Farmingdale State - 68, St. Joseph's-LI - 63
Farmingdale, N.Y. - The Farmingdale State men's basketball team played host to Skyline Conference rival St. Joseph's-LI this evening and earned a 68-63 victory. It was Greek Night and the FSC fraternities and sororities including Phi Sigma Sigma, Sigma Delta Tau, Kappa Sigma, Tau Kappa Epsilon and Alpha Phi Delta were each honored prior to the game.
Farmingdale State (15-7, 13-4) led 36-27 at the break and opened the second half on a 7-0 run, which saw five points from junior guard Matthew Graham (Valley Stream, N.Y.), to extend the advantage to 43-27.
With 14:28 left to play and the Rams on top 48-35, an 8-0 SJC-LI (4-18, 4-13) run over the next 3:04 cut the deficit to five, 48-43. After a pair of George Riefenstahl (Bayport, N.Y.) free-throws gave FSC a 52-45 edge, the Golden Eagles responded with nine straight points to take their first lead of the second half at 54-52 with 8:18 on the clock.
Trailing 59-57 with 4:43 remaining, FSC sophomore forward Jermaine Fraser (Valley Stream, N.Y.) was fouled and converted both at the free-throw line to even the score. The Rams took a three-point lead after sophomore guard Chaz Platt (Jamaica, N.Y.) hit 1-of-2 at the line and junior guard Ali Mableton (Brentwood, N.Y.) followed with a layup.
After St. Joe's-LI cut the deficit to 63-61 with 2:20 left to play, Riefenstahl hit a jumper on the next FSC possession off the feed from Liam Monaghan (Rockaway Beach, N.Y.). The Rams were 3-of-4 at the free-throw line down the stretch to seal the 68-63 victory. Farmingdale finished the regular season with a 2-0 record against the Golden Eagles.
Riefenstahl recorded a double-double with game-highs in both points (17) and rebounds (13) to go along with a game-high three blocked shots. Fraser added 11 points and five boards, while Platt pitched in with 10 points for the Rams.
SJC-LI was led by senior guard Mike Harris (Holbrook, N.Y.) who had a team-high 16 points on 6-of-12 shooting.
Farmingdale State next will host St. Joseph's-Brooklyn on Saturday, February 10th at 2:00 p.m.
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