Albany, NY–The Sage Colleges' men's basketball team hosted the Rams of Farmingdale State College on banner and Hall of Fame Day on Saturday in Kahl Gym. Sage posted the 88-69 victory to improve 3-0 in the Skyline Conference and 5-2 overall, while FSC is now 0-6 and 0-2 in the league.
Prior to the game, Sage unveiled the championship banners from the 2014-2015 men's basketball campaign. In 2014-2015, Sage went 23-5 and won both the Skyline Conference regular-season championship and the league's tournament championship, garnering an NCAA Division III Tournament appearance. On Saturday, the team was honored for its historic season as the banners representing the most successful campaign in the team's history were displayed to the public!
At halftime of the men's game, the 2015 class of Sage's Athletic Hall of Fame were also introduced. Entering the Hall of Fame were former Junior College of Albany men's basketball standout, Sam Greco, Jr. (East Greenbush, NY), a 1964 JCA graduate; Russell Sage College women's basketball star Karen (Harris) Ratigan (Latham, NY), a 1995 RSC graduate; and former Junior College of Albany men's basketball team MVP, Dwayne Barnes (Sturbridge, MA), a JCA class of 1999 graduate.
At the half, Sage held a 45-26 edge and limited the Rams to a 25.6% shooting performance on 10-39 from the floor. Senior guard Andre Robinson (Fort Pierce, FL/Fort Pierce Westwood) added all 10 of his points in the first half and hit 3-of-5 shots from three-point range and had four steals with three assists for Sage.
Senior Travis Gill Brooklyn, NY/Xaverian) tallied nine first-half points, while junior forward Marcus Patterson (Bronx, NY/Mount Saint Michael Academy) tallied seven points with a team-best eight rebounds in the first stanza as the Gators tallied a 45.7% shooting performance with a 3-1 21 edge on the boards. Gill finished with 12 points and five assists, while Patterson led the team in the contest with 11 rebounds and finished with seven points.
FSC's sophomore Liam Monaghan (Rockaway Beach, NY/Xavier) had 12 points to lead the Rams at the intermission and finished with a game-high 21 points. Rookie forward George Riefenstahl (Bayport, NY/Bayport) had a double-double with 15 points and 13 boards with a block. He shot a cool 7-for-12 from the floor and was 1-1 from the line in the contest. Sophomore guard Trey Kinard (Brooklyn, NY/EBC-ENY) added 13 points with two blocks, two steals and two assists for the Rams as they were held to a 33.3 FG% (27-81) with a 13.6% effort from three-point range (3-22).
Sage had six players finish with double-digit scoring as senior Jorrdan McCray (Orlando, FL/Wekiva) and junior Rob Mills (Newburgh, NY/Newburgh Free Academy) both finished with 15 points as the team's top scorers. For Mills, the 15 points was a career-high as he hit 5-of-7 from the floor with a pair of three-point baskets and added five rebounds off the bench with a block. Junior Aundre Carty (Orlando, FL/Ocoee) also chipped in with 13 points, while senior forward Melvin Ford (Voorhees, NJ/Eastern Regional) had 13 points and nine boards.
The all-time career rebounding leader at Sage, Ford now has 562 rebounds, while standing with 766 points, which ranks fifth all-time. Junior Brett Ullman (Sharon Springs, NY/Sharon Springs Central) moved into sole possession of the No. 2 spot on the team's career three-point record as he now has 79 career three-pointers.
Sage is back in action on December 8 hosting the College of Mt. St. Vincent in a Skyline Conference contest at Kahl Gym at 8 p.m. Farmingdale State College is back in action on December 8 travelling to Purchase College for a 6 p.m. Skyline Conference contest.
Sage will hold its Flood the Swamp with White Night on December 8 and will be giving prizes to fans wearing white to the contest!