Farmingdale State - 86; St. Joseph's-Long Island - 80 (F/OT)
FARMINGDALE, N.Y. | Senior guard
Aaron Davis (Valley Stream, N.Y.) poured in nine of his team-high 24 points in overtime on Saturday afternoon, as the Farmingdale State College men's basketball team outlasted St. Joseph's-Long Island, 86-80, in Skyline Conference play.
Prior to the contest, the Rams (16-1, 8-0 Skyline) recognized seniors
Jevon Santos (Elmont, N.Y.),
Nick Hurowitz (Mt. Sinai, N.Y.) and
Corey Powell (Valley Stream, N.Y.) for their recent milestones in the team's game Tuesday (Jan. 16) versus Sarah Lawrence College. Santos, a third-year point guard, set the program's career assists record, while Hurowitz and Powell became FSC's eighth and ninth 1,000-point scorers in program history, respectively.
The Golden Eagles (7-10, 1-7) scored the first four points of the game, and opened up an 11-4 advantage just over five minutes into play. FSC responded with a 7-0 spurt, with a floating jumper by Davis with 12:56 on the clock leveling the game at 11. St. Joseph's ripped off eight-consecutive points over the next four minutes, taking its largest lead of the half at 19-11 with 8:32 to go before the break. After the Rams tied the score at 23-23 on a lay-in by Davis with 3:20 left, the visitors responded by pushing ahead by four (28-24) with 2:29 remaining. FSC closed the half with three-straight stops on defense, and scored the final six points of the frame -- including a pair at the charity stripe by Powell with 0.2 seconds to go -- to hold a 30-28 halftime edge.
Back-to-back layups by Davis and Hurowitz pushed the Farmingdale State edge to 39-33 three minutes into the second half. The Golden Eagles used a 13-5 run over a 5:51 stretch to go ahead 63-57 with 5:45 to go, and pushed their lead to eight, at 68-60, with 3:50 remaining. From there, the Rams scored 12 of the next 14 points of the contest to push back ahead with 6.2 seconds to go. Freshman
Liam Buckley (Manhasset, N.Y.) scored six points during the stretch, including a put-back layup with 36 seconds left to tie the game at 70, before a layup by Powell with 6.2 ticks pushed FSC into the lead, 72-70. Out of a time out, St. Joseph's drove the length of the floor to lay home a tying basket with 1.5 on the clock, sending the game to overtime.
Davis opened the overtime period with a made jumper, but the Golden Eagles responded with a three-point play on the next possession to go ahead, 75-74. The Rams ran the floor off the make with Powell notching a fast break layup to regain the lead.
FSC still held a 76-75 advantage with 1:44 on the clock and used a 3-pointer by sophomore guard
Michael Notias (Manhasset, N.Y.) to go in front by four.
Over the next minute, Davis made four consecutive free-throws to give Farmingdale State an 83-78 lead with just 35 seconds remaining.
Davis clinched the game with three free-throws down the stretch as the Rams earned the 86-80 overtime win.
Davis finished with his team-high 24 points on 7-for-15 shooting. He also drew seven fouls and hit nine free-throws. Hurowitz registered a double-double with 19 points and 10 rebounds and held a +17 plus-minus on the day. Powell produced 16 points and eight rebounds, while freshman forward
Kentrell Evans (Brooklyn, N.Y.) tallied 10 points, five rebounds and a block. Santos recorded six points, six assists, five rebounds and three steals and Buckley added six points and seven rebounds off the bench.
Head coach
Brendan Twomey's Rams are back in Skyline action Wednesday night (Jan. 24), when they travel to Riverdale, N.Y., for a 6 p.m. start at the University of Mount Saint Vincent.
