ALBANY-The College of Saint Rose erased an 11 point deficit with less than eight minutes remaining only to fall just short with today's 68-66 setback to visiting
Northeast-10 Conference rival Southern Connecticut State. In the process, the Golden Knights (9-1/4-1 NE10) fell for the first time after opening the season with the best start ever throughout their NCAA era.
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Junior forward Jerry Luckett, Jr. knocked down a jumper from the foul line with 18 seconds left for what proved to be the difference for the Owls. Saint Rose then came up empty and was thus forced to foul with three ticks left. Southern Connecticut State senior forward Austin Carter then missed the front end of a one-and-one, but the Golden Knights could not get a good look before the final horn sounded.
"We faced a tough Southern Connecticut State team today and played flat early. We got a big lift from our reserves to keep us in the game, but gave up too many first half points for my liking, said head coach
Brian Beaury. "I am proud of the way our guys competed. We have to stay the course. Our defense and rebounding has been our strength. Today we only defended well in the second half."
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Saint Rose was in arrears for all but a few moments during the contest and trailed by nine, 43-34, at intermission. The Golden Knights were still down 59-48 with 7:45 to play after Luckett finished inside for the Owls (6-2/4-0 NE10).
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After both teams came up empty on their ensuing trips up the floor, senior forward
Tyler Sayre canned a trey for three of his nine points that highlighted an 11-2 charge. Â Junior forward
Anthony Russell drained a jumper and Sayre converted a layup to cap the jaunt that brought the Golden Knights to within a pair, 61-59, with 3:30 showing on the clock.
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Southern Connecticut State then twice boosted its advantage back to five, before junior forward
Jack Jones put back a miss and junior guard
Jamaal Greenwood drained a 3-pointer from the right wing to deadlock it 66-66 with 40 seconds to go.
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However, Luckett was able to find the bottom of the net at the other end to allow the Owls to remain undefeated in NE10 play.
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Sayre finished with 16 points and Jones tossed in 15 throughout 25 minutes off the bench to lead the Golden Knights whose reserves outscored their counterparts 35-12.
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Luckett, Jr. and senior guard Michael Mallory paced Southern Connecticut State with 21 and 20 points respectively. The latter also handed out six assists.
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Looking ahead, Saint Rose travels to Long Island Wednesday for a 7:30 pm date at Adelphi, while the Owls head that way for a 7:00 pm non-league meeting at Molloy on Monday.
Notes: Both teams came into today receiving votes in this week's NABC Top-25 Poll…Saint Rose has held all 10 of its foes to less than 45.0 percent shooting from the floor…The Golden Knights have been especially stingy down the stretch…They are limiting their opponents to 37.5 percent shooting during the final five minutes of their games…Saint Rose held the Owls to 17.7 points under their season scoring average…The Golden Knights continue to lead the NE-10 in scoring defense (56.8) and field goal percentage defense (38.9)…Five players are averaging between 12.0 and 7.7 points on the year.
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