Purchase, NY –The Sage College's men's basketball team travelled to Manhattanville College on Saturday afternoon and faced Brooklyn College in the finals of the AJ Buchanan Classic. The Brooklyn College Bulldogs triumphed 94-90 in overtime, ending the Gators' perfect season. Brooklyn stands at 4-1, while Sage is now 2-1.
AJ Buchanan Classic All-Tournament Team:
Juan Camacho, Manhattanville
Evan Kupferberg, NYU
Jorrdan McCray, Sage
Travis Gill, Sage
Lorenzo Williams, Brooklyn
MVP: Jamel Gist, Brooklyn
Sage placed two players on the all-tournament team as juniors Jorrdan McCray (Orlando, FL/Wekiva) and Travis Gill (Brooklyn, NY/Xaverian) earned acclaim.
After leading 48-39 at the break and the Bulldogs had a strong second half and the Gators and Brooklyn were tied at 61-61 with 11:46 left to play in regulations, marking the 8th tie of the game. Brooklyn pulled away and led by seven at 7:43, 74-67. Sage hung tough and McCray had some big plays and hit a three-pointer at 5:14 to pull Sage within 2 points, 74-72. McCray hit another clutch three with 0:43 in regulation to pull Sage within one, 79-78 before junior Melvin Ford (Voorhees, NJ/Eastern Regional) hit the tying shot at 0:09 sending the game to overtime knotted at 80 all.
In the overtime, the Bulldogs pulled out to a seven point lead, 91-84 with 0:40 left to play. Sage pulled back within two points, 92-90 as sophomore guard Brett Ullman (Sharon Springs, NY/Sharon Springs Central) hit a clutch three-pointer.
Sage fouled tournament MVP Jamel Gist with 0:02 left in overtime and he converted the pair of free throws leading his team to the title.
Ford finished with a team-best 16 points and hauled in 15 rebounds for Sage, while senior tri-captain Kai Deans (Miami, FL/Monsignor Pace) added 15 points with five rebounds before fouling out. He was 5-10 from the floor in the action and is the team's leading scorer thus far with a 14.0 ppg average.
McCray added 14 points with three assists and two steals, while Gill tallied nine points. Ullman tallied 12 points, while senior tri-captain Troy Nwanna (Washington, DC/Mercersburg Academy) added 11 points with four assists and five steals
Sage returns to action on November 25 travelling to RPI for an 8 p.m. non-conference contest with the Engineers.