Farmingdale State - 105, St. Joseph's-Brooklyn - 101 F/OT
Brooklyn, N.Y. - Leading 103-101 with four seconds remaining in overtime, Farmingdale State freshman guard Matthew Graham (Valley Stream, N.Y.) forced the game-winning steal and converted both free-throws at the line after being fouled as the men's basketball team defeated St. Joseph's-Brooklyn, 105-101, in a Skyline game this evening.
The Bears (4-4, 3-3) went ahead 14-6 in the opening minutes, but FSC (2-6, 2-2) answered with a 12-0 run to take an 18-14 lead with 12:58 left in the first half. After St. Joe's-Brooklyn tied the game at 20-20, a Jarred Marrow (Amityville, N.Y.) 3-pointer off Trey Kinard's (Deer Park, N.Y.) pass put the Rams back ahead, 23-20, with 7:11 remaining.
Tied 32-32, the Bears used a 3 from Matt O'Neill (Brooklyn, N.Y.) and a pair of free-throws by Jamir Archer (Staten Island, N.Y.) to take a five-point advantage with two minutes left in the half. Marrow scored six of FSC's next eight points as the Rams went into the break trailing 42-40.
Kinard had a team-high 11 first half points for Farmingdale State, while Archer scored 14 points and had seven boards for St. Joe's-Brooklyn.
The Bears opened the second half on 10-2 run over the first 2:35 to take a 10-point lead at 52-42.
The Rams were nine points back at 60-51 and used an 11-3 run which saw eight point by junior guard Brandon Herriot (Hollis, N.Y.) to cut the deficit to 63-62 with 11:28 remaining.
Trailing 72-66, back-to-back 3's from Herriot and Kinard tied the score at 72-72 with 8:38 left in the game.
The Bears led 79-78 and converted 5-of-6 free throws on their next three possessions to extend the advantage to 84-78 with 3:05 left to play. A Marrow 3-pointer and a field goal by senior guard Eddie Kinloch (Brooklyn, N.Y.) pulled Farmingdale State within one, 84-83.
With 57 seconds remaining and the Rams down 88-85, Kinard hit a 3-pointer to even the score at 88-88. After a 3 by St. Joe's-Brooklyn, Kinard connected on his fifth 3-pointer of the night to tie the game at 91-91 with 10 seconds left to play. The Farmingdale State defense forced a missed jumper on the Bears' final possession to send the game into overtime.
Leading 99-98 with 1:33 left in OT, Graham hit a 3 for the Rams to increase the lead to four.
As FSC held a 103-101 advantage, Graham's steal and free-throws sealed the victory.
Kinard finished with a game-high 25 points, while Herriot recorded 22 points on 8-of-12 shooting, including 5-for-8 from behind the arc. Graham had a double-double with 10 points and a school record 13 assists, while also adding five steals and five rebounds.
The Bears were led by Archer and O'Neill who scored 21 and 20 points, respectively.
Farmingdale State now will host Sarah Lawrence in a conference game on Saturday, December 12th at 1:00 p.m. After the matchup with SLC, the Rams have an 18-day break before traveling to Montclair State on December 30th.
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