OSWEGO, N.Y. – The SUNY Poly men's basketball team opened up their season with a big win on Friday at the 2018 Men's Basketball Max Ziel Tournament hosted by SUNY Oswego. In the opening round of the tournament, the Wildcats matched up with SUNY Purchase. The Wildcats won the game handily 76-63 to start their 2018-19 season 1-0.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
The Wildcats and the Panthers played a tight first half. Purchase held a slight lead through 20 minutes heading into the locker room with a 38-36 lead. Josh Gregory (Whitesboro, N.Y.) played an insane first half, scoring 17 points to keep the Wildcats within striking distance.
The Wildcats came into the second half on a mission. They started an 8-0 run to take a six point lead. The 'Cats would extend their lead, continuing their run which, at its high point, was 19-2. Purchase's Jorge Perdomo knocked down a handful of three pointers to help cut the Wildcat lead to single digits. With just five minutes left in the game, the Wildcat offense showed poise and slowed the pace while continuing to score, icing the game and killing the momentum that Purchase was starting to build.
The Wildcats ended the game on a 9-2 run to finish out their first win of the season.
NOTABLES:
- Josh Gregory had an outstanding season debut. The sophomore recorded a double-double with a game high 29 points and a game high 16 rebounds. Gregory shot 10-18 from the field (55%) and knocked down a pair of three pointers. He also had two steals and a block in the game.
- Senior Peyton Griffiths (Milford, N.Y.) had 13 points for the Wildcats. Griffiths played an aggressive game, driving the lane and running the floor in transition. He had three assists and three rebounds to round out his stat line.
- Malik Johnson (Highland Falls, N.Y.) added nine points for the 'Cats. Johnson had a block and a steal on the defensive end and had three rebounds and two assists.
- Redell Freeman (Rochester, N.Y.) and Jaylin Gray (Brooklyn, N.Y.) each had eight points in the win. Freeman had two assists, two steals, and three rebounds. Gray had two assists, two steals, a block, and four rebounds.
- For Purchase, Rob Grullon and Jorge Perdomo each had a team high 14 points off the bench.
- Michael Soffer was the lone starter for the Panthers with double digit points, he had 11.
UP NEXT:
The Wildcats will play in the Championship game of the Max Ziel tournament against either the host Oswego Lakers or the Elmira Soaring Eagles. The game will take place tomorrow, November 17th at 4:00 PM.
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SUNY Polytechnic Institute (SUNY Poly) is New York's globally recognized, high-tech educational ecosystem, formed from the merger of the SUNY College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering and SUNY Institute of Technology. SUNY Poly offers undergraduate and graduate degrees in the emerging disciplines of nanoscience and nanoengineering, as well as cutting-edge nanobioscience and nanoeconomics programs at its Albany location and undergraduate and graduate degrees in technology, including engineering, cybersecurity, computer science, and the engineering technologies; professional studies, including business, communication, and nursing; and arts and sciences, including natural sciences, mathematics, humanities, and social sciences at its Utica/Rome