GARDEN CITY, NY – The College of Saint Rose overcame 25 turnovers and a few tense moments throughout the second half, before pulling away en route to a 69-57 victory versus Dowling College in the opening day of action at the Adelphi Holiday Classic. The Golden Knights (8-2) outrebounded the Golden Lions (1-6) by a 50-38 margin and held them to three field goals during the final five minutes to run their non-league slate to 4-0 on the year.

Sophomore guard Andre Pope and junior guard Shea Bromirski tossed in 15 points apiece, and junior guard Rob Gutierrez had 11 of his 13 points after intermission to pace Saint Rose. Furthermore, junior forward Brian Hanuschak scored eight points and pulled down a season-high 14 rebounds.

Senior forward Michael Hill II fired in 15 points and junior guard John Merchant III and sophomore guard Josh Malone had a dozen each for Dowling.

Saint Rose appeared to put itself in the driver's seat throughout the early going. The Golden Knights scored 12 unanswered points to go up 12-2 with 15:10 remaining in the first half, but then managed just 14 points the rest of the period to go in the locker room ahead by only six, 26-20, after a first half that was marred by 28 collective miscues.

Saint Rose eventually pushed its margin to 10 points, 45-35, following a Gutierrez 3-pointer with 12:05 left in the ballgame, but some cold shooting allowed Dowling to go on an 11-2 spurt that brought the Golden Lions to within a point, 47-46 with 7:49 to go.

However, freshman guard Kareem Thomas snapped a four-minute Saint Rose scoreless spell with a pair of free throws. Gutierrez then finished a fast break and Bromirski drilled a trey that made 54-48 Golden Knights with 4:18 showing on the clock. A minute later, Bromirski twisted the net from 35-feet that made it a 57-49 affair, and provided the catalyst for the Golden Knights to pull away.

A jumper by Thomas coupled with 8-for-10 shooting from the foul line during the final two-minutes sealed the final outcome.

Up next, Saint Rose will meet Molloy tomorrow in the final day of tournament action. Tip-off is set for 1:00 pm. Meanwhile, the Golden Lions are set to square off against host Adelphi tomorrow at 3:00 pm.

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