The Keuka College men's basketball team needed a lift during Wednesday night's Senior Night contest against rival Cazenovia College.
The gym inside the Weed Physical Arts Center was packed as the Storm honored seniors Teddy Tuggles (Rochester, NY/Gates Chili) and Conor Boyer (East Rochester, NY/East Rochester), but the Storm were struggling for consistency during a back-and-forth first half.
With cardboard cutouts of their faces surrounding them in the gym, Tuggles, Boyer and the Storm held a slim 27-26 lead in the waning minutes of the first half. With one silky smooth jumper, the Green and Gold sent the gymnasium into a frenzy.
Tuggles swished a 15-foot jumper from the right wing as the first half expired to become just the 10th student-athlete at Keuka with 1,000 career points. That bucket gave the Storm a 29-26 halftime lead and Keuka went on to win 63-56, improving their playoff chances with the win.
"It's a relief to get this over with and score my 1,000th point," said Tuggles, who accomplished the feat with many family members and friends among the enthusiastic crowd.
"Especially after last game when I came up short, it's definitely a better accomplishment doing it on Senior Night. And it's a great way to go out in our last home game. Honestly, (the shot I hit for 1,000) was the ugliest shot I took all night. I knew I had two seconds on the clock to shoot, so I just put it up with confidence and it went in."
Tuggles finished with 13 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists while sophomore Trevor Healey (Wethersfield, CT/Wethersfield) posted a double-double with 12 points and 13 rebounds to lead the Storm (10-11, 8-5 North Eastern Athletic Conference).
Five student-athletes scored in double-figures. Besides Tuggles and Healey, sophomore Jared Wagner (Pittsford, NY/McQuaid) scored 11 points, classmate Adam Starks (Wellsville, NY/Andover) added 10 points while freshman Casey Williams (Syracuse, NY/Jamesville-DeWitt) contributed 11 points and nine rebounds in the win.
Boyer also snared eight rebounds as Keuka outrebounded Cazenovia (6-15, 2-10) 50-39.
Leading 53-52, Wagner knocked down a '3' as the shot clock was winding down for a four-point lead. Tuggles made his last six free throws to clinch the win, which kept Keuka in sole possession of second place in the NEAC's North Division.
Meech Drayton scored 16 points while Matt Perry added 14 for the Wildcats.
Before the game started, Boyer and Tuggles were honored for their dedication to the men's basketball program. Gigantic photos of Boyer and Tuggles were handed out to select fans, and after Tuggles scored his 1,000th point, a commemorative basketball was presented to the Storm's co-captain.
Both Boyer and Tuggles said the raucous crowd helped motivate them to get back in the win column with a big win over the Wildcats.
"Tonight was great, Teddy getting his 1,000th point was really awesome and it couldn't have happened to someone better," Boyer said. "Our fans were wild and everyone was there for Senior Night. We definitely fed off the atmosphere tonight. The crowd was great from the beginning, it was exciting and everyone was into it.
With the victory, Keuka has double-digit wins in a season for the first time since the 2008-09 squad posted an 11-11 mark. That was also the last time the Storm finished a season with a .500 record.
The Storm travels to SUNYIT for a 3 p.m. game Saturday afternoon. Keuka handed IT a 68-64 loss on Jan. 26.