Game 1: Cortland 79, Farmingdale State 78
Game 2: No. 25 Saint Joseph (Conn.) 71, Albright 61
FARMINGDALE, N.Y. | The Farmingdale State College men's basketball team played host to the first day of the FSC Tip-Off Tournament on Saturday afternoon, with the host Rams falling in the final seconds to Cortland, 79-78. In the nightcap, No. 25 University of Saint Joseph (Conn.) held off Albright down the stretch for a 71-61 victory.
The tournament wraps up Sunday, with FSC (1-1) squaring off with Albright (1-2) at 1 p.m. in the consolation round, before Cortland (2-1) takes on Saint Joseph (3-1) in the title game at approximately 3 p.m.
Game 1: Cortland 79, Farmingdale State 78
Cortland led the entire first half, using seven-straight points to go ahead 18-6 at the 15:11 mark. The Red Dragons extended their advantage to their largest of the afternoon, at 37-19 with 8:53 to go, before the Rams ripped off a 12-3 run to close their deficit to nine points on an old-fashioned 3-point play from senior
Michael Notias (Manhasset, N.Y.) with 4:06 left. Cortland jumped back ahead by 12 points, before FSC scored the final nine points of the half over a 2:30 stretch to slice its deficit to 45-42 at the break. Junior guard
Derek Reed (Shinnecock, N.Y.) knocked down a 3-pointer at 1:36, before sophomore
Jordan Tucker (Elmont, N.Y.) hit a pull-up jumper in the paint and senior
Sean Conroy (Staten Island, N.Y.) canned a pair of free throws inside the final minute.
A back-and-forth second half saw the lead change hands six times and the score tied on five occasions, with neither side going ahead by more than seven points. Farmingdale State led 60-56 on a pair of free throws by sophomore
Michael Spisto (Staten Island, N.Y.) with 9:55 remaining. Cortland countered, and led 78-71 with 2:37 to go on a put-back dunk by Joel Davis, before the Rams scored the next seven points to knot the game at 78-78 on two free throws by junior
Liam Buckley (Manhasset, N.Y.). The Red Dragons received one free throw from Aaron Coston with 3.1 seconds on the clock, before FSC had one last chance following a time out with 2.5 left. Out of the break in the action, Notias's open 27-footer from the left wing hit the front rim at the final buzzer.
Coston finished with 24 points, 11 rebounds and six assists for Cortland, who shot 18-of-36 from 3-point land on the afternoon, while Kendall Arcuri (five rebounds) and Nolan Raymond scored 13 and 11 points, respectively.
Notias (four assists, 8-of-14 FG) scored 14 of his 22 points in the second half, while senior
Sean Conroy (Staten Island, N.Y.) added 18. The Rams shot 20-of-24 from the charity stripe, and held a 38-18 edge in points in the paint.
Game 2: No. 25 Saint Joseph (Conn.) 71, Albright 61
Saint Joseph led 35-30 at the halftime interval, as it closed the first half on an 8-3 run. The Blue Jays led Albright by as much as 10 points when Roel Figueroa's layup at the 13:32 mark capped a seven-point spurt. After the Lions closed their deficit to 65-60 with 2:12 to go when Jeremiah Stanton connected on a conventional 3-point play, Billy Ray Barnes III scored four of USJ's final six points – including a pair of free throws with 24 ticks on the clock – to close out his team's second-straight victory.
Friedrich registered 16 points to lead three Saint Joseph players in double figures, while Deivone Tanksley Jr. added 13 to go with five rebounds. Jakari Tertulien chipped in with 10 points and a team-high four assists for the Blue Jays.
Qadir Mitchel (4-of-6 3FG) led all players with 19 points for the Lions, with Jeremiah Stanton (five assists) and Phanique Dupree (seven blocked shots) each scoring 14.
