ALBANY, N.Y. – Russell Sage College used some clutch foul shots to pick up its first Empire 8 Conference victory of the season tonight vs. Hartwick.
Knotted at 68 with less than ten seconds remaining, sophomore forward Todd Williamson (Schenectady, NY/Notre Dame Bishop Gibbons) drove to the hoop where he was fouled in the act of shooting by Hartwick freshman forward Jeremiah Boateng. Williamson, one of four Gators that scored in twin figures, made both of his attempts to provide what would be the eventual winning points of the 72-68 home triumph.
The ensuing heave by the Hawks was knocked down by the Kahl Campus Center rafters, giving RSC (3-9/1-4 E8) the ball under the hoop still with 1.4 seconds left. The inbounds toss went to junior guard/forward Jackson Brown (Latham, NY/Catholic Central/Fredonia State), who was fouled. Brown, who topped the Gators with 20 points of 7-of-11 shooting in the E8 win, knocked down both foul shots for the final margin.
Williamson, who grabbed a team-best six rebounds, went a perfect 6-of-6 at the line en route to 10 points, while Brown was 5-of-7 on his free throws. The duo helped RSC, kicking off a stretch of three-straight home games, make 18 of its 23 foul shots on the night. The strong shooting at the charity stripe helped the Gators comeback from a seven-point second half deficit to edge Hartwick, which by comparison made just 42.9 percent of its free throws (12-of-28).
Sophomore guard Noah Girard (Glens Falls, NY/Glens Falls) added 16 points of 6-of-12 shooting, while guard Ryan Long (Averill Park, NY/Averill Park), a graduate student, contributed 12 points.
A trio from Hartwick (3-7/2-3 E8) reached double figures tonight. Sophomore guard Kevin Felasco topped all participants with 25 points, while sophomore guard Cooper Francis recorded a double-double of 10 points and 11 rebounds. Boateng finished with 18 points, eight rebounds, and four blocks.
Looking ahead, RSC continues its run of home contests on Friday vs. Medaille. Tip-off is slated for 7:30 pm.
Notes: The Gators, coming off an E8 Conference Championship Tournament appearance, graduated all five starters from last season…Nine players, accounting for just 21.22 percent of scoring and 16.82 percent of rebounding, returned…They joined nine newcomers to make up this year's roster…Girard and Long, a graduate student, were voted co-captains...Head Coach Brian Barnes, now in his 14th season, began the campaign with a 167-153 overall record.
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