UTICA, N.Y. – Senior Temi George scored a game-high 17 points to lead head coach Chris Murphy '06 to his 100th victory as the helm of the Union College men's basketball team with a 78-58 non-conference victory at SUNY Poly on Saturday afternoon.
 
The victory gives Murphy a 100-89 (.529) record in the ninth year at his alma mater, making him just the fourth coach in program history to reach triple figures in wins. He has reached double figures in wins in each of his first seven seasons at the helm, only the second coach in program history (along with Bill Scanlon) to accomplish that feat.
 
George helped earn the win by leading four Dutchmen in double figures with his season-high 17 points, hitting 8-of-14 shots from the field. He was joined in double figures by three teammates: junior Justin Regis, who netted 12 points to go with four steals, three assists and three rebounds; senior Brian Noone, who scored 12 points, dished out a career-high seven assists and added four steals; and junior Willy Samsen, who chipped in a career-best 11 points and also hauled in a team-best six rebounds.
 
Senior Mike Manley also filled up the stat sheet on Saturday, scoring eight points, dishing out seven assists, recording four steals and grabbing three rebounds.
 
The Dutchmen started off strong on Saturday, jumping out to a 9-2 run, with Regis leading the way with a pair of buckets and an assist on a Manley three. A Samsen trey cut off a subsequent 5-0 run for the Wildcats and the home team never got within one possession the rest of the way. Union took control with a 13-4 run later in the frame, building up a 29-16 lead with 4:17 left.
 
Union went into the locker room with a 34-23 lead, as the visitors shot 40.0 percent (14 of 35) from the field and even better from beyond the arc (5-for-11, 45.5 percent), while limiting SUNY Poly to 9-of-25 (36.0 percent) shooting from the field.
 
The visitors led by double figures for almost the entirety of the second stanza, building their lead up to as many as 22 points after a George three capped a 13-3 run and put Union up 58-36 with 11:06 remaining. Union hit 20-of-34 shots (58.8 percent) from the field in the second half, including a red-hot 17-of-21 attempts from inside the arc, to finish the game at 49.3 percent (34 of 69).
 
Thanks in large part to George and Samsen, the Union bench had an excellent showing, outscoring their SUNY Poly opposition by a 32-8 margin. The Dutchmen did well converting defense into offense, forcing 21 turnovers and outscoring the home team 18-2 off of miscues.
 
Union will get into the heart of Liberty League play for the remainder of the regular season, with the team slated to start that stretch on Tuesday at home against Vassar College beginning at 7:30 p.m. As a reminder, recent spectator policy changes dictate that only current members of the Union community (with valid ID) will be able to come to Viniar Athletic Center to watch the matchup, but the game will also be video streamed live on UnionAthletics.com.