Naz Edges Elmira in 3OTs; Alfred, Hartwick also Win
NAZARETH 95, Elmira 93 3OT
ELMIRA, N.Y. -- Juniors
Mitch Ford and
Maurice Mills each recorded double-doubles to lead visiting Nazareth to a 95-93 victory over Elmira in a men's basketball game on Saturday afternoon. The tandem combined to amass 69 points and 28 rebounds. The Golden Flyers faced three-point deficits in each overtime session. Nazareth used a 6-0 scoring run midway through the third overtime to turn an 89-86 deficit into a 92-89 lead and maintained the lead in the final minute.
With the victory, the Golden Flyers improve to 8-12 overall and 4-7 in conference games. Following the loss, the Soaring Eagles drop to 7-13 overall and 4-7 in Empire 8 games. Saturday's game marked the third time Nazareth has had a triple overtime game. The Golden Flyers lost to Roanoke 89-87 in 1984 and defeated Wittenburg 119-106 in 1997.
In the first overtime period, Elmira held a 77-74 lead in the final minute. Junior
Steven Soltysik connected on his lone three-point basket of the game with 27 seconds remaining to tie the score. Following Soltysik's basket, Nazareth's defense held the Soaring Eagles without a shot to force the second overtime. In the second overtime, Mills fouled out 52 seconds into it. The Golden Flyers trailed 84-81 with only 30 seconds remaining in the second ot session. Nazareth used a layup by sophomore
Dan Morse with 22 seconds left to pull within one point, then took advantage of Elmira making only 1-2 free throws on its next possession. Ford's layup with nine seconds to play in the period tied the game for the 14th time. Like the first overtime period, the Golden Flyers' defense held the Soaring Eagles scoreless in the final seconds.
Ford led Nazareth's decisive scoring run in the third overtime period with three consecutive buckets. Ford converted a pair of layups sandwiched around a two-point jumper. Ford's scoring burst, spanning 1:35 of the session, gave Nazareth the 92-89 edge. The Soaring Eagles closed to within one point twice, but Ford and sophomore
Jack Mulcahycombined for three free throws in the final 30 seconds to keep the lead.
The Golden Flyers surged to an 11-0 lead in the game's first 3:32 following a layup from junior
Nick Nadeau, two layups by Ford, a dunk by Mills, and a three-point play by Morse. The Soaring Eagles answered with a 25-14 scoring run to tie the score at 25 apiece with just over four minutes left in the half. The Golden Flyers stretched their lead to 32-27 before settling for a 32-30 edge at halftime.
Elmira rallied to take their first lead of the contest, 40-38, 4:37 into the second period. For the rest of the period, the teams stayed within two possessions of each other. Nazareth took a 67-62 lead with 1:50 to play in the second half. Elmira rallied with a pair of free throws with 1:24 to play and connected on a three-pointer to tie the game in the final seconds of the period. The Golden Flyers' attempt at the end of regulation was off the mark.
Ford led all players with 37 points, and Mills followed with 32 points. Ford has averaged over 30 points over Nazareth's last four games. Ford and Mills are each averaging nearly 20 points per game. Morse and Nadeau added nine points and eight points, respectively, and Soltysik finished with six points. The Golden Flyers connected on 51 percent (36-71) of their field goal attempts while Elmira made 45 percent (33-74). Thanks to the combined 28 boards from Ford and Mills, Nazareth recorded a 42-32 advantage in total rebounds.
ALFRED 75, Houghton 64
HOUGHTON, NY—The Alfred University Saxons (14-7, E8 8-5) dominated in the paint in Saturday afternoon's game to grab its fourth consecutive Empire 8 win in a row against Houghton College.
AU outscored the Highlanders 32-22 in the paint, with most production coming from the senior-sophomore duo of
Dalton Walsh (Stockton, NY/Cassadega Valley) and
Eric Adams(Lebanon, NJ/Hunterdon Central). The pair combined for 29 points for the Saxons. With the inside covered, sophomore
Tyler Seelman (Lorton, VA/Hayfield Secondary) provided the outside production with a team-high 18 points.
Following the opening minutes of the first half, AU maintained a firm grip on its lead and never looked back. The Saxons jumped out to their final lead with 14:11 to play in the first half on a Seelman three-pointer that was followed by a 10-2 run for AU.
The Saxons carried a 40-31 lead into the locker room at the half on the back of 44.4% shooting from the field and knocking down five three-point shots. Both Seelman and Walsh were in double-digits with 10 points apiece.
In the second half AU looked to dominate the Highlanders and found significant success in doing so. With 9:11 left in the game, Adams drained a jumper to put the Saxons up by 17 points and continued a similar margin until the 2:44 mark when freshman 3PT specialist
Nick Schmidt (Olean, NY/Olean) dropped a huge three-point shot to increase the Saxon-lead to 21.
The Highlanders would mount a final assault with an 11-0 run over two minutes, but it proved to be insufficient in the end, and the Saxons ended the game on top, 75-64.
Walsh ended the afternoon with his fifth double-double of the season with 17 points and 10 rebounds while Adams also crashed the boards with nine rebounds and dropping 13 points. Sophomore
Julian Reinhart (Hornell, NY/Hornell) added eight points and five rebounds.
HARTWICK 59, Stevens 55
HOBOKEN, NJ – Hartwick's men's basketball team won its fourth consecutive game and third straight on the road on Saturday with a 59-55 victory over Stevens Institute of Technology in Empire 8 action at Canavan Arena. With the victory, Hartwick improves to 12-8 overall and 7-4 in the league standings.
Sophomore guard
Joey Lufkin (Argyle, NY/Argyle) led all scorers with 20 points. He knocked down three three-pointers and dished out a game-high five assists. Freshman
Jake Sinicki (Endicott, NY/Maine-Endwell) had a big game with 15 points and nine rebounds. He made five of his six shots from the floor, including four from beyond the three-point arc.
Trevor Norton(Mullica Hill, NJ/Ursinus College) added 10 points and seven boards.
The Hawks jumped out to a 12-5 lead after 5:15 but neither team led by more than four for the next 10 minutes in a tight first half of play. Two
Justin Pratt (North Kingstown, RI/North Kingstown) free throws made it 26-21 Hawks with just over four minutes remaining in the half and the Ducks cut it to two at the intermission with an 8-5 run.
Hartwick surged ahead and took control of the game early in the second half. After an Otis Osman three-pointer put Stevens in the lead, 34-33, three-pointers from
Joe Krong (Amsterdam, NY/Franklin & Marshall College), Norton, and Lufkin pushed the Hawks back in front, 42-34. Another layup and three from Lufkin shortly thereafter gave the Hawks a 47-36 advantage with 10:55 left on the game clock.
The Ducks got the deficit under 10 for the next six minutes until Sinicki connected from downtown for a 53-43 lead with 4:48 to go. Stevens got the next eight points to make it a 53-51 game with 1:27 left.
An offensive board and put-back from Sinicki with less than a minute remaining made it 55-51 Hartwick before a Kenny Gan layup cut it to two once again. Gan had a chance to pull to within one on the ensuing free throw but following a miss, the Ducks got the offensive rebound and called timeout.
After the break, Alex Lorenz went up for a game-tying layup but Hartwick center
Matt Wilson (Shelton, CT/Franklin & Marshall College) registered a timely block and Lufkin made two free throws following a Stevens foul with 12 ticks left.
Osman hit a jumper with four seconds left to make it a 57-55 game but Norton drained a pair from the line with a little over three seconds left to put it away.
Krong would close the game with seven points and four rebounds for Hartwick. Pratt ended the contest with four points and nine boards.
Osman led Stevens with 13 points and 11 rebounds. Patrick Sabatino added 12 points and 10 rebounds, and Chris Cosgrove netted 10.