CORTLAND, N.Y. – Kareem Lubin (Monroe/Washingtonville) scored 24 points and grabbed nine rebounds as Cortland nipped visiting Hamilton College, 75-73, in men's basketball non-league action.
The Red Dragons (2-2) open SUNYAC play this weekend with home games versus Plattsburgh on Friday night and Potsdam Saturday afternoon.
Lubin hit 9-of-15 shots from the floor and 4-of-6 free throws. Aaron Coston (Kerhonkson/Rondout Valley) was 5-for-6 from the field and ended with 15 points, seven rebounds, four assists and two blocks, and Kendall Arcuri (Staten Island/St. Joseph by the Sea) finished with 12 points, five rebounds and a team-high five assists.
Jaylen Warmack (Utica/Utica Notre Dame) chipped in with eight points, five rebounds and four assists and Gerrad Beaubrun (Baldwin) scored eight points.
Hamilton (2-3) had four double-figure scorers, led by Garret Keyhani with 17 points. Hank Morgan netted 14 points, Connor Jenkins made all four of his shots, all 3-pointers, in a 12-point effort, and Teja Singh ended with 11 points. Jalen Reese and Will Holmes led the Continentals with six rebounds each and Morgan and Owen Kane each had four assists.
Neither team led by more than seven points the entire contest. Hamilton led most of the first half, including a 29-22 advantage with 7:15 left, and the guests led 38-34 at halftime. Cortland took the lead for good at 48-47 with 14:26 remaining on a Warmack layup, and the Red Dragons were up seven on two occasions, the last at 67-60 on two Lubin free throws with 5:02 left.
Hamilton, however, scored the next six points and was within 67-66 after Holmes sank a free throw with 2:58 on the clock. Arcuri converted a 3-point play with 1:43 left, and Lubin hit one free throw with just under a minute remaining, but Jenkins buried a 3-pointer with 54 seconds left and Hamilton was down by only two, 71-69.
Lubin made the second of two free throws with 50 seconds left and Coston registered a steal and go fouled with less than 30 seconds remaining. Coston made the second of his two free throws to put Cortland up four, and Singh followed with a layup with just under 20 seconds left to cut the Red Dragons' lead to 73-71.
Coston made the first of two fouls shots just moments later to push the lead to three. Singh got fouled with about 10 seconds left and hit both free throws to pull Hamilton to within 74-73, and Danny Linehan (Blauvelt/Tappan Zee) made the second of two free throws less than a second later to give Cortland a 75-73 lead. Hamilton had a chance for the win but Singh's 3-pointer missed the mark and Linehan grabbed the rebound as time expired.
Cortland shot 48 percent from the field overall and 38 percent (8-for-21) from 3-point range. Hamilton finished at 45 percent overall and 41 percent (9-for-22) from the arc.