CLINTON, N.Y. – The SUNY Polytechnic Men's Basketball Team (1-3) picked up its first win of the young season on Sunday afternoon, coming back from a five-point halftime deficit to upend the Mighty Oaks of the SUNY College of Environmental Science & Forestry (SUNY-ESF), 62-58.
Despite a tough shooting night the Wildcats were able to grit out the all-important first victory. After being down 36-31 at halftime, SUNY Poly clamped down on defense in the second half to allow just 22 SUNY-ESF points.
A key factor in the Wildcat win was junior forward Kaleel Johnson (Syracuse, N.Y. / Syr. Acad. of Science), who had his best game of the year with 18 points and 10 rebounds. Johnson did it all in just 21 minutes of work off the bench.
SUNY Poly's second-half comeback is even more impressive considering that with 9:41 to play they were still down 11 points, 53-42. Stunningly, the Wildcat's would surrender just five more points to SUNY-ESF the rest of the game, closing on a 20-5 run over the final nine minutes-and-change of play.
Coaches constantly remind players to "chip away" when facing a large deficit, and not to try to "get it all back at once." Rarely are teams able to exercise such discipline, but on Sunday the Wildcat's executed the rally to perfection. They wouldn't take the lead until 8 seconds left. After a Maverick Hodge (Bronx, N.Y. / Samuel Gompers) layup tied the game at 58-all with 18 seconds left, Ryan McCarthy (Camden, N.Y. / Camden) came up with a steal on the ensuing Mighty Oaks possession and was fouled. The rookie calmly sank two pressure free throws, then knocked down two more to put the game away after the ensuing ESF possession went nowhere.
McCarthy finished with 14 points, going a perfect 6-for-6 from the free throw line. Hodge added 11 points and team-highs of 5 assists and 3 steals, and sophomore Thomas Lucas (Buffalo, N.Y. / Tapestry) had a nice night in his first start of the year, scoring 12 points on 5-for-9 shooting while grabbing 7 boards.
The win comes just in time for the Wildcats, who will play their first NEAC conference games this upcoming weekend. First up is an away game at Wells College scheduled for this Saturday, December 6th. Game time is slated for 2:00 pm.