UTICA, N.Y. – Sejad Gromilic (Bosnia / Utica-Proctor) and Ryan James (Saratoga, N.Y. / Saratoga Springs) combined for 49 of SUNYIT's 68 points on Sunday, but it was not enough to overcome the physical attack of visiting Wells College (9-11, 6-4 NEAC). The Express out scored SUNYIT (3-15, 2-6 NEAC) in the paint 40 to 26 en route to an 81-68 victory over the home Wildcats.

The Wildcats outside pair, however, was no match for Wells' inside duo of Andre Sawyers and Dave Foltz, who themselves combined for 47 points (24 and 23 respectively). The pair's athleticism was a problem for the Wildcats all day, as they were able to penetrate SUNYIT's 2-3 zone, often making skillful interior passes to each other for high-percentage shots.

Despite the heroics of Sawyers and Foltz, the real story was defense. The Wildcats scored just 17 points over the first 12 minutes of the second half as the Express built a 22-point lead. Amazingly, the Wildcats were within four with 14:11 to play (down 49-45), but that was before Wells rattled off a 24-5 run over the next six-and-a-half minutes of game play.

The first half was an entirely different story, as Gromilic and James were able to carry the Wiildcats in the first half, as Gromilic in particular scored 11 points in the first eight minutes of the game, and 17 for the half on blistering 6 of 7 shooting (4 for 5 from 3 pt-range). James added 12 as he and Gromilic combined for a whopping 29 of the Wildcats' 34 points in the first half.

The two helped SUNYIT avoid a major momentum swing at the end of the first half. After two free throws from Andre Sawyer put Wells up 35-31, James received the inbound and drove the ball the length of the court. With just over a second remaining James then hit Gromilic streaking down the right wing for a three-pointer at the buzzer to pull SUNYIT to within one.

Terry Harrison led Wells on the day with 13 rebounds, and Gromilic grabbed 7 boards and dished out 5 assists to lead the Wildcats in both categories.

SUNYIT will return to the court on Wednesday for another home game, this time against visiting SUNY Cobleskill. Game time is set for 5:00 pm.