UTICA, N.Y. - The SUNY Poly men's basketball team beat SUNY Canton on Friday night 77-64 to open up North Atlantic Conference play. With the win, the Wildcats move to 6-3 on the season and 1-0 in North Atlantic Conference play. The Wildcats have now won four games in a row.
HOW IT HAPPENED: The Kangaroos would strike first on Friday evening on a layup from Quran DuBois to give them a 2-0 lead. Cheickne Toure would answer with two free throws before DuBois would again score for the Kangaroos to give them a 4-2 lead. The Wildcats would go on a run highlighted by baskets from Toure, Jesse O'Dell, Josh Ernst, and Mitch Kernizan to make the game 11-6. The Kangaroos would scrap back into the game, however, going on a run to tie the game at 16-16.
Justin Osmond would provide a big spark off the bench for the Wildcats, hitting two three-pointers in back-to-back trips down the court to give the Wildcats a 24-20 lead. The Kangaroos would continue to keep it interesting, exchanging baskets with the Wildcats to cut their lead to 29-28. The Wildcats would pick up the offense at the end of the half, going on a 14-5 run in the last 4:26 to have a 43-33 lead going into halftime.
Dylan Ernst and Levi Spina would start the scoring in the second half for the Wildcats to extend their lead to 46-33. JJ Omaga would make one free throw for the Kangaroos followed by a Brennan Harmer three-pointer to make the score 48-37 before SUNY Canton called a timeout. The Wildcats would slow the Kangaroos' momentum coming out of the timeout, however, never allowing the Kangaroos to get within 10 points of them and keeping a comfortable lead the rest of the game. The Wildcats would continue a strong defensive effort to secure the 77-64 victory.
The Wildcats would spread out the scoring tonight, with nine players recording points. Jesse O'Dell and Mitch Kernizan would both have a game-high 17 points to lead the way for the Wildcats.
NOTABLE STATISTICS:
- Jesse O'Dell was all over the stat book tonight, recording 17 points, nine rebounds, four assists, one block, and one steal.
- LJ Randle, Levi Spina, and Dylan Ernst would all finish with eight points for the Wildcats.
- Quran DuBois would have a team-high 16 points for the Kangaroos. Michael Nunnally and DeMerrill Levy would also finish with 10 points apiece.
- The Wildcats would win a few different key-statistical categories including field goal percentage, rebounds, and assists.
UP NEXT: The Wildcats will be back in action on Saturday, December 2nd against NVU-Johnson. The game is set to tip off at 3:00 PM. It will continue the Annual Canned Food Drive weekend hosted by SUNY Poly. If you are planning on attending the game, please consider bringing canned food to help those in need.