Rams Outlast Old Westbury for Skyline Win
Farmingdale State - 87, Old Westbury - 85 (F/OT)
Old Westbury, N.Y. - The Farmingdale State men's basketball team defeated Old Westbury, 87-85, in overtime last night. The Rams earned their fourth straight conference victory and improved to 6-5 overall, 5-1 in the Skyline.
The Rams trailed 53-45 with 14:07 remaining in the second half, until senior guard John Dabney (Freeport, N.Y./Freeport) hit a 3-pointer, which sparked a 9-0 Farmingdale State run. Old Westbury (2-8, 1-4 Skyline) would answer two minutes later with an 8-0 run, capped off by a layup and three free-throws by senior center Lester Prosper (Bellmore, N.Y./Mepham), putting the Panthers ahead 71-63 with 6:06 to play.
The Rams closed the deficit to one as Jermaine Abraham (Brooklyn, N.Y./Wadleigh) scored on a slam dunk with 3:08 remaining in regulation. An Old Westbury turnover on their next possession followed by a three-point basket by junior guard Dyshaun Flournoy (Brentwood, N.Y./Brentwood) off the feed from Joshua Smith (Deer Park, N.Y./Deer Park) put the Rams on top 76-74. Old Westbury's Frantz Granjean (Brooklyn, N.Y./Midwood) scored on back-to-back possessions, as the Panthers held a 78-77 lead with 1:44 to play. Flournoy was fouled on Farmingdale State's next trip down the floor and converted both free-throws. The Panthers would only hit 1-of-2 free-throws on their final possession as the game was knotted at 79-79 and headed to overtime.
Trailing 84-83 with 1:05 remaining in overtime, Flournoy gave the Rams the lead for good as he hit his third 3-pointer of the game, putting Farmingdale State ahead 86-84. The Rams defense didn't allow Old Westbury a field goal over the final minute en route to an 87-85 Skyline win.
Flournoy shot 56% from the floor and scored a team-high 24 points, while Smith had 18 points and five assists for Farmingdale State.
Prosper fell one block short of a triple-double for Old Westbury as he recorded 21 points, 19 rebounds and nine blocks. Granjean led all scorers with 29 points in the loss.
Farmingdale State will travel to Mount Saint Mary for a conference game on Saturday, January 8th at 3:00 p.m.
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