ALBANY – The College of Saint Rose men's basketball team ran off 23 unanswered points to overcome a five-point second half deficit on the way to an 80-59 victory tonight over Northeast-10 Conference rival Le Moyne College. The Golden Knights also celebrated “Senior Night” by boosting their league-best win streak to seven games. 

By virtue of its fourth place finish in the final regular-season standings, Saint Rose has earned a first-round bye in the upcoming NE-10 Tournament and will host a quarterfinal contest this Monday, February 28 versus either 12th seed Assumption or fifth seed Saint Anselm. Tip-off is set for 7:00 pm.

Junior guards Shea Bromirski and Rob Gutierrez tossed in 19 points apiece to lead the Golden Knights to their 20th victory of the season. Junior forward Brian Hanuschak wound up with 15 points, seven rebounds and four assists as well.

Saint Rose (20-7/15-7 NE-10) generated sizable margins in second chance points and points off turnovers that proved to be formidable tonight. The Golden Knights held a 17-10 edge on the offensive glass, which translated into 25 points. They also forced the Dolphins into 14 turnovers that they converted into 25 more points.

Le Moyne came roaring out of the locker room with a 22-6 run that turned an 11-point halftime deficit into a 52-47 lead with 10:00 left. Junior guard Chris Johnson hit back-to-back jumpers to get things going. He then canned a 3-pointer to cap the spurt.

Saint Rose freshman guard Kareem Thomas buried a trey of his own on the next possession, which triggered the aforementioned 23-point outburst that put the Golden Knights in control 70-52 with 4:33 to go. Hanuschak and Bromirski highlighted the back end of the run. Hanuschak finished off a conventional three-point play, while Bromirski knocked down a pair of free throws and then threw the final dagger with a deep ball from the top of the key.

The Dolphins managed just three field goals the rest of the way after taking their largest lead of the game midway through the second half.

Johnson led the way for Le Moyne (12-14/10-12 NE-10) with 19 points on the strength of four, 3-pointers. Senior forward Kevin Roth contributed 10 points, while freshman center Jim Janson added six points, eight boards and a pair of blocks.

Senior guard Andy Pelletier was honored with a brief pregame ceremony in recognition of his outstanding career at Saint Rose. Pelletier, who tossed in a season-high six points this evening, has been part of Golden Knights' squads that have won 36 games over the past two seasons.

Box Score; Senior Night Photo Gallery