Patchogue, NY – The Sage Colleges' men's basketball team travelled to St. Joseph's College (LI) for the first contest of the 2014 half of the season. The visiting Gators cruised to a 100-78 win over the Golden Eagles as Sage had five players finish in double-digit scoring in the Skyline Conference match-up. Sage improves to 6-3 overall and 3-1 in the conference, while St. Joe's drops to 2-8 overall and 1-2 in the Skyline Conference.
The Gators have now scored 100 or more points this season three times and own a combined 90.1 ppg average, which is first among the Skyline Conference.
For the game, Sage got 17 points from senior Mason Horne (Albany, NY/LaSalle Institute) as he hit 6-of-7 shots from the floor, including one three pointer and made 4 of 5 free throws as well. Senior guard Ryan LaBelle (East Berne, NY/Berne-Knox-Westerlo) connected for 15 points as he made five three pointers in the contest to pace Sage.
Sophomore Melvin Ford (Voorhees, NJ/Eastern Regional) just missed a double-double as he had 14 points with nine rebounds, including six defensive boards. Junior Kai Deans (Miami, FL/Monsignor Pace) added 12 points with two blocked shots, while junior center Jacob Sopchak (Rhinebeck, NY/Rhinebeck) connected for a double-double as he had 11 points and a team-best 10 rebounds. He added two blocked shots to elevate his season number to 12, while elevating his career resume to 38 blocks, which is No. 3 on the Gator career list.
Horne, who leads the Gators in scoring this season now has a 17.0 ppg average, while standing second on the all-time career scoring list with his 1,128 points. He ranks No. 2 behind the program's all-time leading scorer Matt Farbotko (1,244 points).
Sage shots 52.8% from the floor (38-72), while also connecting for eight three point baskets (8-15, 52.8%). The Gators also held a commanding edge on the boards, 51-43, while also racking up 36 defensive caroms in the contest.
Sage will return to action on January 6 travelling to the College of Mt. St. Vincent for a 7 p.m. road Skyline Conference game.