ALBANY – The College of Saint Rose shot 54.1 percent (20-for-37) from the floor throughout the second half to break open a 10 point game at intermission and subsequently upend visiting Assumption 90-64 in the Northeast-10 Conference opener for both clubs tonight at the Daniel P. Nolan Gymnasium.

The Golden Knights led wire-to-wire and outrebounded the Greyhounds by a 25-11 margin on the offensive glass that generated a 24-6 differential in second-chance points.

Saint Rose (3-0/1-0 NE-10) took off on a 20-3 run at the 15:06 mark of the final stanza that turned an eight point, 48-40, advantage into a 25 point margin, 68-43, with 10:09 remaining. The Golden Knights led by no fewer than 19 points the rest of the way to win their first conference opener in four years.

Junior guard Rob Gutierrez led a quartet of Golden Knights in double-figures scoring with career-highs of 24 points and 10 rebounds. Sophomore guard Andre Pope wound up with 15 points, eight boards and four steals; while junior forward Brian Hanuschak and freshman center Dominykas Milka finished with 12 points and nine boards apiece.

Senior center Tobin Haase paced Assumption (2-1/0-1 NE-10) by tossing in 15 points on 5-for-8 shooting throughout 16 minutes of reserve duty. Sophomore forward Ronson Quick added a dozen.

Five different players accounted for the initial 10 points throughout the decisive Saint Rose spurt. Junior forward Sheldon Griffin knocked down a jumper, Pope hit a free throw, and Gutierrez nailed a 3-pointer, before Milka and junior guard Shea Bromirski hit a pair of field goals that made it 58-43 Saint Rose with 12:33 to go.

Two and a half minutes later it was a 25 point game and thus any doubt about the eventual outcome was all but removed.

Looking ahead, the Golden Knights return home Sunday to host Concordia in a non-league affair. Tip-off is scheduled for 2:00 pm. Meanwhile, Assumption has a 7:00 pm date at Palm Beach Atlantic on Friday.

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