Box Score ALBANY – The College of Saint Rose celebrated “Senior Day” by hanging on to a 56-52 victory against
Northeast-10 Conference rival American International this afternoon at the Daniel P. Nolan Gymnasium. The Golden Knights (6-19/6-15 NE-10) held the Yellow Jackets to 37.3 percent (19-for-51) shooting from the floor and outrebounded their guests by a 37-28 margin, including a 9-5 advantage from the offensive glass that led to a 13-0 differential in second chance points.
Sophomore guard
Kareem Thomas went 7-for-11 from the floor on the way to a game-high 16 points and senior forward
Sheldon Griffin tossed in 15 points and tied his season-high with nine rebounds to pace Saint Rose. Senior guard
Rob Gutierrez added 10 points and eight boards.
Meanwhile, sophomore guard Spencer Braithwaite and sophomore forward David Campbell scored 14 points apiece, and sophomore guards Janek Schmidkunz and D.J. Gutridge wound up with 11 and 10 respectively to lead American International (8-17/6-15 NE-10).
The Golden Knights shot 48.1 percent (13-for-27) from the floor on the way to a 34-29 cushion at the break. However, the Yellow Jackets scored 13 unanswered points throughout a five minute span in the early going of the second stanza that transformed a nine point, 38-29, deficit into a 42-38 advantage with 13:16 to go. Braithwaite ignited the spurt with a jumper in the paint and Schmidkunz capped it with a 3-pointer.
It was pretty much anyone's ballgame the rest of the way. Five more lead changes ensued until senior forward
Brian Hanuschak buried a shot from the perimeter with 7:22 remaining that afforded Saint Rose a 50-49 lead.
The Golden Knights would not trail again although they allowed the Yellow Jackets to hang around as both clubs stalled on the offensive end during the final seven minutes when they converted a mere four field goals collectively.
Looking ahead, both squads will wrap-up their 2011-12 campaigns with 7:30 pm conference dates on Tuesday. The Golden Knights will entertain New Haven, while the Yellow Jackets will host Assumption.
Prior to today's game; Griffin, Gutierrez and Hanuschak were honored along with cheerleaders
Halle Davenport,
Mikayla Consalvo, and
Rochelle Karg as part of Senior Day festivities. Hanuschak and junior guard
Andre Pope also received commemorative 1,000 point balls in recognition of their recent attainment of that milestone.
Senior Day Photo Gallery
