Sarah Lawrence - 98, Farmingdale State - 96
Farmingdale, N.Y. - Tied at 96-96 with one second remaining in the game, Sarah Lawrence senior guard Austin Jones (Upper Marlboro, Md.) knocked down a jumper in the paint to seal the Gryphons 98-96 conference victory over Farmingdale State this afternoon. The FSC men's basketball team dropped to 7-5 overall and 5-2 in the Skyline, while SLC improved to 7-5, 5-2.
After falling behind in the opening minutes, 10-2, the Rams used a 12-2 run, which saw five points from senior guard Matthew Graham (Valley Stream, N.Y.), to take a two-point advantage, 14-12.
The Gryphons responded with an 8-0 run, which featured 3's from Jones and sophomore guard Isaiah Pean (Spring Valley, N.Y.), to regain a six-point lead, 20-14.
Trailing 29-24 with 7:58 remaining in the half, a quick 6-0 run allowed Farmingdale State to take a 30-29 advantage. Senior forward George Riefenstahl (Bayport, N.Y.) and junior guard Anthony Miller Jr. (Yonkers, N.Y.) each had three points in the run.
FSC led 49-47 and used a Joseph Santoro (Levittown, N.Y.) 3-pointer with six seconds left on the clock to head into the halftime break leading by five, 52-47.
The Rams opened the second half with a Riefenstahl jumper and a layup from junior forward Troy Feeney (Hewlett, N.Y.) to go ahead by nine, 56-47. Sarah Lawrence answered with an 18-2 run over the next 3:53 to go in front 65-58.
Still leading by seven, 71-64, the Gryphons would score eight unanswered points to open up their largest lead of the game, 79-64, with 8:12 left.
Farmingdale State trailed by ten with 4:28 remaining and used eight straight points to cut the deficit to 89-87. After a 7-2 run by the Gryphons, Graham knocked down a 3-pointer to close within four, 96-92, with just 29 seconds left. On the ensuing inbound pass, the Rams forced a turnover and Graham quickly scored a layup to make it a two-point game. FSC again regained possession on a steal by Platt with 19 seconds left and senior guard Ali Mableton (Brentwood, N.Y.) tied the game at 96-96 with a jumper just six seconds later.
With five-tenths of a second left on the clock, Jones would knock down the game-winner to secure the Sarah Lawrence victory, 98-96.
Riefenstahl shot 8-for-9 from the field and finished with 19 points, 13 rebounds and four blocks. Graham tallied 19 points, five assists and two steals and both Miller Jr. and Mableton recorded 13 points apiece in the loss.
The Gryphons were led by sophomore forward Enike Anyia (Los Angeles, Calif.), who finished with a game-high 32 points (12-14 FG), and freshman guard Omar Jamaleddine (Middle Village, N.Y.), who produced 20 points and eight rebounds.
The Rams next host Mount Saint Mary College for a Skyline Conference game on Saturday, January 5th at 3:30 p.m.
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