Tough Day for Men's Hoops

Tough Day for Men's Hoops

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SUNYIT 90, Utica 80
Four different players scored in double figures for the Utica College men's basketball team but it was not enough as host SUNYIT pulled away in the second half to earn a 90-80 victory in non-conference action Sunday afternoon.

The Pioneers' record dropped to 2-3 overall on the year and they will return to action on Wednesday night for their regular season home opener at the Harold T. Clark Athletic Center Gymnasium against SUNY Canton. The contest is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m.

UC was led by junior point guard Aaron Nevins (Buffalo, NY/Canisius) who tallied a team-best 21 points on 7-of-12 shooting from the floor (3-of-4 from 3-point). Senior forward Chris Jeffers (Albany, NY/Bishop Maginn) added 18 points and eight rebounds, while classmate Rich Smith (Albany, NY/La Salle Institute) chipped in with 11 points, by shooting 3-for-3 from behind the arc. The Pioneers totaled ten 3-pointers on the day.

Big man Marty Felicia (Phoenix, NY/Phoenix) also added 10 points (5-of-6 shooting) and five rebounds. Adim Hamiti started for UC and netted six points and grabbed two steals, while Ian Henderson (Chateaugay, NY/Chateaugay) also chipped in with six points off the bench for Utica.

The Pioneers largest lead of the game was early in the contest as they led by six points at the 17:22 ledger. UC managed to force eight lead changes over the course of the contest, with their final lead coming with 12:42 in the second half, 54-53, after a bucket from Jeffers.

SUNYIT used an 8-2 run in a span of just over two minutes midway through the second half to take a 69-61 lead with 8:07 remaining. UC trailed by just six points, 82-76, with 2:44 remaining but the host Wildcats pulled together a 6-0 run in a span of 1:14 to take a convincing 88-76 lead with 1:30 left in regulation.

The Wildcats improved to 2-0 overall on the year and they were led by Maverick Hodge and Alexander Drake who scored 23 points and 20 points, respectively.

UC scored 23 of its points off of turnovers and 36 of their 80 points came in the paint. The Pioneers also shot 50.8 % (32-of-63) from the field.


Clarkson 90, Hartwick 85
The men's basketball team closed to within two points with nine seconds left to play, but Clarkson would convert three foul shots in the waning seconds to hold off the Hawks 90-85 in the consolation game of the U of R Holiday Inn/Airport Classic on Sunday afternoon at the Louis Alexander Palestra. The loss drops the Hawks to 3-4 overall while the Golden Knights improve to 4-2.

Four players scored in double figures for Hartwick led by Joey Lufkin (Argyle, NY/Argyle) who scored 18 points and dished out three assists. Jared Suderley (Newport, NY/West Canada Valley) and Justin Pratt (North Kingstown, RI/North Kingstown) both scored 17 points on 6-of-11 shooting. Suderley added nine rebounds while Pratt pulled down four. For Pratt, his 17 points represented a career-high as he made a team-high five three-point shots in the game. Matt Petruccione (Saratoga Springs, NY/Bishop Maginn) scored 14 points.

Hartwick trailed 8-2 at the 15:26 mark of the first half. A quick five points narrowed the deficit to just one, 8-7, at 14:40. The Golden Knights would expand their lead back to seven, but 'Wick would fight back as it twice got to within one point of tying the game up before eventually knotting the contest at 23-all following a layup from Suderley with 6:10 showing on the game clock.

Hartwick took its first lead of the afternoon since the beginning of the period when Fernando Vazquez (Babylon, NYBabylon) nailed a trey to put the Hawks ahead 26-23 with 5:13 left in the half. Clarkson answered with a three of its own from Felix Abongo to tie the game for the third time with 4:06 left until halftime. The Golden Knights would go into the locker room with a 36-30 lead over Hartwick.

In the opening minute of the second half, the Hawks got two quick baskets to get to within two points and then Suderley converted Hartwick's first free throw of the game to make it 36-35 Clarkson at 19:00. A 17-8 Golden Knight run increased their lead to nine points, 52-43, at 14:10. A 13-3 Hawk run, however, tied the game at 56-all at 10:44.

Clarkson would start to pull away as it had a 76-66 lead with just 5:06 left in the game. Hartwick knocked that deficit to three points after a three-pointer from Pratt made the score 85-82 with 21 seconds left on the clock. After two free throws from Clarkson's Marques Charlton put the Golden Knights ahead 87-82 with 14 ticks left to play, Lufkin would put up a trey to narrow the Clarkson lead to 87-85 with nine seconds left to play.

After Charlton converted two more free throws to make it a 89-85 with six seconds left, Clarkson called a timeout. The Hawks brought the ball quickly down the court and Lufkin tried to make a three-point shot but it was off the mark and Clarkson retained possession. The Golden Knights converted one of two free throws in the final seconds to ice the game.

The Hawks ended the game with a 40-23 advantage in rebounds. Hartwick did lead Clarkson in second chance points, 26-10, and in bench points, 24-10.

'Wick shot nearly 51% in field goals (34-of-67) while Clarkson hit almost 60% (33-of-59) of its shots. The Hawks attempted a season-high 30 three-point attempts and converted a season-high 12 of them. The Golden Knights were good on 60% (9-of-15) of their three-point attempts.

Charlton led the Golden Knights with 33 points. John Coleman added 20 points and six assists. Abongo chipped in 13 points and seven rebounds while Jeremy Six contributed 10 points, four rebounds, and three steals.

Following the game, Kyle Bradley (Cornwall, NY/Mansfield University) was named to the All-Tournament Team. He scored eight points and dished out three assists while pulling down six rebounds against Clarkson.


Rutgers-Newark 69, Stevens 64
Rutgers-Newark (3-2) defeated Stevens Institute of Technology (2-3) by a score of 69-64 Sunday afternoon at The Golden Dome Arena in Newark, N.J.
 
Stevens was led by a career-high 21 points and three rebounds from senior guard Andrew Meszaros (Phoenixville, Pa.) who shot 8-for-10 from the field and 2-for-2 from long range.
 
Trailing 41-37 with 17:11 left in regulation, Meszaros tied the game with a four-point play, and the Ducks took the lead at 46-43 when senior guard Matt Skrelja (Clark, N.J.)found sophomore guard Evan Klimchak (Readington, N.J.) open for a triple.
 
Stevens pushed the lead to six points (51-45) thanks to 3-of-4 at the line, but the Scarlet Raiders ran off eight-straight points to reclaim the advantage at 12:02 of the second, and the lead moved to eight points with 8:32 remaining.
 
A pair of Meszaros free throws slowed the Newark momentum and made it a 61-55 game, and a Skrelja jumper brought Stevens within four points with a little more than seven minutes on the clock. The Ducks trimmed the lead to two points after a stop and layup from sophomore forward Alex Lorenz (Point Pleasant Borough, N.J.), but a pair at the line from sophomore forward Jordan McDaniel (Colonia, N.J.) halted the Stevens run at six.
 
Meszaros made the score 63-61 Rutgers-Newark with a layup with 4:08 showing, and after two Scarlet Raiders makes at the line, a three-pointer from Klimchak brought the Ducks within one with 2:15 left.
 
Stevens forced a turnover on the next Newark possession, but the Ducks were unable to convert and the hosts scored the final four points of the game at the line.
 
Stevens shot 55.8 percent from the field, converting 24 of their 42 attempts and hit on 7-of-13 from deep. The Ducks went 9-for-13 at the line but were out-rebounded 31-18, including 14-4 on the offensive glass. Each team committed 20 turnovers and Stevens dished out 16 assists on its 24 made buckets.
 
In the first half, the Ducks opened a 32-25 lead after a three-pointer from Meszaros capped an 8-0 run, but the Scarlet Raiders close the period on a 9-1 run to take a 34-33 lead into the locker room.
 
Junior guard John Snow (Newark, N.J.) led all scorers with 24 points on 9-of-14 shooting for Rutgers-Newark.
 
Klimchak and junior forward Patrick Sabatino (Westfield, N.J.) joined Meszaros in double figures, with Skrelja finishing with eight points and six assists. Junior forward Kenny Gan (Hillsborough, N.J.) had seven points and five helpers for the Ducks.