Farmingdale State - 80; Wesleyan (Conn.) - 75
MIDDLETOWN, Conn. | Four different players on the Farmingdale State men's basketball team scored in double figures Saturday afternoon at Silloway Gymnasium, as the Rams earned their fourth-consecutive game with a gutsy, 80-75 triumph at host and defending NESCAC champion Wesleyan University, ranked No. 22 in the D3hoops.com Preseason Top-25 Poll.
FSC (4-1) held a 46-26 points in the paint advantage on the afternoon, as well as a 23-13 margin in fast-break points to help capture the victory.
Leading the Rams in scoring was senior Nick Hurowitz (Mt. Sinai, N.Y.), who registered a double-double with 18 points (6-of-11 FG, 5-of-6 FT), a game-high-tying 10 boards, and a career-high-tying three steals. Fellow senior Aaron Davis (Valley Stream, N.Y.) was 3-for-6 from downtown en route to a 13-point afternoon, while junior point guard Jevon Santos (Elmont, N.Y.) -- who posted seven assists with no turnovers on the day -- and junior forward Jovayne Walters (Cambria Hts., N.Y.) poured in 11 points apiece. Walters and senior Corey Powell (Valley Stream, N.Y.; 8 pts., 5 asst.) pulled in seven caroms each.
Powell and sophomore James Cosgrove (Franklin Square, N.Y.) picked up four points apiece in a 10-point Farmingdale State run to put the visitors in front, 16-9, with 13:22 to go in the opening frame. The host Cardinals (1-4) cut the deficit to three points on a trio of occasions, before an 11-2 run over a 3:40 stretch gave the Rams their largest lead of the afternoon, 31-19, when Hurowitz stole the ball and drove in for a layup on the break with 3:56 on the scoreboard. The teams mostly traded points for the rest of the half, with FSC taking a 36-28 lead into the locker room at the interval.
Wesleyan cut its deficit to 45-40 four minutes into the second stanza, before Farmingdale State pushed its lead into double figures on three separate occasions -- the last of which came when junior Kobe Thomas (Hicksville, N.Y.) buried a 3-ball on the break off a pass from Powell with 8:47 left to put his side in front by a 66-55 margin.
The Cardinals then went on one more run to score the next nine points of the contest, before taking the lead momentarily at 70-69 with 3:54 remaining to cap a 15-3 spurt by the hosts. From there, FSC score the next six points of the tilt, with senior Tre Riggins (Baldwin, N.Y.) converting a pair at the charity stripe with 3:10 showing on the clock before a Santos floater and a Powell fast-break layup pushed their team in front, 75-70, with 1:51 to go. A pair of Wesleyan free throws with 46 ticks on the board cut the Rams' lead to 76-75, before Riggins registered an important second-chance lay-in with 0:26 to go to up the lead to three. Following a defensive rebound by the visitors and a take foul by the Cardinals, Hurowitz provided for the final margin by calmly sinking a pair of free throws with 15 seconds left.
Head coach Brendan Twomey's Farmingdale State side is back on the road Wednesday night (Nov. 30), when it plays at Eastern Connecticut State University. Tip-off from Willimantic, Conn., is scheduled for 7 p.m.