ALBANY, N.Y. – In a battle between two of the top-three teams in the Empire 8 Conference, Russell Sage College held off visiting Nazareth 71-69 this afternoon. The Saturday matinee, which featured squads that entered the day with a combined record of 21-7, 9-1 in E8 play, came down to the final buzzer, as a halfcourt Nazareth heave was off the mark.
Junior guard Trevor Green (Troy, NY/Lansingburgh/HVCC) provided the Gators (12-3/5-1 E8), now winners of nine of their last ten games, with a double-double of 23 points and 10 rebounds and three assists. He registered 18 of his points in the second half to ensure that RSC secured the important home victory.
Junior guard Brandon Harris (Elmsford, NY/Alexander Hamilton/Herkimer CC) added a career-high 18 points on 9-of-13 shooting, while sophomore forward Avery Oduro-Dompreh (Elkridge, MD/Oakland Mills), who began the weekend leading the Conference in blocks per-game and was ranked second in the E8 in rebounding, contributed 11 points on 4-of-8 shooting, seven rebounds, a team-high four assists, and two blocks.
"I'm incredibly proud of our team tonight," said Head Coach Brian Barnes. "It was a hard-fought win against a terrific Nazareth program who we have tremendous respect for. Our team was ready for the magnitude of today and played tough and together the entire game. I thought Brandon off the bench was outstanding, Todd Williamson (Schenectady, NY/Notre Dame Bishop Gibbons) and Avery came up with key rebounds the entire game and Trevor made some incredible plays. We will enjoy tonight and then it's back to work on Monday getting ready for two very difficult Empire 8 opponents next weekend."
Senior guard Noah Girard (Glens Falls, NY/Glens Falls), continued his historic weekend with eight points. The program's career leader for made three-pointers, who surpassed the 1,000 career points milestone in Friday's win vs. Saint John Fisher, moved into a tie for fourth place on the program's career scoring list this afternoon. Both he and Marcus Patterson '17 have 1,021. Next up for the co-captain will be Jalon Borders '22 at 1,095 career points.
Williamson, helped RSC, which led or was tied for all but 23 seconds this afternoon, enjoy advantages of 47-38 in rebounding and 38-22 on points-in-the-paint by leading all players with 14 rebounds, four of which were on the offensive glass.
The Gators got out to first half leads of 25-10 and 33-19 only for the Golden Flyers to use a strong finishing kick to head into the break trailing by only seven, 33-26. The 9-0 run spanning the periods was part of a larger 28-12 Nazareth jaunt across 11:16 that put the visitors ahead for the first and only time.
Junior guard Jaylen Savage was a force for the Golden Flyers (10-4/5-1 E8), tallying 32 points on 14-of-23 shooting, seven rebounds, and five assists. Between the points from his baskets and the ones he assisted on, the E8's leading scorer was directly responsible for more than 65 percent of the 69 Nazareth points.
Savage, who scored 23 points in the second half, effectively drew double-teams late before feeding teammates for open layups, getting Naz, which trailed by no more than seven for the final 20 minutes, within three with 1:08 left and then one with 31 seconds left. After RSC came up empty on the ensuing possession, the ball was in the two-time All-E8 selection's hands for the presumptive final shot. He didn't get enough on the jumper, allowing the Gators to corral the airball. Fouled on the inbound pass, Green went 1-of-2 at the line, allowing the Golden Flyers a chance to win. The turnaround half court heave by senior guard Tyler Putney, who tallied 18 points on the strength of five three-pointers, hit the back rim and bounded away.
RSC wrapped up a stretch where it played eight out of nine games at home this afternoon. Looking ahead, the Gators, which boast the top defense and best scoring margin in the E8, finish the regular season with seven of the final ten, including six of the last seven, games away from home. The run begins on Friday at SUNY Poly.
Gator Bites: The 2024-2025 season marks the 16th for Barnes at the helm of RSC…The Gators entered the weekend leading the Empire 8 Conference by allowing 60.7 points per-game…RSC also boasted the top scoring margin in the E8 at 11.6…Nine returnees combine with seven newcomers on this year's edition…Girard and Williamson were voted co-captains of this year's squad…Girard, the program's career leader for made three pointers, became just the fifth Gator to surpass 1,000 career points on Friday vs. SJFU…The guard, currently with 1,021 career points, will finish his senior season ranked among the top-five in program records for career points, career assists, and career steals…Williamson was selected the E8 Player of the Week for the period ending Sunday, January 5…He registered team-highs of 16 points, 12 rebounds, and four assists in the home win vs. SUNY Cobleskill on January 3...Oduro-Dompreh is a presence in the post for the Gators...The forward began the weekend leading the Conference in blocks per-game and was ranked second in the E8 in rebounding...Green tops RSC in scoring (14.2 points per-game), assists (2.7), and steals (2.1) and is second on the team in rebounding (7.1) and blocks (0.9)...He averaged 18.0 points on 46.3 percent shooting and 7.3 rebounds to help the Gators go 3-0 this week...He totaled 10 assists, four steals, and two blocks across the three games.
