ROCHESTER, N.Y. – Russell Sage College had four players score in double figures this afternoon at No. 25 Nazareth. The nationally-ranked Golden Flyers (18-1/10-0 E8) shot 50.8 percent from the field to pick up their 16th-straight win with the 93-72 Empire 8 Conference victory.
Senior guard Amani Cummings (Brooklyn, NY/Transit Tech) (above) topped the Gators with 20 points on 7-of-12 shooting.
Senior guard Jalon Borders (Bartow, FL/Bartow), closing in on his 1,000th career point, contributed 12 points and six rebounds, while senior guard Tyler Mitchell (Bronx, NY/All Hallows) registered 11 points and six rebounds.
Senior forward/center Fethener Aime (Palm Coast, FL/Flagler Palm Coast) recorded 10 points and 13 rebounds for his second double-double of the season, while senior forward/center Stuart Phair (Canberra, Australia/Tyler Christian School) scored nine points and blocked three shots.
Nazareth, sitting at No. 25 in the latest D3hoops.com national poll, had a quartet of players net twin figures. Guard Kevin Underwood, a grad student, led the way with 25 points on 10-of-14 shooting. Guard Stephen Gabel, also a grad student, added 21 points on 7-of-9 shooting and 10 rebounds. Senior guard Zach Stenglein tossed in 16 points and six assists, while senior forward Jonathan Park contributed 10 points and 13 boards.
RSC hung with its nationally-ranked opponent throughout the first half, going into the locker trailing 44-40. Nazareth used a 20-8 run across 7:02 early in the second period to obtain some breathing room. The Gators worked hard to stay within striking distance, cutting the deficit to single digits on multiple occasions, including, 81-72, with 3:05 remaining. However, Nazareth netted the next 12 points to move to 9-1 at home.
Looking ahead, RSC (10-9/4-6 E8) is slated to play at St. John Fisher tomorrow at 3:00 pm.
Notes: The Gators have 10 players back in the fold this year…Senior guard Jalon Borders (Bartow, FL/Bartow), a two-time first-team All-Empire 8 Conference pick, headlines the group…He passed Melvin Ford '16 for fourth on the program's career points chart in Tuesday's win vs. Hartwick…Next on the list for the senior guard, now with 998 points, is Marcus Patterson '17 with 1,021…Senior forward/center Stuart Phair (Canberra, Australia/Tyler Christian School), who currently ranks second in program records for career blocks with 91, and senior forward Jason Geronimo (Orlando, FL/Colonial) are captains on the year's team…The pair both rank in the top ten on the program's career rebounding chart…Head Coach Brian Barnes, now in his 13th season, added five players to the program.
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