MARCY, N.Y. – The SUNY Polytechnic Men's Basketball Team (6-10, 5-3 NEAC) just missed pulling off a dramatic comeback at home Wednesday night versus the similarly named Wildcats of Cazenovia College (7-10, 5-4 NEAC), dropping a thrilling overtime contest 90-82.
Early foul trouble ultimately proved too much for SUNY Poly to overcome, as three Wildcat players ended up fouling out of the game.
SUNY Poly was down at the half 38-29. The home Wildcats had some momentum early after a pair of threes by Ryan McCarthy (Camden, N.Y. / Camden), including one where the freshman stopped on a dime on a curl play at the top of the key. McCarthy finished the half with 13 points on four three-pointers.
On the other end, however, was the speedy guard Malik Adair-Mountain. Adair-Mountain finished the half with 14 points and would go on to lead the visiting Wildcats with 23 on the night.
In the second half the Wildcats appeared on the verge of floundering, missing key starters McCarthy and reigning NEAC Player of the Week Kaleel Johnson (Syracuse, N.Y. / Syr. Acad. of Science) for large chunks of time due to foul trouble. Down 48-41 with 13:46 to go in the game, the team ended up finding inspiration from an unlikely spot. Not usually known for his shooting, sophomore forward Thomas Lucas (Buffalo, N.Y. / Tapestry) hit not one, not two, but three consecutive three-pointers to force a Cazenovia timeout at the 12:09 mark and pull the home team to within five, down 55-50.
All three of Lucas's three-pointers came on kickouts from Michael Boyea (Chateaugay, N.Y. / Chateaugay), who was one of two Wildcat players to play all 45 minutes of regulation and overtime. He finished with asolid night, scoring 9 points on 4 of 8 shooting while grabbing 6 rebounds, dishing 5 assists, and committing zero turnovers.
As for Lucas, the sophomore's miracle night wasn't nearly over. With just 3:05 remaining in the game, Lucas knocked down yet another three-pointer to put the 'Cats within two, their closest margin of the half.
Still, the visitors kept finding answers. After a free throw from Adair-Mountain and an offensive rebound, Cazenovia guard Will Thompson buried a particularly tough shot, driving to his right and then putting the ball behind-the-back for a pull-up jumper from the right elbow. The play made it a 2-possesion game again, with Cazenovia leading 74-69.
A big change of events would occur just seconds later, however, thanks to SUNY Poly's other hero of the night, Maverick Hodge (Bronx, N.Y. / Samuel Gompers). After drawing a foul and knocking down both free throws, Hodge took advantage of an errant pass on the inbound by Cazenovia, intercepting the ball right beneath his own hoop and putting it in for a 4-point swing with the home Wildcats now down just one, 74-73.
Hodge had a tremendous game in defeat. The senior joined Boyea as the only two players to play all 45 minutes in the game, finishing with 25 points to lead all scorers. Hodge's points were hard, as the senior set SUNY Poly records for both free throws made and free throws attempted in a single game, finishing an incredible 19 of 26 from the line.
A minute after Hodge's steal/layup, he passed the baton back to Lucas, literally. Down three with 1:24 to go, Hodge found Lucas in the corner for – not a misprint – his fifth 3-pointer of the half. The shot tied the game at 76-all as the SUNY Poly home crowd erupted.
While there was still over a minute and twenty seconds of game time remaining, neither team would be able to move the score as the game headed to overtime.
In the extra period the Wildcats stood tied at 80-80 with 2:21 to play, however the team's diminished bench seemed to finally catch up with the team, as the Wildcats were at this point missing both Johnson and McCarthy. Some tough individual plays by Adair-Mountain late in the period essentially sealed the deal, as Cazenovia went on to win it 90-82.
To its credit, the SUNY Poly men's team put up heck of a fight while dealing with tough circumstances, with multiple players stepping up to keep the team in the game. The aforementioned Lucas finished with 19 points on 5 of 10 from long range, a career-high for the sophomore and well above his season average of 6.1 ppg. In addition, the SUNY Poly bench logged a whopping 51 minutes of game time, led by Mike Aiello and Blake Haga but also featuring De'Ondray Tape and Tyler Taverne.
The loss snaps a four-game win streak for the Wildcats, who finish off a four-game home stand this Saturday with a 3:00 pm tip-off. SUNY Poly takes on the Fighting Tigers of SUNY Cobleskill, and will look to avenge a 55-50 loss from earlier in the season.