Albany, NY — Sage men's basketball team hosted the Hawks of Hartwick College on Monday night in the 2020-2021 season opener for both teams. Sage got 24 points from junior guard Jalon Borders (Bartow, FL/Bartow) as they posted the opening night win topping the Hawks, 76-69.
Sage led 34-33 at the break as Borders had 10 points in the first half despite Sage struggling from three-point range, hitting just 2 of 12 from three-point range.
Hartwick got 24 points from junior forward Bobby Connors (Rockville Centre, NY/Chaminade) as he netted a double-double with 11 rebounds after shooting 9-of-16 from the floor.
Junior Amani Cummings (Brooklyn, NY/Transit Tech) erupted for a career-high 19 points in the contest adding nine points in the first stanza, while adding three assists and two steals for the Gators as they finished the night shooting 45.6% from the floor (26-57).
Gator newcomer, junior forward Ryan Long (Averill Park, NY/Averill Park) added 14 points in his debut at Sage, while sophomore forward Nathan Mannion (Castleton-On-Hudson, NY/Maple Hill) finished the night as the high rebounder with 10 rebounds including eight defensive boards. Mannion added eight points as well after making 3-of-5 shots from the floor.
Hartwick's senior guard Pat Garey (Johnson City, NY/Johnson City) added 12 points, while senior forward Austin Haskell (Kirkwood, NY/Susquehanna Valley) added 10 points with nine rebounds and a block and steal for the Hawks.
On the 2019-2020 season, Borders led the Gators in scoring with a personal-best 424 points with a 16.3 ppg average. A first team Empire 8 performer, his 424 points in a season ranks third all-time for most points in a year, while his 16.3 ppg average is seventh best. After Monday's numbers, he ranks 11th on the Gators' career scoring list with 563 points.
Sage returns to action on March 5 hosting Houghton College in a 6 p.m. Empire 8 contest. Please note that due to covid-19 restrictions, Sage is not permitting fans in attendance at 2021 home events. Hartwick is back in action on March 5 in a 6 p.m. road contest with Elmira College.
