Jones tallied 25 points and Patrick Sabatino added 20 points and nine rebounds in Stevens' win against Ithaca.

It's easy to argue that Stevens, the only New Jersey school in the Empire 8 basketball alignment, benefits most from hosting the conference tournament. Of course, if you simply go by history, the Empire 8 conference tournament has been as wild and unpredictable as any in the country, so perhaps it doesn't matter.

What does matter is how Stevens has been playing since the end of January into the beginning of February -- Stevens has won its six straight games by an average margin of 11.5 points.

Women's Northeast/East: Babson's streak reaches 81

Babson beat Smith 73-52 on Sunday to clinch the top seed in the NEWMAC conference tournament. But that's hardly the most impressive factoid from the win.

For example, the Beavers will host the conference tournament for the fourth straight season. They will do that because they haven't lost a NEWMAC game since February 2009.

With its win against Smith, Babson extended its conference winning streak to a staggering 81 games. Sarah Collins poured in 22 points and 15 rebounds against Smith. Collins, a senior center, has been extraordinary this season, putting up 18 points, 13.7 rebounds and three blocks per game. Those are the kind of numbers that can get you Player of the Year consideration. Consider also that Babson's conference wins streak coincides with Collins' four-year career.

Babson wraps up its regular season with road games against Clark and Springfield, two lower-tier NEWMAC squads. The Beavers should enter the conference tournament -- and NCAA tournament -- with decent momentum. A second-round NCAA exit last season represented a step back after consecutive Elite Eight trips. Babson could have another deep run in store.

Top 25: Movement marks this week's polls

Amherst and Middlebury climbed to No. 2 and No. 3, respectively, in this week's D3hoops.com Men's Top 25 poll. WPI and Rochester, both top-five teams last week, dropped to No. 5 and No. 6, respectively, after losses.

Williams also slipped three spots, down to No. 10. Rhode Island (No. 20), MIT (No. 22), Cortland State (No. 23) and Stevens (No. 24) were all ranked in the lower half of the poll. Albertus Magnus received votes.

Amherst and Tufts remained the top two Northeast/East teams in this week's D3hoops.com Women's Top 25 poll, but both slipped -- Amherst to No. 6 and Tufts to No. 7.

Southern Maine (No. 12), Williams (No. 17) and Babson (No. 19) were also ranked, while Rochester, Ithaca, Bridgewater State, New Paltz State and Smith all received votes. Williams, by virtue of its win against Amherst went from unranked a week ago to No. 17.

Note: The NCAA released its first regional rankings last Wednesday.

Quick hits

Alex Berthiaume scored 20 points and Nick Sienkiewicz added 19 points as Springfield topped WPI 66-60, handing the previously unbeaten Engineers their first loss of the season on Sunday. Springfield now owns wins against WPI and Amherst this season. ... Teddy Tuggles became just the 10th Keuka men's player to eclipse the 1,000-point mark in the Storm's 63-56 win against Cazenovia last Wednesday. Tuggles finished with 13 points, six rebounds and six assists. ... Chris Manning stuffed the stat sheet with 10 points, seven assists, seven steals and three rebounds in Plattsburgh State's 92-69 win against Potsdam State on Tuesday. Plattsburgh State won its third straight to keep within striking distance of SUNYAC leader Cortland State. ... Anthony Click poured in 25 points as Anna Maria routed Emmanuel 90-67 on Tuesday. The AMCATS have now won 14 straight and lead the GNAC by a half game over Albertus Magnus. ... Jaylen Owens, Justin Wagner and Brian Hard each scored 13 points off the bench as Eastern Nazarene topped Curry 100-80 on Tuesday. The Lions improved to 10-6 in the CCC, just a half game behind No. 3 Wentworth. ... A pair of Empire 8 standouts -- Hartwick's Maria Foglia and Elmira's Jessica Zoltowski -- both eclipsed the 1,000-point mark in their careers this week. Foglia hit the mark in Hartwick's 60-52 win over Zoltowski's Elmira squad on Saturday. Zoltowski reached the plateau in Elmira's 60-47 loss to Stevens on Friday. ... Kara McDuffee scored 19 points and pulled down 12 rebounds in St. Lawrence's 63-53 win against Union on Saturday. St. Lawrence is tied with Vassar atop the Liberty League standings with identical 11-3 records.

Contact me

Whether you have an interesting story idea, know of a player or coach approaching a career milestone, or just want to talk basketball, I want to hear it. Please reach out to me at andrew.lovell@d3sports.com. You can also follow me on Twitter (@andrew_lovell).