Baruch - 78, Farmingdale State - 75
Madison, N.J. - The Farmingdale State men's basketball team squared off against Baruch on Friday night in the first game of the Rose City Classic hosted by Drew University and fell, 78-75.
Trailing 23-13 with 11:30 left to play in the first half, FSC (1-3) used a 9-0 run highlighted by a layup and 3-pointer from sophomore forward Nick Hurowitz (Mount Sinai, N.Y.) to cut the Bearcats (2-2) advantage to one. Just over a minute later, a Hurowitz layup gave the Rams their first lead of the game.
Baruch held a 35-32 advantage with 4:44 remaining until five straight Farmingdale State points capped off by a Dominique Senat (Elmont, N.Y.) layup put the Rams ahead, 37-35.The Bearcats closed the half with nine unanswered points and took a 44-37 lead into the break.
FSC was down five early in the second half and used a 3-pointer by sophomore guard Corey Powell (Valley Stream, N.Y.) off the pass from Senat to close within two, 52-50. Baruch answered with an 11-3 run over the next 4:49 to increase the lead to 63-53 with 9:37 left on the clock.
After a layup and free-throw by Senat, the Rams followed with 3's by Hurowitz and freshman guard Kobe Thomas (Hicksville, N.Y.) to regain the lead, 66-65, with less that five minutes remaining.
A Senat layup gave the Rams a 68-66 advantage before Baruch recorded nine straight points to go ahead 75-68 with 41 seconds left to play. Freshman guard Jevon Santos (Elmont, N.Y.) connected on layups the next two FSC trips down the floor to cut the deficit to 76-72. After a missed free-throw by Baruch, Santos hit a 3 to pull the Rams within one with seven seconds on the clock. The Bearcats hit a pair of free-throws after being fouled to go up by three, 78-75.
Farmingdale State was unable to tie the game on their final possession as the Bearcats held on for the 78-75 victory.
Hurowtiz scored a career-high 17 points on 7-of-12 shooting and had eight rebounds, while Santos registered 15 points (6-for-8 shooting) and five boards. Senat finished the night with 12 points, six rebounds, three steals and two assists and both Powell and sophomore guard Aaron Davis (Valley Stream, N.Y.) tallied a game-high four assists.
For Baruch, guard Liam Sanborn (Staten Island, N.Y.) scored 25 points on 9-of-14 shooting, including 4-for-6 from behind the arc, while guard Jehmehl Fair (Jamaica, N.Y.) added 18 points and five rebounds in the win.
FSC will face St. Elizabeth in the consolation game later today at 2:00 p.m.
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