BROCKPORT, N.Y. – In a battle of top State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) foes, The College at Brockport men's basketball team outlasted SUNY Geneseo in a high scoring affair on Friday night, 98-79.
The Golden Eagles improve to 16-5 on the year and 11-3 in league play while the Knights fall to 12-9 on the year and have a 7-7 mark in the SUNYAC.
Brockport, who was looking to avenge their early season loss at Geneseo, came out of the gate fired up, rushing to a 5-0 lead after a Clifton Lyerly triple and a Cordell Torres layup. That would be the largest advantage the Green and Gold would enjoy for the majority of the first half, as the competition heated up.
After losing its lead, Brockport fought to regain the advantage, and a 7-0 swing, with scores from Devonn Gavin, Lyerly and a Hamed Shamseldin triple, took a 20-16 edge at the 10:18 mark. Brockport fought to hold on, but the race was an even match, with both teams taking their turn with the lead down the stretch. Head coach Greg Dunne's squad closed the half strong, with a 10-2 run.
A Shamseldin old-fashioned three-point play got things started, with Gavin adding to the lead after a fast break jumper. In the final minute, Shamseldin connected on a pair from the charity stripe while Lyerly buried a three-point range jumper to take a 44-37 advantage into the break.
Brockport boasted a balanced offensive attack at the midway point, with nine Golden Eagles in the scoring column. Lyerly's nine points led the way, with Shamseldin and Gavin adding eight and seven points respectively. The Green and Gold posted a hot 55.6 percent shooting from the field in the first half, connecting on six triples, while holding the usually hot shooting Knights to just 38.5 percent shooting from three-point range.
In the second half, the Golden Eagles worked to distance themselves from their counterpart, and hit a double-digit lead by the 13:35 mark following an 11-4 run, featuring a pair of treys from Torres and Shamseldin.
The ebbs and flows continued for the Green and Gold, as their double-digit lead was diminished to just two, by the 8:50 mark, but was short lived as both Mathew Smith and Dwayne Daniel connected from behind the arc. Gavin added two more buckets getting the Golden Eagles back to a double-digit lead, at 80-70 by the 6:57 mark.
Brockport didn't look back, as the Green and Gold worked to build on their lead down the stretch. An 11-4 run to close the contest sealed the deal for the Golden Eagles, as they cemented the 98-79 victory.
The balanced Brockport attack saw five Golden Eagles in double figures, with Shamseldin leading the way with 25 points, seven assists and three steals. Gavin poured in 20 points to go with six assists and six boards. Smith added 13 and four helpers while Lyerly and Blythers each finished with 11.
As a team, Brockport shot lights out, with 56.7 percent from the field and 48 percent from three-point range. The Green and Gold won the battle in the lane, with a 36-34 advantage and used 14 fast break points to edge the Knights.
The Golden Eagles will be back in action on Feb. 10 when they head to SUNY New Paltz.
Be sure to stay up to date on all of your Golden Eagle scores and awards by following @BportAthletics on Twitter and by liking the "Brockport Golden Eagles" Facebook page.