Junior Casey Williams (Syracuse, N.Y./Jamesville-DeWitt) scored 12 straight points in the second half and finished with a career-high 26 points to power the Keuka College men's basketball team into the semifinals of the North Eastern Athletic Conference (NEAC) postseason tournament after a 78-69 win over Cazenovia College Tuesday night.
Williams, who also had six rebounds and three assists, was one of four Keuka (15-9) student-athletes to score in double-figures against the Wildcats (12-14).
Junior Vinney Zambito (Elba, N.Y./Batavia Notre Dame) added 14 points with 5 assists and 3 steals, senior Tyler Hixson (Shortsville, N.Y./Red Jacket) added 12 points, and classmate Trevor Healey (Wethersfield, Conn./Wethersfield) had 11 points with seven rebounds in the win.
Williams shot 60 percent from the floor (9 of 15) and made 71.4 percent of his three-pointers (5 of 7) to help Keuka earn its first NEAC postseason victory since the 2009-10 season, the last time the Green and Gold made the tournament.
"I got in the gym early tonight, got in some shooting and I just felt good shooting the ball," said Williams, Keuka's second leading scorer (12.7 ppg.) and rebounder (6.8 rpg.).
"My teammates kept getting me the ball, putting me in situations where I could score. They believed in me like they always do, and Vinney Zambito kept running plays for me to get open and make some shots. This is what I've been working hard for every day, the chance to help this team move on in NEAC's."
Senior Adam Starks (Wellsville, N.Y./Andover) added nine points with four rebounds, and junior Miles Boyer (East Rochester, N.Y./East Rochester) snared six rebounds in the win.
The Wolfpack advance to face top-seed and regular season champion Lancaster Bible College (23-2) at 2 p.m. Saturday in the NEAC semifinals.
Lancaster Bible earned a 66-57 win over Keuka on Jan. 23.
In Tuesday's other quarterfinal, Penn State-Abington knocked off Gallaudet (D.C.) University 76-73 to complete this weekend's NEAC Final Four.
Abington advances to play NEAC North champion SUNY Cobleskill (15-10) at 4 p.m. Saturday in the other semifinal.
The NEAC championship is 2 p.m. Sunday, with the winner securing the NEAC's automatic qualifier into the NCAA Division III tournament.
During a back-and-forth contest with the Wildcats, Keuka took a 34-28 lead into halftime, but a resilient Cazenovia squad closed within 36-35 on a triple from Ryan Gavin (21 points, 11 rebounds).
Healey made a jumper to extend the lead to 38-35, then Williams hit a '3' to extend the lead to 41-35.
Gavin added another '3' and Brad LeFevre (14 points, seven rebounds) made a layup four minutes into the second half to pull the Wildcats within 41-40.
That's when Williams put the game on his shoulders and gave Keuka back the momentum. He connected on three straight three-point attempts and scored 12 straight points for the Wolfpack, who led 50-40 after the last of Williams' four straight '3s' with 13:55 remaining.
"Being able to survive a big run from our opponent, that just shows the growth of our program," Zambito said.
"Last year we wouldn't have done that, surviving those big runs, we would have folded. But this year, we've been through situations like that before. We know that we just have to buckle down, get stops and keep playing our offense and things will start rolling for us. Being able to bounce back shows the struggles that we've been through and how we've evolved into a pretty solid basketball team."
The teams traded baskets, and Keuka's lead was down to 56-48 after Nate Hudson hit a '3' with 9:44 remaining.
Starks hit a layup to push the lead back to 10, but Cazenovia scored the next five points and trailed 58-53 with 5:51 remaining.
Keuka then closed out Cazenovia by hitting eight straight free throws. Boyer, Starks Healey and Hixson each made a pair of free throws as the Wolfpack held on to complete the season sweep of the Wildcats.
Under fifth-year head coach Thad Phillips, the Wolfpack have recorded their most wins in a season since the 2005-06 squad went 16-10.
The Green and Gold shot 48.1 percent (25 of 52) against Cazenovia and forced the Wildcats into 15 turnovers while only committing 11.
Keuka shot 79.2 percent on free throws, including hitting 85 percent (17 of 20) in the second half.
Playing before a jam-packed crowd inside the Weed Physical Arts Center, Zambito said the Wolfpack fed off of the raucous crowd.
"The fans came out tonight and they really gave us so much energy. It was great to play in a game like that," a smiling Zambito said afterwards.
"Our crowd was everything. You get tired throughout the game, but the fans keep going and when they get rowdy, it lifts you through those tired moments and gives you the energy you need."
Cazenovia led 17-11 after Malik Adair-Mountain hit a jumper with 10:45 remaining in the first, but the Wolfpack closed out the half on a 23-11.
Freshman Greg Tyler (Edgewater, Md./Southern) swished a '3', Williams buried two jumpers, and Healey knocked down a jumper to cap a 9-0 run and give the Green and Gold a 20-17 lead with 7:17 left in the opening stanza.
Cazenovia answered with an 8-0 run and led 25-20 before Keuka used a 14-3 spurt to end the half.
Zambito swished a '3', Williams added a jumper, and Healey hit layups on consecutive possessions for a 29-26 lead with 3:38 remaining.
Following a layup from Gavin, Zambito took over, swishing a '3' and hitting a layup to send the Wolfpack into the locker room with a six-point halftime lead.