UTICA, N.Y. – The SUNYIT Men's Basketball Team (1-11, 0-2 NEAC) lost their second game in as many days on Sunday, 75-71 to visiting Gallaudet (5-6). The Wildcats valiantly mounted a comeback in the second half despite losing leading scorer T'Andre Richardson (Utica, N.Y. / Utica-Proctor) to foul trouble early in the period. It was not enough, however, to overcome the Bison's sizzling 55% shooting on the night.
Gallaudet's final clip of 55% actually represented a major second half cool-down: the Bison tickled the twine to the tune of 67% in the first half, heading into the locker room with a 44-31 lead. Tony Tatum led the way for the visitors with 9 points, 5 assists, and 2 steals in the first period.
For SUNYIT, Justin Brignola (Clifton Park, N.Y. / Shenendehowa) kept things from getting out of hand, scoring 8 points off the bench in the first half on 3 of 3 FG's.
Everything changed on both sides in the second half. The Wildcats used a huge 25-7 run midway through the period to tie the score for the first time at 56-56 with 11:21 to go. The tying play was an Alex Grimmer (New Hartford, N.Y. / New Hartford) three-pointer, moments after T'Andre Richardson was forced out of the game with 5 fouls. Grimmer had his best game to date, nailing three big three-pointers and finishing with 13 points, 6 assists, and 3 steals.
While Gallaudet retook the lead, SUNYIT kept it close, finally taking a lead with 3:55 to play on a Ryan James (Saratoga Springs, N.Y. / Saratoga Springs) jumper. Over the next three minutes, Gallaudet would take the lead twice only to see SUNYIT tie it again – first on a pair of Yhashin White (Brooklyn, N.Y. / Canarsie) free throws with 2:51 to play, and next on an acrobatic layup with 48 seconds remaining. White drove the right side of the lane and threw up an underhand, off-balanced shot that banked high off the glass.
Gallaudet forward Danny Kelly's play, however, proved even more timely. Kelly scored 6 of his game-high 20 points in the last three minutes, including a layup on a baseline out-of-bounds play following SUNYIT guard White's layup. The play put Gallaudet up 73-71 with 26 seconds to play, and after a missed three-pointer by White on the other side, Bison guard Brandon McMillan iced the game with a pair of free throws for the final score, 75-71 Gallaudet.
After the game, SUNYIT Coach Kevin Grimmer praised his team's second half temerity, but stressed the need for improvement: "We played a great second half and showed we have a team with a lot of resilience, but we simply cannot dig ourselves a hole like we did in the first half against good teams."
SUNYIT has a few days off before hosting Morrisville St. on Wednesday. Game time is set for 1:00 pm.
