Syracuse, NY- Junior transfer Kobi Nwandu led the Le Moyne men’s basketball team offensively in their 89-52 loss against the Syracuse Orange last night with 14 points and 5 rebounds.

Nwandu, 1 of the 10 Le Moyne transfers, played 31 minutes and shot 4-9 from the field in his Dolphin debut.  Nwandu came from East Stroudsburg University in Pennsylvania where his former team accompanied the Dolphins in the Elite 8 of the NCAA tournament last season.

Nwandu played in every game for the Warriors last year and ranked second overall in points per game (11.9 ppg) and third for total rebounds with 144.  However, despite having success at his former school and standing out against the Orange last night, Kobi is not focused on the statistics.

“Syracuse is a top 20 team, I’m not really worried about points or double-digit points because I had a lot of turnovers,” said Nwandu.  “Winning is the most important thing for me, stats don’t really matter.”

Lucky for Kobi, Coach Beilein’s squad is coming off a historic run going 27-7, winning the NE-10 championship, and doing damage in the tournament last year.  This certainly acted as an incentive for the 6’6 forward who was looking to transfer. After a call and visit to campus, Nwandu knew Le Moyne was the school for him.

“East Stroudsburg was a great school and we made a great run, but it wasn’t a good fit for me personally,” said Kobi.  “The atmosphere that Coach B is creating here is winning and that’s what I want to do.”

When asked about Nwandu’s performance, Coach Beilein was not hesitant to compliment his forward’s game.  “He’s very talented, he came from a very talented PSAC team who was right there with us in the Elite 8,” said Beilein.  “He is a great kid that really guards and was taught well so he’s going to be a big influence on our defense.”

Despite the lop-sided score, Beilein wasn’t too concerned about the offense’s production as he mentioned he had only implemented their zone offense 2 days prior to Wednesday night’s contest.

The Dolphins’ focus now shifts to their fast-approaching season.  Coach Beilein wanted to make it clear, “we’re not trying to win the ACC, we’re trying to win the NE-10.”