USJ Holiday Tournament - Opening Round
Farmingdale State 73, Saint Joseph (Conn.) 66
WEST HARTFORD, Conn. | Senior forward
Hamdel Mohammed (Bronx, N.Y.) came off the bench to score a season-high 17 points Sunday afternoon, leading four Farmingdale State College players in double-digit scoring to guide the Rams to a 73-66 victory over the University of Saint Joseph in opening-round play of the USJ Holiday Tournament.
With the victory the Rams (3-6) advance to Monday's 3 p.m. championship round, where they will meet the winner of Sunday's Western Connecticut State/Connecticut College game. Also, FSC 11th-year head coach
Brendan Twomey picked up his 182nd victory with the program, which is tied with Erik Smiles for the top mark in the Rams' NCAA era (since 2001).
The host Blue Jays (6-4) led 11-9 at the first media time out, before Mohammed's pair of free throws with 14:09 on the clock started a 16-3 Farmingdale State run over a 4:52 stretch. Sophomore
Liam Buckley's (Manhasset, N.Y.) put-back layup gave the visitors a 25-14 edge to cap the spread with 9:17 left in the opening half of play, before both teams were scoreless in the final four-plus minutes of the frame, with FSC taking a 32-23 lead into halftime.
After Saint Joseph scored the first five points of the second half, FSC ripped off a 16-4 spurt to up its lead to 48-32 when junior
Sean Conroy (Staten Island, N.Y.) finished off an alley-oop off a fast-break pass from freshman
Jordan Tucker (Elmont, N.Y.) with 12:52 left. The Blue Jays closed to within a 56-51 margin with 6:25 left, before Conroy's 3-pointer two possessions later started a run of six-straight points by the Rams. USJ did not get closer than five points again until the final seconds, as Farmingdale State advanced into Monday's championship round.
Conroy netted 14 points in the victorious effort, while Buckley chipped in with 12 points and a team-best nine rebounds. Junior guard
Michael Notias (Manhasset, N.Y.) dropped in 10 points for the Rams, who ran to a 17-6 advantage on the day in fast-break points.
