Farmingdale State - 76; Eastern Connecticut State - 74
WILLIMANTIC, Conn. | Senior captain Corey Powell (Valley Stream, N.Y.) scored nine of his team's final 15 points Wednesday night at Geissler Gymnasium, including a 5-for-6 display at the free-throw line over the final 46 seconds of action, to help the Farmingdale State College men's basketball team push its record to 5-1 on the season with a come-from-behind, 76-74 victory at host Eastern Connecticut State University.
Powell led the visiting Rams with 19 points and six rebounds on the night, while fellow senior guard Zamere McKenzie (Beacon, N.Y.) came off the bench to score 16 points on a 5-of-8 showing from the floor (2-of-4 3FG) and a 4-for-5 night at the free-throw line. Freshman point guard Michael Notias (Manhasset, N.Y.) provided 13 quality minutes with nine points and three turnover-free assists, while junior lead guard Jevon Santos (Elmont, N.Y.) registered seven points and five caroms. FSC went a season-best 22-of-28 (.786) at the charity stripe, while holding a 40-33 advantage on the glass and 15-10 margin in second-chance points.
The host Warriors (2-5) led 17-10 seven minutes into the game, before 3-pointers by Powell and McKenzie were part of an eight-point Farmingdale State spurt over a 72-second span to take its first lead of the night at 18-17 with 11:05 left in the opening stanza. Notias's trifecta with 8:29 on the clock capped another seven-point run by the visitors to send them back in front at 25-23, before the teams mostly traded baskets the rest of the way before ECSU took a 34-32 lead into halftime.
Eastern Connecticut slowly built up its lead to a 12-point spread 6:25 into the second frame, before the Rams showed resiliency and began to chip away. The Warriors went in front by 11 (66-55) with 7:40 left, before Powell's pair at the line with 2:53 remaining capped a 12-1 spurt by Farmingdale State and leveled the contest at 67-all. ECSU converted one free throw in its next possession before Santos hit a 13-foot floater down the middle of the lane to put the visitors up by a 69-68 score with 94 seconds remaining.
After one more charity-stripe shot by the hosts tied the game at 69 with 1:23 left, the Rams used a 7-of-10 stretch at the free-throw line over the last 46 seconds to earn the triumph. Powell broke the deadlock with a pair at the 46-second mark, before senior Aaron Davis (Valley Stream, N.Y.) converted one to put his squad in front, 72-69, with 36 ticks on the scoreboard. The Warriors cut the lead to one on a back-door layup in its next possession, before Powell's pair pushed the lead back to three following matching 30-second time outs on the ensuing inbounds play. Following a defensive board by Santos in the next ECSU possession, McKenzie went 1-of-2 at the stripe to up the Rams' lead to four.
A long right-wing trifecta by Eastern Connecticut sliced the FSC edge to 75-74 with nine seconds to go, before Powell converted the second of his two free throws with 0:05 on the board. The Warriors missed their first free throw with two seconds remaining, before their fadeaway effort at the top of the key off an intentional miss on the second attempt missed the net and provided for the Rams' fifth-straight victory on the young season.
Head coach Brendan Twomey's Farmingdale State team is back in Skyline Conference action next Wednesday (Dec. 7), when it plays host to St. Joseph's University-Long Island at 8 p.m.