KEUKA PARK, N.Y. — The Keuka College Men's Basketball team lost a hard-fought game on Wednesday night to Morrisville State 87-83 in a North Eastern Athletic Conference game at the JMW Recreation and Athletics Center.

James Barnes (Rochester, N.Y. / University Prep) reached 20 points for the third straight game for Keuka College (3-12, 2-6 NEAC). Alex Medellin (Gilbert, Ariz. / Desert Ridge) set a new career-high with 16 points and Devin Milton (Opelousas, La. / Beau Chene) added 10 points in the loss.

Morrisville State 87 at Keuka College 83

In a slow start to the game, Keuka held Morrisville State without a field goal for nearly five minutes. However, at the other end, the Green and Gold netted only one of their own. Once the two teams settled in, the scoring took off. Back-to-back threes by Alex Medellin gave Keuka a four-point lead, 15-11, with 11:47 left in the first. In total, the lead would trade hands 11 times in the half. Devin Milton tied the game back up at 28-28 with 5:44 left, but the Mustangs went on a run. Morrisville scored 11 straight in just under two minutes to take a 39-28 lead. The Wolves snapped the run with five straight free throws. Matthew Ciezki (Lancaster, N.Y. / St. Mary's) then hit a three as Keuka scored eight unanswered to cut the deficit to three. Morrisville State remained ahead 46-41 at the half.

Keuka College worked hard to quickly erase the deficit after halftime. Each time Keuka College threatened, the Mustangs had an answer and reestablished their lead. Another three by Ciezki cut the margin to two with 3:15 left to play. The Wolves kept attacking with the long ball. After a pair of free throws by Morrisville, Nana Oteng (Queens, N.Y. / Martin Luther) hit a three for Keuka cut it to one, 81-80. Once again, Morrisville had an answer. Morrisville put the game out of reach with a free throw with 13 seconds left as the Mustangs defeated the Wolves 87-83.

KC Notes:

• Keuka College lost their fourth straight to Morrisville State and fall to 8-14 all-time
• It was the most points the Wolves have scored against the Mustangs in the 22-game series
• James Barnes surpassed 700 points for his career in the contest
• Alex Medellin set a new career-high in scoring, backed by four three-pointers, also a career-best
• Barnes went 5-6 from the line. The junior now has 218 for her career, tying Diamond Booker for eighth on the career list
• Medellin posted a team-best and career-high nine assists. It tied for the sixth most in a game in program history

Up Next for Keuka College: The Wolves remain at home this Saturday for a rematch with division-leading SUNY Cobleskill. The Fighting Tigers defeated the Wolves 94-67 in Cobleskill earlier in January. Tipoff from the JMW Recreation and Athletics Center is slated for 1pm.