Albany, NY--- The Sage College Gators hosted the Rams of Farmingdale State College on Saturday afternoon in the Kahl Center in a Skyline Conference contest. The Rams tallied a 62-58 win to improve to 18-5 overall and 14-2 in the league. The loss puts Sage at 10-13 overall and 5-11 in the conference.
Sage held a 29-27 lead at the break and lead by as many eight points (55-47) with 6:29 left to play in the action. The two clubs exchanged baskets after the action was knotted at 56-56 with 3:42, marking the sixth tie of afternoon.
Tied at 58-58 with 1:29 left to play, FSC's junior forward AJ Matthews (Brooklyn, NY/Van Arsdale) hit a layup to break the tie and give the Rams the lead for good. Rookie Ibrahim Johnson (New York, NY/Hostos-Lincoln Academy) made a lay-up at 0:22, but failed to convert a pair of free throws in the final second of the game.
Matthews finished with a double-double on 18 points and a game-high 25 rebounds, including 20 defensive stops. He has now had a double-double in 21 consecutive games this season. He had 16 points and 17 rebounds in the second half to help the Rams to come from behind and collect the win after also making seven blocks in the action. Senior guard Dyshaun Flournoy (Brentwood, NY/Brentwood) added 13 points, while senior guard Joshua Smith (Deer Park, NY/Deer Park) added 11 points.
Sage's sophomore guard Mason Horne (Albany, NY/La Salle Institute) and junior center Ryan Sager (Stuyvesant, NY/Ichabod Crane) each finished with a double-double. Horne added 16 points with 12 rebounds, tying his career-best on the boards. Horne now has a personal-best 277 points this season and leads the team with his 12.0 ppg. Sager finished with 11 points and 10 rebounds with four blocks for the Gators.
Junior forward Matt Farbotko (Rouses Point, NY/Northeastern Clinton) tallied 15 points with four rebounds. He surpassed the 800 career-point plateau on Saturday and now has 807 career points.
Sage returns to action on February 15 hosting the College of Mt. St. Vincent in the Kahl Center in a 7 p.m. Skyline Conference game. The Gators will honor 2012 senior Pat Lanoue (Troy, NY/Hoosic Valley Central) in conjunction with Senior Night prior to the contest.
