MARCY, N.Y. – Getting almost twenty points apiece from two starters is a big deal in a college basketball game. But getting that level of production from three players? It's practically a coup, and it's exactly what the SUNY Poly Men's Basketball Team (5-9, 4-2 NEAC) got on Wednesday night during an 80-62 thrashing of the Morrisville State Mustangs (4-9, 1-5 NEAC).
In front of a raucous home crowd just back from winter break, the team's leading scorers came up big as Kaleel Johnson (Syracuse, N.Y. / Syr. Acad. of Science), Maverick Hodge (Bronx, N.Y. / Samuel Gompers), and Ryan McCarthy (Camden, N.Y. / Camden) all scored 19 or more points, all while shooting high percentages from the floor.
While it's hard to highlight any one of these performances over the others, it's impossible to ignore what the junior forward Johnson did in his 34 minutes of play. The 6-3 post player registered a massive double-double, scoring 19 points while pulling down a career-high 21 rebounds. Johnson's 21 boards are the second-most in a game all-time at SUNY Polytechnic, behind Keith Glenn's mark of 22 set back in the 1999-2000 season.
Johnson was everywhere, coming up with nearly half of SUNY Poly's total rebounds for the game (44).
Johnson, however, wasn't the only Wildcat player to record a career-high. Point guard Maverick Hodge, the team's leading scorer, put his passing skills on display Wednesday night with a career-best 12 assists. He also poured in 21 points on 7 of 18 from the floor, and led the team with 3 steals while committing only 2 turnovers.
Last but certainly not least was McCarthy, who led all scorers with 22 points. The rookie shooting guard knocked down a deadly 6 of 9 from behind the arc and 8 of 11 overall. Four of McCarthy's three-pointers came in the first half, including a run where we scored 9 of SUNY Poly's 13 points over a 13-5 run that stretched the team's lead to ten with 5 minutes to play in the period.
Despite the gaudy final score, the Mustangs played the Wildcats tough for much of the game. The visitors closed to within three going into the half after a Joe Hulbert buzzer-beater made it 39-36 in favor of the Wildcats. With ten minutes to go in the game the Wildcats were still clinging to just a three-point lead, 53-50. The Wildcats would hold the Mustangs scoreless over the next five minutes and change, however, resulting in a 9-0 run and a lead that ultimately proved too much for the visitors.
For the Mustangs it was junior forward Ibrahima Toure leading the way with 18 points and 8 rebounds. Aside from Toure, though, Morrisville couldn't get much going, shooting just 37% from the field compared to SUNY Poly's 46% and coughing up 16 turnovers to the Wildcats' 9.
Coming off their third win in a row the Wildcats will look to keep things rolling with another home game this Sunday against the Penn College of Technology Wildcats. The game against the eponymously named visitors is slated to take place at 2:00 pm in the Campus Center Gymnasium.
