FAST BREAK GIVES SAINTS CRUCIAL 67-65 VICTORY OVER HOBART

Feb. 2: In a game that saw the lead change hands 20 times, the St. Lawrence University men’s basketball team proved why they are one of the Liberty League’s toughest opponents as they were able to put pressure on the Hobart Statesmen throughout the entire contest, and came away with a 67-65 win Saturday afternoon in Geneva, NY.

 

A defensive rebound by sophomore Josh Sharlow (Norwood, NY/Norwood-Norfolk) with 24 seconds left led to a fast-break by senior Tyler Wright (Teaneck, NJ/Paramus Catholic), who stormed down the court without opposition and made a lay-up that gave the Saints just enough points to slip past Hobart in the Liberty League contest in Statesmen territory.

 

The win proved to be critical, as the Saints remain in the top spot in the Liberty League with a 6-1 record, followed closely behind by Clarkson, Vassar, and Hamilton, all who have 5-2 records in the conference.

 

The lay-up put the Saints ahead 67-65 with 15 seconds to go and a tough St. Lawrence defense was able to keep Hobart from scoring, as the visiting team walked off the court with its sixth conference win of the season.

 

The Scarlet and Brown started the game out ahead of the host team and were able to survive two ties before the Statesmen took a two-point lead with 12:42 remaining in the first. The Saints regained the lead after junior Ben Augliano (Clayton, NY/Thousand Islands) completed a three-point play with a free-throw with 8:54 on the clock, but a three from Hobart’s Adam Salzmann gave them the edge before junior co-captain Richard Williams (Kingston, NY/Kingston) made a lay-up to put the game back in the hands of the Saints.

 

Hobart then went on a critical 15-2 streak to gain a game-high eight point lead with 2:54 remaining in the half, but the Saints responded with their own 9-1 run down the stretch to carry a 30-29 advantage into halftime.

 

The second half saw 14 lead changes and Hobart get fouled 11 times, while the Saints used that to their advantage and shot 10-for-12 from the line in the second to help push past the Statesmen. Hobart again claimed the largest lead of the half, a mere six points, while the Saints never got more than three points ahead of the Statesmen.

 

Junior guard Tom Wopperer (Manlius, NY/Fayetteville-Manlius) led St. Lawrence with 14 points, while sophomore guard Sharlow and Augliano both recorded 10. Sharlow and Wright both had eight rebounds.

 

St. Lawrence will travel to Clarkson University on Tuesday night for their second meeting of the 2007-2008 season. Tip-off is scheduled for 8:00pm.

 

LATE SURGE GIVES HAMILTON WIN

OVER SAINTS, 71-62

Feb. 1: The St. Lawrence University men’s basketball team suffered its first Liberty League loss of the season Friday night as Hamilton College edged the Saints in the final minutes of the closely-contested game to give the Continentals a 71-62 victory over the Saints at Scott Field House in Clinton, NY.

 

St. Lawrence falls to 10-7 overall and 5-1 in the conference, while Hamilton improves to 12-4 overall and 5-1 in the league. Both teams are tied for first place in the conference heading into Saturday’s games.

 

It was back and forth for the Saints and Continentals in the first 20 minutes of the game, which included 10 lead changes and five ties and saw a lead no bigger than four on either side of the court. Both teams were in the double digits less than five minutes into the game and had already seen the lead change hands four times, with Hamilton taking a slight 11-10 lead with 15:49 left on the clock.

 

The Continentals were able to maintain a one-possession advantage until junior co-captain Richard Williams ( Kingston, NY/ Kingston) tied the game 16-16 with 9:35 to go in the half. Sophomore Josh Sharlow (Norwood, NY/Norwood-Norfolk) followed with a three-pointer to give St. Lawrence a three-point edge. Hamilton continued to pour on the pressure, as they quickly regained a small lead until the final minutes of the half, when Saint Sebastian Kurtz ( Newnan, GA/Our Lady of Mercy) tied the game with 1:12 left, but Hamilton’s Jon Ciriello made a jump shot to give the Continentals a 39-37 edge heading into halftime.

The second half saw both teams struggle to put the ball in the basket, as the Saints shot 30-percent from the field, while the Continentals shot 36-percent. Five more ties and five additional lead changes came about in the first 6:40, but Hamilton followed with an 11-0 run in the middle of the period to give them a 9-point lead with 9:50 to go.

 

The Saints cut that lead down to as little as one after a lay-up from Williams, who brought the score to 61-60 in favor of Hamilton with 5:40 left. The Continentals were then able to keep the Saints scoreless from that point on, scoring 10 unanswered points until first-year Ben Araya ( Westborough, MA/Westborough) made a jumper with 15 seconds to go, but it wasn’t enough as Hamilton walked off the court with a 71-62 victory.

 

Offensively, Williams led the Saints with a double-double, scoring 15 points and totaling 10 rebounds, while Sharlow tallied 10 points.

 

The Saints will travel to Geneva, NY on Saturday to face conference opponent Hobart. Tip-off is scheduled for 4:00pm.