Geneseo, N.Y. – The College at Brockport fought back from a 14 point deficit but was unable to undo a cold shooting third quarter as it fell to Rochester Institute of Technology 64-59 in the Wendy's College Classic taking sixth place overall at Geneseo Saturday afternoon.
Brockport (3-2 Overall) and RIT finished with the same amount of shots, 62 in all, but the Tigers shot at a better clip than the Golden Eagles 32 percent. Olivia Suhr led the Green and Gold with 18 points, while Hannah Spencer led a furious comeback in the fourth quarter scoring 17 points total.
Spencer drove down the lane, stopping on a dime to hit a pull up jumper for the first basket to start the final quarter. Marissa Pike stepped in the passing lane and intercepted a Tigers bounce pass on their firrst possession of the quarter. She threw the ball down the court to Suhr who had one defender to beat. Suhr made the wise choice in finding the open trailer Jenna Lividini, who made the fast break layup.
Spencer brought the deficit back to single digits with a free throw, as Brockport then trailed 51-42. The two sides traded baskets for the next several minutes. Spencer once again brought the deficit down to eight with 1:31 remaining, making a layup and the ensuing free throw after being fouled.
Lividini nailed a big three pointer with less than 50 seconds remaining to bring the score to 61-54. Two missed free throws allowed Spencer to bring the game closer with a well-timed three pointer. Becky Rossier brought the game within three points with an offensive rebound and quick put back. The Golden Eagles trailed 62-59 with nine seconds left. However two clutch free throws with four seconds left closed out the scoring.
Suhr dominated the first quarter of play for Brockport as she scored 11 of the Golden Eagles initial 13 points. She scored in a variety of ways including a layups, a jumper and three pointer. Brockport however trailed 16-13 after a last second heave from RIT gave them the lead.
Suhr momentarily erased the Tigers lead with a three point play the hard way, making a layup while drawing contact with just under seven minutes remaining in the second quarter giving Brockport the 21-20 lead. The Golden Eagles trailed 31-29 at the half.
The Golden Eagles defense struggled in the third quarter as they were outscored by the Tigers 20-8. After three quarters of play Brockport trailed 51-37 but came out fired up in the fourth. The Golden Eagles scored the first five points of the quarter.
In addition to Suhr's 18 points she also finished with two blocks. Rossier led the team with 10 rebounds while Erin Cunningham chipped in eight rebounds. Lividini was the third Golden Eagle to finish in double digit points, finishing with 10 in total.
The Golden Eagles return home for the final game of this month against Hamilton on Friday at 7 p.m. Be sure to stay up to date on all your Green and Gold scores and awards by following @BportAthletics on Twitter and by liking the "Brockport Golden Eagles" Facebook page.