MARCY, N.Y. - The SUNY Poly men's basketball team lost to the Nazareth Golden Flyers on Tuesday night 79-78 in a game that came down to the very last seconds. The loss drops the Wildcats record to 6-3 this season and improves Nazareth to 6-1. 

HOW IT HAPPENED: 

The game was a wild one at the Campus Center. The lead changed hands nine times in the first half alone. After trailing by 12 points with 6:25 left in the first half, the Wildcats went on a 13-0 run to take a 29-28 lead with three minutes to play. The 'Cats had a three-point lead in the closing seconds of the half, but a buzzer-beating 3-pointer by Nazareth's Brendan Broderick tied the game at 37. 

In the second half, Nazareth methodically built their lead all the way back to a game-high 13 points with 6:53 to play, but the Wildcats had no quit in them. In the final six minutes, the Wildcats cut the 13 point lead to just one point with 39 ticks left on the game clock. Nazareth and Poly traded blows back-and-forth right up to the final seconds when two made free throws by Nazareth with 3.1 seconds left made it a four-point game. The Wildcats had one more trick up their sleeves, a hail mary pass from the baseline by Josh Ernst found Josh Gregory at the top of the arc with 3.1 seconds. Gregory gathered the pass and nailed a 25 footer to make it a one-point game. With just a half a second left on the clock, all Nazareth had to do was get the ball inbounded, and they did just that to let the final horn buzz. 

NOTABLE STATS: 

• Jesse O'Dell had a 14 point, 10 rebound double-double in the game. He also had three assists, a steal, and a block. 

• Josh Gregory had a team-high 17 points and knocked down 3-6 from three-point land. He also had eight rebounds, two steals, and three assists.

• Mitch Kernizan had 15 points, six rebounds, an assist, and a steal for the Wildcats The 15 points matches his season-high. 

• LJ Randle also had 15 for the 'Cats. He had a game-high four assists, a team-high three steals, and a team-high three blocks. 

• Alan Rodriguez played some great minutes for the Wildcats, shooting 6-8 from the field for 13 points. He also had a pair of blocks, an assist, and three rebounds. 

• Nazareth's Stephen Gabel led all scorers with 27 points on 10-17 from the field. He was a rebound shy of a double-double with nine. 

• Zach Stenglein had 21 points, a game-high four steals, and three rebounds for the Golden Flyers. 

• Jonathan Park had 15 points and eight rebounds for Nazareth. He also pulled down eight rebounds and had a team-high three blocks.

UP NEXT: 

The Wildcats will host North Atlantic Conference (NAC) rival Cazenovia College on Saturday, December 11th at 1:00 PM. The game is the third conference game for the Wildcats this season. Cazenovia comes into the game with a 2-8 overall record and a 0-2 record in NAC play. SUNY Poly is 6-3 with a 2-0 record in the NAC.

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SUNY Poly is New York's globally recognized, high-tech educational ecosystem. SUNY Poly offers undergraduate and graduate degrees in the emerging disciplines of nanoscience and nanoengineering, as well as cutting-edge nanobioscience programs at its Albany campus, 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 campus; thriving athletic, recreational, and cultural programs, events, and activities complement the campus experience. As the world's most advanced, university-driven research enterprise, SUNY Poly boasts billions of dollars in high-tech investments and hundreds of corporate partners since its inception. For information visit www.sunypoly.edu.