(Pittsford, N.Y.) – The Dickinson College men's basketball team survived the opening round of the St. John Fisher/Woodcliff Hotel and Spa Tournament with a 75-73 overtime win against Medaille College on Thursday night.
The Devils held the lead in the early part of the first half, stretching the margin to as many as six. Medaille used a 16-4 run to take a six-point advantage of its own, 23-17, with 10:39 remaining. They held the lead for the rest of the half, with the Devils pulling within 41-40 at the break.
The game was within four points the entire second half until Medaille pulled in front, 62-57, with 2:41 to play in regulation. First-year Gerry Wixted (Moorestown, N.J./Lawrenceville School) sandwiched four free throws around a Medaille field-goal to cut the lead to three.
Phil Mairarana converted a pair of free throws to extend the lead to 66-61 with 27 seconds to play. Wixted knocked-down a three-pointer and the Devils fouled Medaille's Steve Bryant. Bryant sank one-of-two to raise the margin to three, 67-64 with 14 seconds on the clock.
Sophomore Adam Honig (Chappaqua, N.Y./Horace Greeley) drained a three-pointer with just two seconds left to send the game into overtime.
The Mavericks opened up a four point lead in overtime before sophomore Tucker Landy (Durham, Conn./Xavier) answered with a pair of free throws and a three-point play to put the Devils on top, 73-72, with 1:24 to play. Wixted converted a pair of free throw with seven seconds on the clock to close out the scoring for the final of 75-72.
Honig led all scorers with 21 points, adding seven assists, four rebounds and a pair of steals. Landy finished with 18 points, adding seven rebounds, three assists, two blocks and two steals. He went 6-for-7 from the line and hit 6-of-10 shots from the floor.
Wixted went 8-for-8 from the line, scoring 13 points and controlling six rebounds and blocking three shots. Chris Barsanti (Hummelstown, Pa./Tilton School) tallied seven points and five rebounds.
The Red Devils improve to 5-5 overall. They will face the winner of the second first round match-up between host, St. John Fisher College and Westminster College (Pa.). Tip-off for the championship game is set for 3:00 pm.