North Adams, MA—The Sage Colleges' men's basketball team posted a 98-88 win over MCLA on Tuesday night for a non-conference win. With the victory Sage is now 2-2, while the Trailblazers drop to 1-4. Five Gators finished in double-digit scoring in the action.
For the Gators, junior Chris Kidd (Manhattan, NY/Beacon) had a personal-best 20 points, while senior guard Wayne Weir (Bronx, NY/Samuel Gompers) added 18 points. Kidd shot a blistering 10-18 from the floor, while Weir converted 12-of-14 free throws and added eight rebounds as well for Sage in the contest.
Sophomore Isaiah Scurry (Albany, NY/Albany) added 13 points, while junior center Kevin Lenehan (Delanson, NY/Duanesburg) connected for 12 points. Sophomore forward Anthony Mitchell (Bronx, NY/Salesian) collected five points with eight rebounds and a personal-best eight assist with two blocks and a pair of steals. Senior Barceem Dukes (Gloversville, NY/Gloversville) added 10 points as well for the team, while Sage had a commanding edge on the boards as they outrebounded MCLA, 51-28. The Trailblazers were hampered by 20 turnovers of their own. MCLA was outrebounded by a 51-28 margin.
Sage only trailed after MCLA made the first bucket of the night. From there, the Gators controlled the flow of the fast paced action. After a half of play marred by 26 fouls, the Gators took a 47-40 lead into the locker room.
At the start of the second half, they seemed poised to pull away from MCLA, however the hosts kept coming back. With 13:49 left to play, Sage led 63-48 following a layup from Jemal Robinson. The fifteen point margin was their largest of the half. The Trailblazers began to chip away, but still trailed by 12 points at 69-57 at the midway point of the half. From there, MCLA began a final push at the Gators.
The Trailblazers would outscore Sage 17-6 over the next four minutes to pull within one at 75-74 after Quran Davis drilled a three pointer. The Gators responded with consecutive layups from Kidd and when Scurry scored with 3:47 left to play, they led 81-74. MCLA got within four at 81-77 with three minutes left to play, however the Gators once again answered with a 7-2 run to seal the victory. MCLA never got any closer from there.
Kidd was 10-18 from the floor to lead Sage. He added 5 boards and 3 steals. Weir was just 3-8 from the field, but went 12-14 from the free throw line for Sage. He grabbed 8 rebounds and collected 5 steals. Anthony Mitchell added 5 points, but had a game best 8 assists and 8 rebounds in the win.
The Gators overcame 22 turnovers in the win and shot 50% from the floor.
MCLA was paced by the first year duo of Mike Demartinis and Noah Yearsley. Demartinis had a game high 24 point night that included a 6-15 showing from the floor, but he was 11-12 from the charity stripe. Yearsley scored 19 points on 6-12 shooting and was a perfect 6-6 from the line. Ki-Shawn Monroe added 11 points and 6 assist for MCLA.
Sage is back in action on Saturday, December 2 travelling to SUNY-Canton for a 3 p.m. match-up.