Utica, Hartwick, Elmira and St. John Fisher Earn Friday Wins
UTICA 73, Nazareth 70
ROCHESTER, N.Y. -- Utica's Ian Henderson connected on a three-pointer with 15 seconds remaining in regulation to give the visiting Pioneers a 71-70 lead. Utica added a pair of free throws with four seconds left to extend its lead to 73-70. Junior
Nick Nadeau had a desperation game-tying attempt from about 35-feet away but his shot was off the mark.
With the loss, the Golden Flyers fall to 8-13 overall and 4-8 in Empire 8 contests. Following the victory, the Pioneers improve to 9-14 overall and 5-9 in conference games.
On Nazareth's possession prior to Henderson's three-pointer, junior
Mitch Ford gave the Golden Flyers a 70-68 lead on a tip-in after
Maurice Mills' attempt rolled out.
The Golden Flyers led 68-61 with 3:19 to play in the second half following a pair of free throws by Mills, a three-point play from Ford, and a layup a piece from Ford and Nadeau. The 9-2 scoring run broke a 59-59 tie.
Nazareth had the lead for over 35 minutes of regulation. The Golden Flyers' largest lead was 50-42 with just under 14 minutes to play after junior
Steven Soltysik connected on a shot from outside the arc. Soltysik's shot capped a 12-6 run during the first six minutes of the second half. Sophomore
Dan Morse had two layups to start the run, which was followed by a jumper from Ford and two free throws by Ford.
The Golden Flyers were held to 32 percent (11-34) from the field in the second period to allow Utica to rally. Mills and Ford each experienced foul trouble toward the end of the half which impacted Nazareth's offensive rhythm. The Pioneers, meanwhile, connected on 50 percent (14-28) of their field goals in the period.
In the first half, Ford and Nadeau scored on consecutive possessions to give the Golden Flyers an early 15-11 lead. Soltysik's first three-pointer extended Nazareth's advantage to seven points with 8:55 to play in the stanza. In the final minute of the period, Nadeau made a two-point jumper to provide the Golden Flyers with a 36-32 lead at the break.
Ford finished with a game-high 30 points and collected a game-high 16 boards. Mills added 16 points while Soltysik recorded nine points on a trio of three-pointers. Nadeau and Morse had eight points and seven points, respectively.
Conor Maisch and Chris Jeffers, who tied the game, 68-68, with a three-pointer with 61 seconds to play, each recorded 19 points and seven rebounds.
ST. JOHN FISHER 97, Houghton 65
ROCHESTER, N.Y. -- The nationally-ranked St. John Fisher College men's basketball team won its 17th straight game, as the Cardinals surged past visiting Houghton College for a 97-65 win on Friday night at Fisher's Bobby Wanzer Court.
With the win, No. 17 Fisher improves to 19-2 overall and 12-0 in the Empire 8 Conference. It is the third longest winning streak in the program's 52-year history.
Fisher, who entered the game ranked second nationally in field goal percentage (51.6%) shot 62.5% from the floor for the game, the second time in the last four games it has eclipsed the 60% mark.
The Cardinals led for most of the first half and enjoyed its biggest lead of the opening period at nine points (43-34) with 4:30 remaining. Houghton, however, responded with a 9-0 run to tie the game and took a 46-45 lead into the locker room, thanks to 7-of-10 shooting from 3-point range.
The Highlanders (5-18, 1-13) led 50-49 with 17:51 left in the game, but the Cardinals came storming back, outscoring Houghton 48-15 for the remainder of the game.
Fisher went on a 28-4 run over the next 11 minutes, including two 11-0 spurts during the pivotal span, to take control and never looked back.
Four players finished in double figures for Fisher.
Keegan Ryan led all scorers with 22 points and nine rebounds.
Chaz Lott tallied 15 points, nine rebounds and five steals, while
Stefan Bock scored 12 of his 16 points in the second half.
Tyler Hart finished with 12 points, including nine in the second half.
Charles McVay chipped in with seven points, while
Tyler English added six. Senior
Garrett Sisson scored four points in three minutes of action.
HARTWICK 93, Ithaca 90 OT
ITHACA, NY – Hartwick's men's basketball team outlasted host Ithaca in a heart-stopping 93-90 overtime victory Friday night at Ben Light Gymnasium. The Hawks squandered a 23-point first-half lead but outscored the Bombers 13-10 while making four of their seven shots in the overtime period for the win.
The victory is Hartwick's sixth in a row and its fifth straight Empire 8 road win. The Hawks now are in sole possession of second place in the league standings. The Bombers (11-11, 8-5) drop to third.
All six Hawks that made it into the scoring column reached double figures, led by
Joey Lufkin's (Argyle, NY/Argyle) game-high 21 points.
Matt Wilson (Shelton, CT/Franklin & Marshall College)scored 19 points and
Trevor Norton (Mullica Hill, NJ/Ursinus College) contributed 18.
The Hawks began at a blistering pace as they dashed out to an 11-0 lead three and a half minutes into the game. Seven points was as close as Ithaca got over the next five minutes. A three-pointer from Norton at 9:48 and the Hawks never led by less than 10 points for the rest of the half.
Hartwick was in front 38-27 with 6:30 left in the half, but a 14-2 Hartwick run would hand it a 52-29 advantage four minutes later.
Joe Krong (Amsterdam, NY/Franklin & Marshall College) hit a pair of three's in the run with
Justin Pratt (North Kingstown, RI/North Kingtown) and Norton connecting on one apiece.
The Bombers were able to trim the gap to 18 points, 54-36, at the break. The Hawks shot 59.5% (22-for-37) from the field and 53.3% (8-for-15) from three-point range in the first half.
Their shooting cooled off in the second half, however, as they made only 25.8% of their shots. Hartwick led by at least 14 points through the first eight and a half minutes of the half. A bucket from
Jake Sinicki (Endicott, NY/Maine-Endwell) with 13:32 remaining gave 'Wick a 64-48 edge but it would be its final points in the next four and a half minutes as the Bombers went on a 13-0 run.
The game would stay tight the rest of the way. Ithaca cut the deficit to two with 4:33 remaining before Wilson answered with four straight points for 'Wick. Two IC free throws made the score 74-73 with 2:31 left before Lufkin drained a three for a four-point edge. After trading free throws, Max Masucci connected on a shot from three-point range and the game was tied at 78-78 with 1:30 on the clock.
Lufkin and Keefe Gitto then traded a pair of free throws to even the game at 80 with under a minute to play. After winding the clock down, the Hawks had two chances for the go-ahead basket but couldn't convert. On the final possession, the Bombers went the length of the court in just over three seconds but Sam Bevan's driving basket came after the final horn and the game went to the extra session.
Marc Chasin opened the scoring in the overtime for Ithaca with a free throw. A Sinicki layup 19 seconds later at 4:21 would put Hartwick ahead for the rest of the night, 82-81. An old fashioned three-point play from Lufkin extended the 'Wick lead to four. Gitto and Norton alternated baskets and the Hawks led by four again, 87-83, with under three minutes left.
Following another Gitto layup to pull to within two points, the Bombers turned the ball over twice on their next two possessions. Lufkin then converted a layup for the Hawks with 22 seconds to play. Bevan cut it to 89-87 with two free throws with eight seconds on the clock and Norton responded with two for the Hawks two seconds later for a 91-87 lead.
IC raced down the court and hit a three-pointer with less than two ticks left but Lufkin closed out the scoring from the line after a Bomber foul. Ithaca's last effort following a long in-bounds pass fell short and the Hawks survived for the win.
In total, the Hawks led in tonight's game for nearly 43 minutes of action. The score was tied for only 1:57 and the Bombers led for only 19 seconds.
Lufkin would contribute seven rebounds and a team-high six assists for 'Wick. Wilson added five boards, five blocked shots, and four assists.
Sinicki finished with 14 points and eight rebounds. Krong had 11 points and eight rebounds and Pratt missed a double-double by one rebound with 10 points and nine boards.
Ithaca was paced by Gitto's 18 points and 13 rebounds. Bevan added 17 points and eight rebounds, and Chasin contributed 16 points and 10 boards.
ELMIRA 67, Stevens 64
ELMIRA, N.Y. (February 13, 2015) – The Stevens Institute of Technology men's basketball team dropped a 67-64 heartbreaker at Elmira College Friday night, falling to 6-7 in the Empire 8 and 10-12 overall.
Elmira improves to 8-13 and 5-7 in the Empire 8.
Trailing 63-58 with 1:53 left, Stevens scored four-straight points thanks to a layup from sophomore guard
Patrick Barron and two at the line from freshman guard
Jayson Winick to get within one with 25 seconds to play.
Stevens had to commit four quick fouls to send the Soaring Eagles to the line with 21 seconds left. They hit both and a slam on the next Stevens possession from senior forward
Patrick Sabatino pulled the Ducks back within one. Senior forward Neil Randolph hit two more at the stripe to make it a three-point game with 10 ticks to play, and the Ducks called timeout to draw up a play to try and send the game to overtime. On that final play, the guests were unable connect, misfiring on a tough three-pointer as time expired.
Stevens jumped out of the to a 5-0 lead 36 seconds in as sophomore guard
Patrick Barron canned his first three of the night and Sabatino scored two underneath.
Elmira came right back, tying the score at seven behind Randolph, and an 11-all tie turned into a six-point lead for Stevens when sophomore forward
Otis Osman found Barron for an open jumper.
The Ducks' largest lead of the first came at the 3:16 mark with a layup from Sabatino making the score 24-17, and Stevens took a 28-22 margin into the break.
Elmira came back to tie the game at 36 apiece 5:13 into the second stanza and opened a 46-42 margin with a shade over 10 minutes to go. Sabatino scored five points in an 8-0 run to give the Ducks a four-point lead at the 8:24 mark, and the two teams went back-and-forth the rest of the way as Elmira's 63-58 was the largest lead for either side down the stretch.
Sabatino was splendid for Stevens, scoring 21 points on 7-of-10 shooting (6-for-6 at the line), adding seven rebounds and six blocked shots to his line. Barron had 18 points with four three-pointers, and senior forward
Kenny Gan had six points, seven rebounds and a career-high five steals. Freshman guard
Chris Cosgrove tallied a team-high five assists in 16 minutes, and Winick tallied seven points, two boards along with one block, one steal and one assist.
Stevens shot 41.2 percent from the field and was 6-for-14 from deep (42.9 percent). The Ducks went 16-for-19 at the line (84.2 percent). Stevens had 12 assists and 11 turnovers, tallying eight total blocks and eight total steals.
Elmira held a 31-29 edge on the glass, and dished out 16 assists against 10 turnovers as Randolph led the way with 18 points, five rebounds and two blocks. The Soaring Eagles shot 40.7 percent from the field and went 10-for-24 from deep.