Box Score GARDEN CITY, NY – The College of Saint Rose men's basketball team fought back from an early 15-point first half deficit but came up empty as Bloomfield College drained all eight of its free throw attempts in the final minute to secure a 66-61 victory over the Golden Knights at the Adelphi Holiday Tournament this afternoon. Saint Rose (1-10) has dropped seven games this year by five points or less.

Senior guard Rob Gutierrez led the Golden Knights in scoring for the fifth time this year with 19 points on 7-of-11 shooting from the field. Junior guard Andre Pope added 12 points, seven rebounds and six assists, while sophomore forward Dominykas Milka contributed 11 points and seven boards in 20 minutes of reserve duty.

The Deacons (8-5) received 17 points from sophomore guard Terry Hicks.

Saint Rose dug itself a 23-8 hole midway through the first half after going more than five minutes without a field goal. Milka finally nailed a jumper to break the ice, but freshman guard Marvin Williams answered with a layup at the other end to keep Bloomfield in control.

However, Pope and Gutierrez sparked a 17-7 run with back-to-back 3-pointers that allowed the Golden Knights to go into the break down only three, 32-29. Sophomore guard James Wilson sent Saint Rose into the locker room on a high note with a trey of his own just before time expired.

The second period saw four ties and eight lead changes as neither club was able to take control. Gutierrez fed senior forward Sheldon Griffin to knot things 52-52 for the final time with 4:26 to go.

Bloomfield then took advantage of two straight turnovers by the Golden Knights to put itself in the driver's seat. Sophomore forward Kevin Udo converted his own steal and Hicks buried a deep ball to make it a 57-52 ballgame with 2:34 left. The Deacons wound up 9-for-10 from the stripe the rest of the way to seal things.    

Saint Rose is now off until the New Year. The Golden Knights return to action on Tuesday, January 3 for a 7:30 pm Northeast-10 Conference game at Saint Anselm College in Manchester, NH. Bloomfield meanwhile is idle until Friday, December 30 when the Deacons host Saint Anselm for a 3:00 pm non-league affair.