St. Joseph's - 69, Farmingdale State - 65
Patchogue, N.Y. - Tied at 62 with 1:02 left to play, the Farmingdale State men's basketball team grabbed a one-point lead on a free throw before a St. Joe's three-pointer gave the Golden Eagles a two-point edge and the eventual win. The Rams now stand at 17-7, 13-4 in Skyline play with playoffs coming next week, while St. Joe's improved to 8-16, 7-10.
In a close first half that featured four ties and eight lead changes, Farmingdale held a 32-26 lead at the halftime break. Early in the second, the Rams pushed the lead to 11 points, leading 42-31, before a 15-4 St. Joe's run tied the game at 46 with 10 minutes on the clock.
Farmingdale State went back up by six, 52-46, with a Justin Bailey (Jamaica, N.Y.) three-pointer and a free throw and dunk by senior center Donald Lawes (Queens, N.Y.). The Golden Eagles tied the game with three's on their next two possessions. Neither team led by more than two until St. Joe's three-pointer with 43 seconds left gave them the final lead and eventual win.
For the Rams, Lawes finished with 21 points, 15 rebounds and two blocks. Bailey totaled 17 points, including 3-of-5 from long range.
The Golden Eagles had three players in double figures, junior guard Sean McCarthy (Kings Park, N.Y.) finished with 22 points, while freshman guard Andy Laurent (Amityville, N.Y.) had 20 points and junior forward Darryl Charles (Middletown, N.Y.) finished with 14 points and 13 rebounds.
Farmingdale State will wrap-up the regular season this Saturday, February 22nd at Mount Saint Mary College. The game will have live feeds for stats, audio and video.
The Skyline Playoffs will start next week with the Quarterfinal round on Tuesday, February 25th.
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