UTICA, N.Y. - The SUNY Poly men's basketball team lost to Hamilton on Tuesday night in a game that saw the lead take a 17-point swing from a seven-point Wildcat lead to a 10-point Hamilton lead in the last 15 minutes of the game. The Wildcats are now 9-11 this season. The win improves Hamilton's record to 12-7 this season.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

The Wildcats played a great first half of basketball against a tough Hamilton team. The defense held Hamilton to a field goal percentage of 32% with seven turnovers. The Wildcats shot 44% in the first half and were perfect from the charity stripe, going 7-7. The Wildcats and the Continentals battled back and forth in the first half, but a 12-2 run in the last five minutes helped the Wildcats turn a four-point deficit into a four-point lead at intermission. In the second half, the Wildcats grew their lead to a high of seven points at the 17-minute mark. Hamilton chipped away at the Wildcat's lead. The game took a turn for the worse for SUNY Poly around the 10:13 mark when Jesse O'Dell hit a jumper to give Poly a six-point lead. From that point to the 1:01 mark the Wildcats did not record a field goal, scoring each of their six points in that time frame from the free-throw line. Hamilton took the opportunity to take the lead and extend it to 10 points.

One of the biggest determining factors of the outcome was the rebounding differential. Hamilton had 43 boards in the game with 14 offensive rebounds. The Wildcats had 29 rebounds with five offensive boards.

NOTABLE PERFORMANCES:

• Jesse O'Dell had a team-high 15 points for the Wildcats. He also had four rebounds, two assists, and a block in the game.
• Teja Singh had a game-high 21 points for the Continentals. He also had three rebounds.
• Cheickne Toure had 14 points, four assists, three rebounds, and a pair of steals for the Wildcats.
• Josh Ernst played a season-high 33 minutes for the Wildcats. He scored 11 points and had four rebounds.
• Owen Kane scored 15 points for Hamilton with five rebounds, a steal, and a block.
• Connor Rood had 13 points, nine rebounds, a game-high six assists, and a pair of steals for Hamilton.

UP NEXT:

The Wildcats will face off with NVU-Johnson on Friday night in North Atlantic Conference (NAC) play. The game is scheduled for a 7:30 PM tip-off in Northern Vermont. The Wildcats will be trying to revenge an 89-76 loss in their last meeting with Johnson.

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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, game design, 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.