ALBANY, NY — Russell Sage College's men's basketball team hosted Keuka College on Tuesday night in the first round of the 2021 Empire 8 Men's Basketball Tournament. Seeded fourth, the Gators served as the host for the first round contest marking the team's first-ever home playoff game as a member of the Empire 8 as well as the squad's second consecutive tournament appearance.
The Gators posted the 79-58 win over Keuka to advance to the semifinals where they will travel to face top seeded St. John Fisher College on Friday, April 9 at a time to be determined.
The Wolves led the first half by as many as eight points three times, the last coming at 13:10 (22-14). The Gators gradually cut the lead and tied the game at 25-25 at 8:23 on a free from junior Amani Cummings (Brooklyn, NY/Transit Tech). The two teams exchanged baskets with Keuka's last lead coming at 3:14 (35-34) on a layup by sophomore guard Devin Milton (Opelousas, LA/Beau Chene). Junior Jalon Borders (Bartow, FL/Bartow) added a layup and Cummings made one of two free throws and a three-pointer down the stretch to give the Gators a 40-35 lead at the break.
Sage emerged from the locker room at the break and never looked back as they cruised to the victory after dominating on the boards, 45-29. Leading the way for the Gators were four starters that finished in double digits as Borders finished with a team-best 15 points and had seven assists to go with his two steals. Cummings added 14 points with five rebounds, four assists and three steals for the Gators. Junior Stuart Phair (Canberra, Australia) had 12 points with six rebounds, a block and two steals, while junior forward Jason Geronimo (Orlando, FL/Colonial) had eight points with five boards, two assists and a steal. All told the Gators had nine different players score including junior Ryan Long (Averill Park, NY/Averill Park) as he collected nine points off the bench.
Keuka's sophomore guard Nana Oteng (Queens, NY/Martin Luther) had a game-high 21 points and made 5-of-9 three pointers in the game with seven defensive rebounds, two assists and two steals. Junior guard DJ Billings (Rochester, NY/Greece Odyssey) had 10 points, while sophomore Daniel Obunse (Queens, NY/Flushing) led the team with his eight rebounds and had five points.
After Tuesday's game, the Gators have several players making their impact on the career record book as Borders is now eighth in scoring with 677 points, and Phair is now 23rd with 367 points. Geronimo is currently eighth in career rebounding with 308, while Phair is 13th with 261 rebounds. Phair is also now third with is 64 career blocks, while Borders is ninth with his 79 career steals and 13th in assists as well with 89.
