Brockport, NY – At home on Tuesday night, the Golden Eagle men's basketball team lost to RIT, 83-78. Brockport moves to 1-6 overall on the season, while RIT evens out at 3-3.
Free throws and 3-point shooting proved to be the difference maker on the scoreboard for the Tigers in this one. They went 10-for-33 (30.3%) from long range, with seven makes from deep coming in the second half. RIT also shot 19-for-27 (70.4%) at the charity stripe. On the flipside, Brockport shot 4-for-17 (25%) from deep and 14-26 at the line (53.8%). RIT also outrebounded the Green and Gold, 49-40.
The Golden Eagles won the turnover battle with seven fewer giveaways, and had 14 steals compared to just four from RIT. They made an effort to continuously attack the rim, finishing with 50 points in the paint. Brockport also had the better outing from its reserves, with the bench outscoring RIT's subs 34-17.
The opening minutes of the contest were close, until Brockport went on an 8-0 run to take a 17-10 lead. At The Vlog, the home team extended its lead to as many as 11 points in the first half. RIT went on a clutch, 14-2, run in the final three minutes of the first half. The Tigers' buzzer beater 3-pointer at the break gave them a 34-33 lead.
In the second half, RIT got hot from long range early on. The visitors hit four 3-pointers in the first five minutes of the second half to create a 7-point lead. Brockport trailed by eight points with 8:05 left in regulation. The squad put together a 13-0 run in the span of 2:16 to retake the lead, 70-65.
The Tigers responded with what became a game-clinching run in the final minutes. Scoring on four straight possessions, they had a 10-4 run to edge out a 3-point lead with 1:13 left to play. Brockport was able to make it a 79-78 score, but RIT nailed key free throws to put the game away, 83-78.
RIT was led by a pair of double-digit scorers in the contest. Kenny Wilburn totaled 26 points on 9-for-13 shooting and 8-for-11 at the foul line. The Tigers' forward also had nine boards and three blocks. Brock Bowen finished with 23 points, shooting 6-for-13 from 3-point territory.
Brockport had four double-digit scorers at home on Tuesday night. Coming in off the bench,
Jakhi Lucas had 15 points in just 20 minutes.
Nathaniel Gordon also provided a lift off the bench with 12 points in 20 minutes.
Zachary Rice (4-for-6 FG, 2-for-3 3PT) and
Tony Arnold (5-for-13 FG) both had 10 points on the night. Rice added six boards and three steals, while Arnold stuffed the stat sheet with five rebounds, four assists, and four steals.
Colby Jordan contributed a well-rounded performance in his team-high 33 minutes of action. The senior guard registered eight points, eight boards, six assists, and three steals.
On Saturday, the Golden Eagles will play an exhibition game against Division I University of Akron out in Ohio. Gametime for this matchup is set for 3pm.
