Nazareth holds off Utica, 73-72
UTICA, N.Y. -- Junior Phil Scaffidi sank a pair of free throws with :14 left Friday to lift Nazareth to a 73-72 men's basketball victory over Utica.
Nazareth improved to 10-6 overall and 3-4 in the Empire 8 Conference. Utica dropped to 8-7 and 2-5.
Scaffidi scored the Golden Flyers' last five points to finish with a game-high 19 points. He made 5 of 10 shots from the field and went 8-for-8 from the free-throw line.
In a see-saw second half, Utica's Will Abrams scored with :27 left to give the Pioneers' their final lead of the game at 72-71. On Nazareth's next possession, Scaffidi was fouled by Robert Whyte and the 6-foot guard nailed the decisive shots. Utica had one last possession, but never got off a game-winning attempt as Nazareth's Jake Fladd made a steal in the closing seconds.
Nazareth had four double-digit scorers as sophomore Tyshun Stephens scored 13 points to go with five rebounds and five assists. Freshman Brad Ford< and junior Greg Lothridge each scored 10.
Nazareth shot poorly from the field in the first half (11-for-30, 36.7 percent) as starters Scaffidi, Stephens and Jason Corletta went a combined 0 for 12. Nazareth led by as many as nine points early on -- thanks to 10 first-half points by Lothridge -- but Utica closed the half with a 16-4 scoring run over the last seven minutes to take a three-point advantage, 32-29, at the break.
Nazareth's shooting improved appreciably in the second half as Scaffidi scored 17 of his points and Stephens and Corletta combined for 21 more.
Nazareth was up 67-63 following a basket by Corletta with 3:36 to go. A 7-2 Utica run -- with all seven points coming from James Patterson -- enabled Utica to take a 70-69 lead with under a minute to play.
Scaffidi scored for Nazareth with :47 left before Abrams' basket brought the lead back to Utica, 72-71, with :27 left. Scaffidi then stepped up and knocked down the clutch throws for Nazareth.
Whyte was Utica's high scorer with 16 points. Patterson scored 15 and and Abrams 12.