UTICA, N.Y. - The SUNY Poly men's basketball team dropped a heartbreaker on Friday night to SUNY Morrisville 94-94 in overtime. The conference matchup between the first and second-place teams was everything it was expected to be. Anthony Rose hit a three-pointer at the end of regulation to send the game into overtime. As the clock expired, Kareem Sanders returned the favor for the Mustangs to win the game with a contested jump shot. With the loss, the Wildcats move to 12-8 on the season and 6-2 in North Atlantic Conference play.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

In the first half, the Wildcats would jump out to an early lead, and maintain it for the majority of the half. After a Mustangs run to cut the Wildcats lead to 26-24, Kamryn Comstock hit a huge three to extend the Wildcats lead to 29-24. The Wildcats would take a 35-28 lead over the #1 team in the conference into halftime.

The Mustangs would score the first four points in the second half to cut the Wildcats lead to 35-32, and that would set the pace for the remainder of the half. A major turning point came with 3:48 to play after a Dylan Ernst layup extended the lead to 74-67. The Mustangs would score the next 8 points to take a 75-74 lead with 1:29 remaining. Cheickne Toure would answer with a free throw to tie the game before Daimarr Miller hit a three-pointer with :36 seconds remaining to give the Mustangs a 78-75 lead. On the next possession, Anthony Rose was fouled going to the basket and sank two free throws to make it a 78-77 game. With time ticking, the Wildcats fouled the Mustangs, and Jakhi Lucas made two free throws to make it an 80-77 game. With :06 seconds remaining, Anthony Rose made a deep three-pointer to tie the game at 80 and send the exciting game into overtime.

In the five-minute overtime period, the Mustangs would score the first basket and lead the entire period until Kamryn Comstock made two clutch free throws with :13 seconds remaining to tie the game 92-92. On the next trip down the court, the Mustangs scored at the buzzed to win the game 94-94.

NOTABLE PERFORMANCES:

• Anthony Rose scored a game-high 34 points, while also grabbing 10 rebounds for the double-double.

• Jakhi Lucas scored 28 points to lead the Mustangs to victory.

• Rose, Toure, Randle, Komstock, and Dylan Ernst all scored in double digits for the Wildcats.

UP NEXT: 

The Wildcats will be back in action on Tuesday, January 30th as they host Cobleskill for a North Atlantic Conference matchup. The game is scheduled to start at 5:30 PM.