Men's Basketball | 2/22/2025 7:49:31 PM
Top seeds SUNY Brockport, Utica University, Nazareth University and SUNY Poly advanced to the 2025 Empire 8 Men’s Basketball Championship Tournament Semifinal round after advancing in quarterfinal action on Saturday, Feb. 22. Brockport defeated No. 8 SUNY Geneseo, 87-68, while Utica earned an 80-68 win over No. 7 Houghton University. No. 3 Nazareth defeated No. 6 Russell Sage College, 73-65, while No. 4 Poly hung on for a 66-65 win over No. 5 Alfred University.
No. 2 Utica and No. 3 Nazareth will meet in the opening semifinal contest at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 26, while No. 1 Brockport and No. 4 Poly will face off in the second semifinal at 7:30 p.m. Earlier this season, Brockport defeated Poly, 81-80 at home on Jan. 14, while Utica and Nazareth split a pair of regular season contests with each team winning on its home court. Nazareth secured an 83-60 win on Jan. 10, while Utica rallied to win in overtime, 87-77 on Feb. 1.
NO. 1 SUNY BROCKPORT 87, NO. 8 SUNY GENESEO 66
Top-seed SUNY Brockport broke open a close game with a 25-9 run early in the second half, as they secured an 87-66 win over SUNY Geneseo on Saturday afternoon. Brockport improved to 17-9 on the season, while Geneseo finished the year with a 9-17 mark.
Brockport shot 50 percent from the floor in the win and out-rebounded Geneseo, 44-29.
Zachary Rice led the Golden Eagles with a game-high total of 22 points to go along with nine rebounds. Mehki Beckett had 16 points, while Tony Arnold stuffed the stat sheet with 16 points, seven rebounds, five steals, and three assists.
Josh Garelle, Trevor Hofer and Robert Pericolosi combined for 51 of Geneseo’s 66 points. Garelle scored a game-high 22 points on 8-of-10 shooting from the floor to go along with nine boards, while Hofer added 15 and Pericolosi, 14.
NO. 2 UTICA 80, NO. 7 HOUGHTON 68
Utica University defeated the Houghton University Highlanders by a score of 80-68 in the first round of the Empire 8 Conference Men's Basketball Tournament on Saturday afternoon. Utica, the defending E8 Champs, improved to 19-7 on the season, while Houghton had its season come to an end with a 13-13 mark.
Five different Pioneers finished with double figures in scoring.
Damien Call led the Pioneers with a double double (15 pointts, 10 rebounds) along with a team high five assists.
Dayion Thompson chipped in 14 points going a perfect 9-for-9 from the free throw line, as well as a steal.
Isaiah Smith was a spark off the bench for the Pioneers, contributing 14 points.
Hagen Foley and
Liam Teague each chipped in 11 points with Foley tallying two assists and a steal, and Teague with nine total rebounds and a block.
Jajuan Preaster led Houghton with 21 points on 9-of-15 shooting from the floor, while Lou Bellamy had 14 points, 11 boards and three assists. Preston Thomas added 11 points in defeat for Houghton.
Utica took control with a 16-0 run midway through the first half. Down 40-32 early in the second half, Houghton scored six straight points to cut the Utica lead to 40-38 before the Pioneers used a 15-4 spurt of their own to go up 55-42 and were never seriously threatened the rest of the way.
NO. 3 NAZARETH 73, NO. 6 RUSSELL SAGE 65
Host Nazareth rallied from a 17-point second half deficit and ended the game on a 39-14 run over the last 12 minutes to earn a 73-65 win over Russell Sage from Kidera Gymnasium on Saturday. Nazareth improves to 17-9 with the win, while Sage finished the season with a 16-10 record.
Jaylen Savage, the Empire 8’s leading scorer, led all players with 29 points to go along with eight boards. He scored 16 of his 29 points in the second half. Jack Broderick added 14 points on 6-of-11 shooting from the floor and Tyler Putney added 12, including a key 3-pointer that gave Nazareth a six-point lead with 2:10 left in regulation.
Russell Sage shot 57 percent from the floor to gain a 38-30 edge at halftime, but shot just 32 percent in the second half. Nazareth shot 48 percent from the floor in the second half, as the Golden Flyers made their key late surge.
Avery Oduro-Dompreh led the Gators in scoring with 21 points on 9-of-10 shooting from the floor to go along with 11 rebounds.
NO. 4 SUNY POLY 66 , NO. 5 ALFRED 65
SUNY Poly men's basketball team edged the Alfred University Saxons 66-65 on Saturday afternoon.
Cheickne Toure led the Wildcats with 21 points and seven rebounds, while
Anthony Rose contributed 18 points and 10 rebounds. Poly improved to 17-9 on the season, while Alfred had its season end with a 14-12 mark.
Tyler Hind led Alfred with 17 points and five assists, while Casey Curran added 16 points and six boards.
SUNY Poly went into the locker room leading 34-28. The second half was a thrilling display of fast-paced basketball, with both teams fighting for control.
Dylan Ernst opened the half with a fastbreak layup to extend the lead to 36-30, and Toure followed with a pair of free throws. Alfred kept it close, with Hind scoring a layup and free throws to keep the deficit manageable. However, the Wildcats' balanced offense—led by Daimarr Miller, Rose, and Toure—kept the pressure on, and Toure hit a critical 3-pointer with just under five minutes to go to make it 61-52.
Alfred made a strong push to close the gap, with Curran scoring quick layups and hitting a crucial 3-pointer. Charles Amoi added a fastbreak layup and converted a free throw to make it 65-62 with less than two minutes remaining. Toure put the Wildcats up with a mde free throw 66-64 with just 10 seconds left.
The Saxons had one final chance to tie the game but could not convert two free throws in the closing seconds, allowing the Wildcats to hold on for the 66-65 win.
2024-25 Empire 8 Men's Basketball Championship Schedule
Saturday, February 22 – First Round (All games at Higher Seed)
No. 1 SUNY Brockport defeated No. 8 SUNY Geneseo, 87-66 – BOX SCORE
No. 2 Utica defeated No. 7 Houghton, 80-68 – BOX SCORE
No. 3 Nazareth defeated No. 6 Russell Sage, 73-65 – BOX SCORE
No. 4 SUNY Poly defeated No. 5 Alfred, 66-65 – BOX SCORE
Wednesday, February 26 – Semifinals (All games at Higher Seed)
No. 3 Nazareth at No. 2 Utica – 7 p.m. – VIDEO/LIVE STATS
No. 4 SUNY Poly at No. 1 SUNY Brockport – 7:30 p.m. – VIDEO/LIVE STATS
Saturday, March 1 - Championship Final (at Highest Remaining Seed)
Winner of Semifinal #1 vs. Winner of Semifinal #2 - TBA – VIDEO/LIVE STATS