UTICA, NY – Down by as much as nine points late in the contest, the SUNYIT men's basketball team rallied to defeat NEAC rival Cazenovia College at the Campus Center Gymnasium Wednesday night.  It is the second straight victory for the Wildcats, who are now 2-1 in the NEAC and 2-5 overall.  Cazenovia fell to 1-2 in conference play and 1-5 on the year.

It would be a back-and-forth battle early on, as the game was tied three different times in the first half before Cazenovia slipped into halftime with a 34-33 lead.  The lead continued to change hands in the second half until Cazenovia used a 13-3 run to take a nine-point lead with 6:19 left to play.  SUNYIT would rally over the next four minutes, tying the game for the fourth and final time at 67 all with 2:10 remaining. 

After a three by senior Kevin Cappiello (Youngsville, NY/Sullivan West) gave SUNYIT the lead, four answered points by Cazenovia put them back on top by one with 48 seconds to go.  Cappiello would come through again, nailing a jumper with 22 seconds left to give SUNYIT the lead once again.  The Wildcats would never look back, forcing two Cazenovia turnovers and hitting three free throws down the stretch to seal the victory.

Cappiello finished with a team-high 23 points to go along with six assists, five rebounds and three steals.  Senior Calvin Logins (Lyons, NY/Keuka College) finished with 12 points and 11 rebounds, while sophomore Derek Rowe (Mexico, NY/Mexico) scored 11 points and grabbed seven boards.  Sophomore Justin Brignola (Clifton Park, NY/The Sage Colleges) scored 10 points and junior Clint Foster (Candor, NY/North Country CC) finished with game highs of four steals and two blocks.

Darnell Sampson scored 23 points for Cazenovia, while Cameron Smith scored 17 points and Bryant Winans chipped in 13 points.

The Wildcats will look to make it three straight this Saturday when they travel to take on conference foe Morrisville State.  Tip-off is set for 3:00 pm.