Albany, NY--- The Sage College Gators hosted SUNY-Canton on Thursday night in the Kahl Center in a non-conference meeting of the two squads, the first for the two programs. The Gators collected the 67-63 win to improve to 10-12 overall, while the loss puts SUNY-Canton at 11-9.
Sage held a 30-25 lead at the intermission as the Kangaroos' sophomore guard Khalid Vaughn (New York, NY/Thurgood Marshall) hit a half-court shot at the buzzer that counted.
The second half was exciting as there were four ties down the stretch. The first tie was at 11:22 (41-41) and the last at 7:13 (49-49). The Gators then went on a 6-0 run over the next three minutes as junior center Ryan Sager (Stuyvesant, NY/Ichabod Crane) added a pair of baskets and sophomore guard Mason Horne (Albany, NY/La Salle Institute) added another as well.
The Kangaroos did not go away and clawed back to pull within two points (65-63, 0:07) as junior forward Irving Cato (New York, NY/Manhattan Center) hit a layup after hauling in an offensive board.
Sage's junior guard William Hennep (Wheatley Heights, NY/Half Hollow Hills West) converted four-of-six free throws in the final 27 seconds of play to seal the win for the Gators.
Horne lead the Gators with his 16 points, while Sager had a double-double on 14 points and 11 rebounds. Junior forward Matt Farbotko (Rouses Point, NY/Northeastern Clinton) tallied 15 points with seven rebounds and was 9-10 from the free throw line.
Canton's Cato lead all player with his 25 points and 12 rebounds. He was 11-18 from the floor. Junior forward Woody Jules (Brooklyn, NY/Borough Manhattan C.C.) added 11 points in the contest.
Sage returns to action on February 11 hosting Farmingdale State College in the Kahl Center in a 3 p.m. Skyline Conference game. SUNY-Canton will travel to Green Mountain College on February 10 for a 5 p.m. match-up.
