ALBANY, N.Y. – Russell Sage College, seeded sixth, begins its Empire 8 Conference Championship Tournament run on Saturday at Nazareth, the three seed.
2025 Empire 8 Conference Championship Tournament Quarterfinals: Gators (Six Seed) at Nazareth (Three Seed)
Saturday, February 22, 2025 | 4:00 PM | Live Stats| Live Video
#6 RSC Gators (16-9/9-7 E8): Roster| Stats
#3 Nazareth (16-9/11-5 E8): Roster | Stats
Ticket Prices (Cash Only at the Door):
Adults: $6.00
Students and Seniors with ID: $4.00
Children Under 12: Free
RSC Men's Basketball in the Empire 8 Conference Championship Tournament History: The Gators, heading to the E8 Championship Tournament for the first time since 2022, are making their fourth appearance in the E8 playoffs. RSC qualified for three-consecutive E8 Tournaments from 2020-2022.
Head Coach Brian Barnes on Saturday: "We're excited to be returning to the Empire 8 playoffs this year. After a two-year absence from postseason basketball, we're grateful for the opportunity ahead of us and truly appreciative of all of the hard work from both current and previous players and coaches to get back here. We'll take these next few days to make sure we are physically and mentally prepared to be playing our best basketball this weekend against a Nazareth program we have great respect for. The unique experience of having our men's and women's team able to support one another at the same site on Saturday is also very exciting for us."
Gator Bites: Barnes is in his 16th season at the helm of the Gators...RSC which began the postseason as the top defense in the E8, allowing just 66.2 points per-game, finished the regular season with seven of the final ten, including six of the last seven, games away from home…The Gators got off to a 12-3 record, their best start to a season since 2014-15…Nine returnees combine with seven newcomers on this year's edition…Senior guard Noah Girard (Glens Falls, NY/Glens Falls) and senior forward Todd Williamson (Schenectady, NY/Notre Dame Bishop Gibbons) 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 in the home win vs. Saint John Fisher on January 17…He moved into third place on the program's career scoring list on February 8 at Utica…The co-captain, who entered the weekend with 1,142 career points, became just the third Gator to dish out 200 career assists in the victory at Saint John Fisher on February 15…Girard is guaranteed to finish his senior campaign ranked in the top-three in RSC 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…Sophomore forward Avery Oduro-Dompreh (Elkridge, MD/Oakland Mills) is a presence in the post for the Gators...The forward began the week leading the Conference in blocks per-game and was ranked third in the E8 in rebounding… Junior guard Brandon Harris (Elmsford, NY/Alexander Hamilton/Herkimer CC) was announced as the E8 Player of the Week for the period ending Sunday, February 2…He averaged 25.3 points on 50.8 percent shooting across three games.
Up Next: The Semifinal round will be held Wednesday, February 26.
