Farmingdale State - 83, Sage - 79
Farmingdale, N.Y. - Senior forward Curtis Williams (Stony Brook, N.Y.) forced a steal with five seconds remaining and converted a pair at the free-throw line as Farmingdale State earned an 83-79 victory over Sage this afternoon. Williams, Jonathan Annan (Staten Island, N.Y.), Samson Lawal (Queens, N.Y.), Donald Lawes (Queens, N.Y.) and Timothy Johnson (Queens, N.Y.) were each honored for senior day.
The Rams (16-6, 12-3) jumped out to a 10-0 lead, before a 12-2 Gators (14-9, 10-6) run tied the game at 12-12.
Trailing 27-25 with 5:48 remaining in the first half, Annan connected on a 3-pointer to put Farmingdale State ahead by one.
The Rams used four straight points by Annan late in the half to take a 40-38 lead, but Sage scored the final two points to send the game to halftime tied 40-40. Annan led the way with 18 points on 7-of-10 shooting, while senior guard Jeff Stopera (Scotia, N.Y.) tallied 16 points in the first half for Sage.
Tied 56-56 midway through the second half, an 8-0 Farmingdale State run capped off by a Johnson jump shot, gave the Rams a 64-56 advantage.
After the Gators cut the deficit to 71-66 with 3:25 left on the clock, Williams hit a 3 to bring the lead back to eight.
Farmingdale State led 80-73 before a 6-1 run with Stopera scoring every point, pulled Sage within two with 45 seconds remaining.
Williams forced a steal on Sage's next possession to lead Farmingdale State to a senior day victory.
Lawes blocked Sage's first shot of the game to pass AJ Matthews' single season school record for blocks of 99. He finished the game with 14 points on 7-of-10 shooting, seven rebounds and seven blocks. Annan tallied a team-high 22 points, had nine boards and five assists, while Williams scored 14 points. Johnson finished the game with nine and Lawal added four points for the Rams.
Stopera recorded a double-double with 32 points and 10 assists, while junior forward Kai Deans (Miami, Fla.) had 17 points and 11 boards.
Farmingdale State next will travel to Mount Saint Vincent for a conference game on Monday, February 17th at 7:00 p.m.