Farmingdale State - 78; St. Joseph's-Brooklyn - 63
FARMINGDALE, N.Y. | Senior swingman Nick Hurowitz (Mt. Sinai, N.Y.) led all players with 20 points on 5-of-8 shooting from 3-point range and 11 rebounds Saturday afternoon at the Walter A. Lynch Sports Center, as the Farmingdale State College men's basketball team remained atop the Skyline Conference standings with a 78-63 victory over visiting St. Joseph's University-Brooklyn.
Prior to the contest, the Rams (16-7, 11-3 Skyline) welcomed 20-plus men's basketball alumni back to campus, playing host to a contest with members of teams past as well as a post-game reception.
FSC senior post Tre Riggins (Baldwin, N.Y.) collected 14 points (5-of-9 FG, 4-of-4 FT) and two blocked shots on the day, while classmate and co-captain Corey Powell (Valley Stream, N.Y.) registered 10 points on a 5-of-10 shooting display. The Rams assisted on 20 of their 30 made field goals on the afternoon, including seven by junior co-captain and point guard Jevon Santos (Elmont, N.Y.), who joined Riggins and freshman Michael Notias (Manhasset, N.Y.) in pulling down five boards apiece. Farmingdale State held a decided 54-36 edge on the glass, leading to advantages in points in the paint (40-26) and second-chance points (18-9).
The visiting Bears (5-18, 2-12) made things difficult for FSC in an opening 20 minutes of play that featured two ties and lead changes, and were up by a 30-24 count with 2:38 remaining in the half after a 3-point field goal. The Rams responded with the last 10 points of the stanza, including a trey by Hurowitz at the 2:23 mark and a conventional 3-point play on the blocks by Riggins with 1:04 left, to hold a 34-30 halftime edge.
Powell scored eight points during a second-half-starting 8-2 spurt for Farmingdale State, before St. Joseph's-Brooklyn pulled to within nine points (54-45) on a pair at the free-throw line with 9:46 on the clock. From there, the hosts scored the next seven points of the contest as part of a game-clinching 15-5 run over a 4:03 stretch to put the game out of reach.
Head coach Brendan Twomey's side now heads into the final week of the regular season, and is next in Skyline play Tuesday night (Feb. 14), when it plays as the road team at the Walter A. Lynch Sports Center in a showdown against cross-Long Island foe SUNY Old Westbury at 8 p.m.