Morrisville State men complete regular season with 93-83 victory over SUNYIT

The Morrisville State College men's basketball team wrapped up the regular season schedule Saturday afternoon, topping visiting SUNY IT 93-83 in North Eastern Athletic Conference (NEAC) action in Morrisville. Morrisville State improves to 17-8 overall and finishes atop conference play with a 14-1 NEAC record. SUNY IT concludes the season at 5-20 overall, 4-11 in conference action.



Four notched double figures for Morrisville State, including Andrew Lucio (Solvay, N.Y.) with 19, nailing 4-of-5 from beyond the arc, adding eight assists and five rebounds to his tallies. Kucjok Ater (Syracuse, N.Y.) also netted 19, collecting nine rebounds and two blocks. Mickey Davis (Jamesville, N.Y.) posted 14 for the Mustangs, while teammate Kyle Gordon (Riverhead, N.Y.) rounded out top scoring with 12 on three from downtown. Brandon Hanks (Syracuse, N.Y.) had a game high nine assists in the win.



T'Andre Richardson (Utica, N.Y.) led all scorers on the day, netting 34 for the Wildcats, hitting 13-of-22 shots from the floor and 7-of-10 from the free throw line, while adding nine rebounds and four steals to the SUNY IT efforts. Three additional teammates posted double figures, including Sejad Gromilic (Bosnia) with 23, also grabbing seven rebounds and four assists, while Alex Grimmer (New Hartford, N.Y.) and Derek Rowe (Mexico, N.Y.) added 12 and 11 points respectively. Grimmer also had five assists in the loss.



Morrisville State came out of the blocks cold, as SUNY IT grasped the early 7-0 lead but Gordon hit back-to-back three's to put the Mustangs on the board and back in the game.



Both teams battled back and forth in the final 12 minutes of the first half, heading into the locker room tied at 42.



In the second, the Mustangs opened with a 12-2 run over the first five minutes for the 54-44 lead, and increased that to as many as 18 before the Wildcats clawed their way back into the game, posting their own run of 13 straight points to cut the lead to six with just under five to go in the contest.



A three by Lucio and lay-up from Sneed regained the double digit cushion for the Mustangs, but back-to-back three's from Grimmer put SUNY IT within reach, closing the gap to just eight with 45 seconds remaining on the clock.



Hanks and Gordon hit both free throw opportunities down the stretch, securing the victory for the Mustangs.



Morrisville State hit 34-of-71 from the floor on the day, including 9-of-18 from beyond the arc, while nailing 16-of-21 free throws.



The Mustangs received the top bid in the NEAC men's basketball championship tournament to be held Saturday and Sunday on the Morrisville State campus. Tournament seeding will be announced Monday.