ROCHESTER, N.Y. – Nazareth rallied from a nine-point halftime deficit Friday to defeat the University of Rochester in the semifinals of the Wendy's College Classic for men's basketball, 66-64. Junior Tyshun Stephens scored 17 points to lead the Golden Flyers, who will be shooting for their second straight Wendy's Tournament title Saturday at RIT.
The win improved Nazareth's overall record to 5-1 and was the Golden Flyers' third straight over the Yellowjackets, including last year’s title game (62-60) and this year’s regular-season game (82-64 on Nov., 22). Rochester, ranked 12th nationally by d3hoops.com, dropped to 5-2 overall following the loss.
Nazareth will play Hobart (5-0) for the tournament title Saturday at 8 p.m. at RIT. Nazareth will be shooting for its second straight tournament title and its seventh overall. Hobart defeated Brockport, 71-70, in Friday's first semifinal. Saturday's final will be broadcast on local radio station WYSL (AM-1040 and FM-92.1) and will be available online at
www.wysl1040.com and through
LiveStats.
Nazareth won despite missing the front end of three straight one-and-one foul shooting opportunities in the final minute. Senior Jason Corletta missed with :41 left, then sophomore Brad Ford with :27 left and finally senior Phil Scaffidi with :13 left. UR had a chance to tie the game following Scaffidi's miss, but John DiBartolomeo and Nate Vernon each missed short chances for the Yellowjackets before Corletta could corral the game-clinching rebound.
The Yellowjackets led by nine, 38-29, at halftime. Corletta scored eight points for Nazareth and Ford added seven. Nate Novosel and DiBartolomeo each scored nine for the Yellowjackets.
Nazareth opened the second half with a 10-2 scoring run to close within one, 40-39, following Ford’s three-pointer with 16:40 left. The Golden Flyers finally took the lead, 51-50, on a pair of free throws by Stephens with 11:19 left. The lead shifted back and forth until Nazareth regained the it for good on a a basket by Stephens with 4:13 to go. A basket by senior Greg Lothridge and another by Stephens extended the advantage to five, 66-61, with 1:49 to go and set the stage for a frantic final minute.
The Yellowjackets missed six shots in the final minute and were forced to foul, but Nazareth, normally solid at the free-throw line, left the door open with the missed one-and-ones.
In addition to Stephens' 17 points, Ford had 15 points and nine rebounds and Corletta added 14 points anf five boards. Lothridge had six points, 10 rebounds and four blocks. DiBartolomeo led all scorers with 22 points.
In Saturday's final, Hobart will be shooting for its first-ever tournament title in its first trip to the final since 1989.