UTICA, NY – SUNYIT senior David Golembiowski (Barneveld, NY/Holland Patent), who was chosen to participate on the USA D-3 All-Star Team during their tour through Brazil this past August, proved he was one of the best scorers in Division III basketball by leading his squad in points against the top competition in Brazil.
Golembiowski averaged a team-best 17.8 points per game during the five-game trip, where Team USA finished with a 2-3 record.
"Dave represented SUNYIT and himself extremely well in Brazil against some great competition," said SUNYIT Athletics Director and head men's basketball coach Kevin Grimmer. "That experience and his level of play there should really benefit our team as we head in to Dave's senior season for the Wildcats."
The team began with a contest against Jundiai/Siemens in Jundiai, Sao Paulo. Team USA got off to a slow start early on and found themselves down 13-12 after a quarter of play, but heated up in the second quarter and took a 39-31 lead into halftime. They then put the game away in the third with a 25-10 scoring advantage and would cruise to a 76-56 victory from there. Golembiowski had 11 points in the contest, while teammate Nick Rose had a game-high 18 points.
They would then take on the Brazilian professional team Sao Caetano do Sul at the same site, winning 98-89 in overtime. Sao Caetano do Sul made a terrific fourth quarter run to send the game into overtime, but Golembiowski would hit one of his team's three 3-pointers in the extra frame to propel Team USA to the hard-fought victory over a very strong first division Brazilian team. Golembiowski led all scorers with 24 points.
Team USA would slip a bit from there, suffering from a poor shooting night and falling to XV/Cosam/Prixe 86-80 in the team's last contest in Jundiai, Sao Paulo. Golembiowski finished with 15 points.
The team would then move on to Rio de Janeiro to take on the Brazilian National Team, which was tuning up for the World Military Basketball Championships in South Korea being held this month. The game would be close through three quarters and USA found itself down six points heading into the final period, but the National Team, made up of some of the top pro players in the top league in Brazil, proved to be too much for Team USA in the fourth quarter and would pull away for the 82-62 victory. Golembiowski had an impressive outing, keeping Team USA in the game and finishing with a team-best 22 points.
Team USA would rematch the Brazilian National Team in its final game of the tour and would again suffer defeat, this time falling 88-71. Despite the outcome, Team USA never backed down from its much more experienced opponent and was able to test themselves against top pro players. Golembiowski was no exception, finishing the game with 17 points to finish the trip as the team's leading scorer. Even so, competing against top-level talent like that was not something Golembiowski took for granted.
"Playing against competition like that was great," explained Golembiowski. "Playing against the Military Team, there is a chance that some of those guys could be playing at the Olympics, so to be a part of that with all of the other great USA players was truly a great experience."
The experience was more than just basketball for Golembiowski, however.
"It was great to compete against so many top players, but I really enjoyed everything that we did off the court as well," Golembiowski said. "I really got to learn the culture of the country."
Golembiowski had an outstanding 2009-10 season for SUNYIT, as he was crowned the North Eastern Athletic Conference Player of the Year for the second straight year and the Eastern College Athletic Conference Upstate Player of the Year, as well as being selected to the NEAC All-Conference First Team, the NABC All-East Region First Team and the DIII News All-America Fourth Team. The 6-foot-7 sharpshooter led the team in points (21.1), rebounds (10.3) and blocks (3.0) per game and free throw percentage (.794), while being second in both field goal percentage (.501) and three-pointers made (72). He also led the NEAC in both points and blocks and was second in rebounds, while ranking seventh in the nation in blocks per game, highlighted by his school-record nine blocks in one game. He became the program's all-time leader in career rebounds and blocks this season, while also scoring his 1,500th career point on the year to help him place second all-time in that category.
The Wildcats had their greatest season in program history, winning their second straight NEAC Tournament Championship and making an appearance in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament for the first time ever. The squad finished with a program-best record of 26-5 overall and won eighteen straight contests during the season.