Trinity (Conn.) Holiday Invitational - Opening Round
Farmingdale State - 78; Endicott - 65
HARTFORD | Senior post Tre Riggins (Baldwin, N.Y.) led all players with a season-best 18 points and 10 rebounds Friday night at Oosting Gymnasium, as the Farmingdale State College men's basketball team defeated Endicott College, 78-65, in the opening round of the Trinity College (Conn.) Holiday Invitational.
The Rams (8-3) now advance to Saturday's 2 p.m. championship round, where they will face the host Bantams -- who defeated Framingham State (Mass.) in the opening contest of the night by a 71-51 count.
FSC posted a strong defensive effort, limiting the Gulls to a .284 (21-of-74) field-goal percentage -- the lowest mark allowed by the Rams this season. The 65 points allowed to Endicott (6-3) are the third-least allowed on the campaign (63, vs. Brooklyn [Nov. 22] and St. Joseph's-L.I. [Dec. 7]). Farmingdale State controlled the glass as well, holding a 55-42 rebounding margin on the evening.
Rams freshman point guard Michael Notias (Manhasset, N.Y.) came off the bench to score nine points on 4-of-4 shooting, while senior guards Zamere McKenzie (Beacon, N.Y.) and co-captain Corey Powell (Valley Stream, N.Y.) checked in with eight points apiece.
Seven straight points early on by FSC gave it the lead for good at 10-4 when Powell's lay-in went in 5:14 into play. After the Gulls pulled to within a 12-9 margin with 13:05 remaining in the opening frame, the Rams ripped off a 17-3 run over a 3:02 stretch to push their advantage to 29-12 when sophomore forward James Cosgrove (Franklin Sq., N.Y.) converted a layup on the fast break with 8:30 on the clock. Farmingdale State held serve for the remainder of the period and took a 38-25 lead into the locker room at halftime.
Endicott cut its deficit to 11 points on two occasions in the opening pair of minutes of the second half, but could get no closer as FSC controlled the rest of the contest by stretching its lead to as large as 25 with under four minutes to play to capture the triumph.