Albany, NY-- The Sage Colleges' men's basketball team hosted the Raptors of Bard College on Tuesday night in the Kahl Center in the Gators' home opener. The Gators rallied down the stretch to collect the 51-48 victory. Sage improves to 3-1 on the year, while Bard drops to 1-1.
Sage took a 24-23 halftime lead into the locker room as junior guard Mason Horne (Albany, NY/LaSalle Institute) added 10 points.
Bard held a 48-46 lead with 34 seconds left in regulation. Sage's sophomore guard Troy Nwanna (Washington, DC/Mercersburg Academy) was fouled and went to the line with 0:23 left and made both of his free throws to tie the game at 48-48. Bard's senior guard Frank Stortini (Red Hook, NY/Red Hook) turned the ball over with 17 seconds left and Sage's junior Jeff Stopera (Scotia, NY/Scotia Glenville) was there with a steal and was subsequently fouled and went to the line with 15 seconds left. Stopera made both of his free throws to give Sage a 50-48 lead.
Stortini made a three-point attempt and Sage's senior forward Matt Farbotko (Rouses Point, NY/Northeastern Clinton) collected the rebound and was fouled. He went to the line with 0:01 left and made the second of his two free throws giving Sage a 51-48 lead. A last attempt by Bard was off the mark as time expired. For the game, Farbotko had 11 points with seven rebounds, while Horne finished with a team-best 17 points. Farbotko now has 901 career points. Stopera added nine points with a pair of assists and three steals for the Gators as they held a 37-32 edge on the boards.
Bard's Stortini finished with a double-double as he had 10 points and 11 rebounds, all defensive. Sophomore forward Siondueh Burnette (Lakeville, MA/Apponequet) added 10 rebounds with seven points and three blocks for the Raptors.
Sage returns to action on December 1 travelling to Yeshiva University for an 8:30 p.m. Skyline Conference contest, while Bard College hosts Drew University on December 2 in a 2 p.m. non-conference game.
