MARCY, N.Y. – The SUNYIT Men's Basketball Team (5-2, 2-1 NEAC) roared back into action on Tuesday, going on the road to defeat Utica College by a score of 95 to 77.
At the risk of mixing animal metaphors, the Wildcats were certainly chomping at the bit after a three-week break for the holidays. SUNYIT sprinted out of the gate in their first game of 2014, taking a 20-8 lead to start the game while appearing to fire on all cylinders.
The home Pioneers responded by switching to man-to-man defense with a little under 12 minutes to go. While the switch did little in the long run to stem the SUNYIT offensive onslaught, the change helped spark a comeback for the Pioneers. Utica point guard and leading scorer Aaron Nevins started pushing the pace on offense and the Pioneers attacked the glass on offense, fighting back to pull within two points at 38-36 later in the half.
It was at that point, however, that the tidal SUNYIT offense cycled back. Second-semester roster addition Sallo Fofana (Bronx, N.Y. / George Washington) had a huge debut in his first game as a Wildcat, scoring 17 points in the first half while pulling down 5 rebounds and recording 3 blocks. Fofana announced his presence loudly in the first half with a monster two-handed dunk off a missed fast-break layup, and made 7 of 10 from the charity stripe during the period.
In addition to Fofana, Alexander Drake (West Sand Lake, N.Y. / Lansingburgh) came up huge at the end of the half. Drake scored the final 6 points of the half for the Wildcats, with his first two buckets coming on a pair of cunning slashes to the hoop for a pair of offensive rebounds leading to put-backs. Drake then came up with a steal and was fouled, knocking down the 1-and-1 to give SUNYIT a 52-38 lead going into the half, and capping a 14-2 run by the Wildcats.
SUNYIT quickly diffused any suspense in the second half, extending their lead quickly to 20 points and finished with a blowout victory. With just under 8 minutes to go in the game, both teams had a majority of reserves on the floor.
The big story of the game for the Wildcats was clearly the introduction of Fofana, who finished the game with 20 points, 11 rebounds, and 4 blocks. The lanky 6-6 freshman was a handful on the interior, as 5 of his rebounds came on the offensive end.
Fellow second semester newcomer Malcolm Jones (Syracuse, N.Y. / Fowler) also came alive for the Wildcats, scoring 10 points in the second half to finish with 14 on the game.
As a team, SUNYIT shot 52% from the field and 42% from the three-point line. Five players joined Fofana and Jones in double-figures, including Drake, Alonzo Grainger (Syracuse, N.Y. / Liverpool), and Maverick Hodge (Bronx, N.Y. / Samuel Gompers).
The Wildcats will play next on the road at the Sarah Lawrence Invitational. SUNYIT is slated to play Alfred State in the first round of the tournament on Friday, January 10th at 6:00 pm.