KEUKA PARK, N.Y. — Mason VanDeMortel (Newark, N.Y. / Newark) made a jumper in the paint with 9-5 seconds left to give Keuka College an 82-81 lead over Elmira College. Will Tehan (Victor, N.Y. / Victor) got a steal on the final play to secure the 82-81 Empire 8 Conference victory for the Wolves.

Keuka College (1-12, 1-4 Empire 8) was led by Devin Milton (Opelousas, La. / Beau Chene) with 24 points. Will Tehan had 15 for the Wolves to go with his one big steal. Mason VanDeMortel was also in double-figures with 11 points and led Keuka with eight rebounds.

Keuka College 82 vs. Elmira College 81

The two teams traded opening threes to start the game. It would be a theme in the first as Keuka and Elmira combined for 39 attempts in the opening 20 minutes. The Wolves relied on the facilitation of DJ Billings (Rochester, N.Y. / Greece Odyssey) in the early minutes. The senior had four assists in the opening house. Evan Hauser (Westfield, N.Y. / Westfield) hit a three to tie the game at 14-14. Later, Keion Brooks (Titusville, Fla. / Home-Schooled) drained a pair of threes, the second gave the Wolves a 27-19 advantage. Elmira College rallied to regain the lead with 3:30 left to play. Keuka's Devin Milton was fouled shooting a three and Elmira was assessed a technical following the play. Milton hit all five free throws to give the Wolves a 34-32 advantage. However, Elmira closed the half on a 15-2 run to lead 47-36 at the half.

Keuka College scored the first four points of the half, but Elmira got their lead back to 10 points three minutes in. A person 5-0 run by Tehan but into the margin, but the Soaring Eagles maintained their 10-point advantage midway through the second half. The Green and Gold began to cut into the margin. Devin Milton hit a three in transition for Keuka to make it a five-point game, 69-64 with 7:25 left to play. Later, a three by Keion Brooks cut it to 77-73. That sparked a 7-0 run as Keuka College tied the game at 77-77 with three minutes left. Elmira College pushed their lead back to four, 81-77, with 1:06 left. Will Tehan found DJ Billings for the three to cut it to one. Elmira College missed a jumper on their next possession and VanDeMortel grabbed the rebound to set up the final attack for the Wolves. Will Tehan dribbled the ball into the top of the key with 11 seconds left, he found VanDeMortel with the short pass near the free-throw line and the junior sank it for the 82-81 lead. Following an Elmira timeout, the Keuka College defense forced Elmira to use the clock and call another timeout with 2.4 seconds left. In-bounding in front of their bench, Elmira tried to pass the ball under the basket, but Tehan intercepted, and the clock expired as Keuka College won 82-81 on Saturday.

KC Notes:

• With the win, Keuka College improves to 10-19 overall against Elmira College, snapping the Soaring Eagles' three-game winning streak over the Wolves
• The Wolves made 12 threes on the night, giving them 175 through the 13 games played. It ranks as the second-most in a season in program history
• DJ Billings tied his career-high with five assists
• Threes were everywhere for freshman Keion Brooks. The Florida-native went 3-3 from three for a career-high nine points. He also had three rebounds and three assists
• It was a season-high in scoring for Milton

Up Next for Keuka College: The Wolves will carry the momentum of their first win into a busy Empire 8 week. Four games are on the schedule for Keuka. The Wolves start on Tuesday with a home-and-home against Alfred. The Saxons host the first game on Tuesday and Keuka hosts the return leg on Wednesday. The Wolves will then host Utica College on Friday night before finishing their week on the road at Houghton.