Jan 14, 2014
FARMINGDALE, NY (www.OLDWESTBURYPANTHERS.com) - The SUNY College at Old Westbury men's basketball team fell victim to a cold shooting Tuesday evening as the Panthers fell 71-65 in Skyline Conference on the road to the Farmingdale State Rams from Walter A. Lynch Sports Center. The loss sent Old Westbury (9-5) to 5-2 in conference play while Farmingdale State (10-4) climbed to 6-1 in conference action.
Old Westbury jumped ahead first with a layup just 17 seconds into play off the finger tips of Andrew Andries to lead 2-0. Old Westbury's lead was short lived as the Rams took a 22-6 advantage with a 22-6 run from 18:45 to 8:52. Old Westbury battled back to trim the deficit to six points with a 14-6 run to make it a 32-26 game before Timothy Johnson's three-pointer with 53 seconds left gave Farmingdale State a 35-26 advantage at intermission.
Ray Parker helped spark Old Westbury in the second-half with nine points in the opening 7:14 as the Panthers opened with an 18-1 run to lead 44-36. Old Westbury's lead would hold until the 1:16 mark when Donald Lawes dropped in two of his 12 second-half points to put Farmingdale State up for good, 66-65. Old Westbury was held scoreless over the final 2:44, shooting 0-for-7 from the field as Farmingdale State closed out the game with a 9-0 run.
Parker scored 17 of his game-high 22 points in the second-half, finishing the game shooting 9-of-24 from the field to go with three steals. Floyd Leroy followed with 17 points and eight rebounds while Mark Gjonlekaj added nine points, three blocks and three steals. Andries chipped in with eight points, 10 rebounds and two steals.
Justin Bailey's 15 points led three other Rams in double-digit scoring. Lawes contributed 13 points, 20 rebounds and five blocks while Jonathan Annan and Johnson added 13 and 10 points, respectively.
Old Westbury finished the evening shooting a season low 31.3 percent from the field (25-80) while connecting on 28.1 percent from three-point range (9-32) and 66.7 percent from the free-throw line (6-9) as Farmingdale State hit 41.1 percent from the floor (23-56), 42.9 percent from beyond the arc (6-14) and 59.4 percent from the charity stripe (19-32). Farmingdale State won the boards battle, 52-43, while Old Westbury converted 17 offensive rebounds into 20 second chance points. Old Westbury also scored 21 points off 21 Farmingdale State miscues.
MOUNT SAINT MARY KNIGHTS UP NEXT FOR THE PANTHERS: Old Westbury continues its conference campaign on Saturday (January 18) when they return home to face the Mount Saint Mary Knights in Old Westbury, New York. Tip-off is set for 1 p.m. inside Clark Athletic Center.
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