CLEVELAND – SUNY Geneseo senior forward Gordon Lyons totaled 23 points and 15 rebounds to lead the Knights to a 73-57 victory over Rose-Hullman in the consolation game of the StephanieTubbs-Jones Memorial Tournament, hosted by Case Western Reserve. Lyons was named to the all-tournament squad after also totaling 28 points and 15 rebounds in a 83-81 setback to Wilmington(Ohio) in the first round on Friday for back-to-back double-doubles to start the season.

First-year guard Kevin Crockett added 17 points, including 3-of-3 three pointers, while senior forward Andy Drescher compiled 16 points in the victory. First-year point guard Charlie Zaepfelwas credited with five assists and only committed one turnover in 32 minutes played during his first collegiate start.

"I thought we executed our offense as well as we have in some time going back to last year," said head coach Steve Minton. "I was pleased with how we shot the ball this weekend, especially from long-range. Everything about how we played today was just a little bit better than it was last night with our execution. We were also more consistent defensively, only giving up 26 points in the first half which staked us to a good lead."

Trailing, 17-16, with 10:53 to play in the first half, a Lyons free throw capped a 16-3 run that put the Knights up, 33-19, with 2:32 on the clock. The Fightin' Engineers closed the half with a 7-4 spurt to pull within 11, 37-26, at intermission. Lyons headed to the locker room with 14 points and 10 rebounds.

A Crockett long ball punctuated a 8-2 run to start the second half to stake Geneseo to a 45-28 lead with 17:05 on the clock. Rose-Hullman trimmed a 19-point (49-30) deficit at 15:25 to eight points, 49-41, at 11:44, with an 11-unanswered points, but the Knights responded with a 10-0 run of their own to re-build a 59-41 edge with 10:09 left in regulation, before leading by as many as 20 down the stretch to earn the win.

While Rose-Hullman out-rebounded the Knights, 41-31, Geneseo finished the game shooting 52.0% from the field while holding a 26-21 advantage in defensive rebounds. 

The Knights return to action on Tuesday with a trip to Morrisville for a 7:00 p.m. tip.