Albany, NY—Sage College hosted the Trailblazers of Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts on Tuesday night in Kahl Gym in the Gators' 2016-2017 home opener. Sage poured in a school-record 130 points in the contest as the two teams combined for 228 points as the Gators rolled to a 130-98 victory. With the win, Sage improves to 2-3 overall, while MCLA drops to 0-5.
Six different Sage players finished in double digits, while four players from MCLA also tallied double-digit scoring marks in the action. The 130 points by Sage surpasses the previous Sage single-game mark of 115 points (Sage 115 vs. RPI, 11/26/13), while the combined score is also a Sage single-game mark. The previous combined score was 220 points as Sage bested RPI, 115-105, (11/26/13).
Sage's senior Davon Sylvester (Bronx, NY/Cardinal Hayes) led the Gators with his personal-best 26 points after hitting 10-12 from the floor. Senior co-captain Marcus Patterson (Bronx, NY/Mount Saint Michael Academy) added a career-high 26 points and was a perfect 11-11 from the floor, another Sage first for a single-game performance. Junior guard Jordan Devaughn (Jacksonville, FL/Flora McDonald Academy) added a Sage best 20 points off the bench with six assists and two steals to help the squad.
Senior forward Rob Mills (Newburgh, NY/Newburgh Free Academy) finished with 16 points, while junior guard Wayne Weir (Bronx, NY/Samuel Gompers) added 15 points followed by an 11-point effort from senior forward Chanse Watson (Hollis, NY/Westbury).
Patterson has now collected 644 career points with 394 rebounds. He moved into No. 7 on the career scoring list as he moved in front of Jorrdan McCray (637, 2014-2016), and is No. 7 in rebounding at Sage.
Sage led 71-46 at the break and never looked back despite a strong return to the floor by the Trailblazers to open the second stanza. Junior forward Joe Wiggins (Pittsfield, MA/St. Joseph) added 26 points and shot 50.0% from the floor, converting 8-16 and 10-13 from the line. Junior forward Joe Murray (Cairo, NY/Cairo-Durham) added a double-double for MCLA with his 16 points and a game-best 13 boards. Junior guard Keiland Cross (Pittsfield, MA/Pittsfield) added 20 points with five assists, while junior forward Nolan Bird (Clarksburg, MA/Drury) finished with 13 points.
Now in his eighth season at Sage, Head Coach Brian Barnes is now 99-89 at the helm of the program and will look to garner his 100th career win this week as Sage is back in action on Thursday, December 1 hosting the Knights of Mt. St. Mary College in Kahl Gym at 7 p.m. in the Gators' 2016 Skyline Conference opener. MCLA hosts Wesleyan University on December 1 at 7 p.m.