Farmingdale State 67, St. Joseph's-Long Island 59

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FARMINGDALE, N.Y. | Junior guard Michael Notias (Manhasset, N.Y.) scored a career-high 25 points, while senior point guard Jevon Santos (Elmont, N.Y.) added eight turnover-free assists Saturday afternoon, as they guided the Farmingdale State College men's basketball team to its sixth-straight victory with a 67-59, Skyline Conference triumph over visiting St. Joseph's University-Long Island on Senior Day. 

With the victory, the Rams (15-8, 12-2 Skyline) locked up the top mark in the Skyline's Black Division (standings). The green and white will be no less than the No. 2 seed in the eight-team, 2025 Skyline Conference Men's Basketball Championship, which will commence with quarterfinal play on February 25 (Tue.). Farmingdale State rounds out its regular-season Skyline slate on the road this Wednesday (Feb. 19) at SUNY Old Westbury, and next Saturday (Feb. 22) at the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy. 

Prior to the game, FSC recognized Santos, and forwards Jovayne Walters (Cambria Hts., N.Y.) and Hamdel Mohammed (Bronx, N.Y.), in a Senior Day ceremony.

In a tightly-contested first half, the teams exchanged the lead six times and were tied on four occasions, with neither team leading by more than five points. A 3-pointer by sophomore forward Liam Buckley (Manhasset, N.Y.) put Farmingdale State ahead 17-12 just over eight minutes into play, before St. Joseph's (10-13, 9-5) scored the next eight points to go ahead 20-17 at the 9:54 mark. After Walters (two blocked shots) and Notias scored back-to-back baskets to push the Rams ahead by three (27-24) with 3:23 left, the Golden Eagles went back in front by one at 28-27 with 1:40 on the clock. Santos answered with a basket 15 seconds later, starting a spurt of six-straight points by the point guard to end the half and giving Farmingdale State a 33-28 lead at the interval.

In the second half, the visitors pulled to within a 46-45 count with 10:46 remaining. From there, FSC embarked on a 12-2 run, with Buckley drilling a 3-pointer on a possession in which the hosts picked up three offensive rebounds, to cap the spurt with his team ahead 58-47 at the 6:48 mark. St. Joseph's pulled to within seven (60-53) inside of four minutes left, but Notias knocked down a trifecta at 3:43 and went 4-for-4 at the free-throw line down to close out the game for the Rams.

Notias (3-of-6 FG) scored 19 of his points in the second half, while Buckley shot 6-of-8 from the field and 4-of-6 beyond the 3-point arc on his way to a 16-point afternoon. Highlighted by Santos's (three steals) eight-assist outing, the Rams posted a 16-5 assist-to-turnover ratio on the day, with the five miscues setting a season-low mark (previous: six, at St. Joseph's-Long Island, Jan. 8). FSC also out-rebounded its visitors by a 41-35 margin, picking up 17 second-chance points in the process.

Farmingdale State's Wednesday night tilt at Old Westbury will tip off at 6.