Shereef Taylor '12 scored 25 points and grabbed seven rebounds to lead SUNY New Paltz to an 88-84 win against Hamilton College in the championship game of the 2010 Hamilton Tip-Off Tournament at Margaret Bundy Scott Field House on Nov. 20.
Taylor was named the tournament's most outstanding player as New Paltz improved to 3-0 for the first time since 1992-93. Hamilton (1-1 overall) had won the previous five tip-off tournaments dating back to 2005. The Hawks finished third in this tournament in 2005.
Matt Devine '13 chipped in 17 points for the winners and made the all-tournament team. Harris Wichard '12 added 13 points and seven boards. Danny Nardiello '14 had 12 points off the bench, and Jermain Wallace '12 had 10 as five Hawks reached double figures in scoring. New Paltz shot 50.7 percent from the field and 85 percent at the line.
Pat Sullivan '12 paced the Continentals with 22 points and made the all-tournament team. Tom McInerney '14 came off the bench to score 17 points and pull down a game-high nine rebounds. Ryan Wright '14 registered 10 points, seven assists and three steals. Ephraim McDowell '12 contributed 10 points.
Hamilton trailed 48-37 with two seconds left in the first half, but Hans Schulte '13 nailed a three-pointer at the buzzer to pull the Continentals within 48-40 at the break. Hamilton closed to within one point twice in the second half, but never tied the score nor took the lead. The Continentals shot 51.5 percent from the floor in the second half, and finished the game with 18 turnovers.
In the consolation game, Daniel Heisey '11 scored 23 points, passed out three assists and made three steals to lead University of Pittsburgh-Bradford to an 82-73 win against Lehman College. Heisey earned a spot on the all-tournament team. The Panthers (1-2) were runners-up in this tournament in 2007.
Joseph Coppola '12 drained four three-pointers and finished with 20 points and four rebounds for Pitt-Bradford. Sam Moore '12 had 13 points and three steals. The Panthers enjoyed a 21-7 advantage in made free throws, including 16-for-18 (89 percent) in the second half, and committed just eight turnovers.
Samuel Batista '12 torched the nets for a tournament-high 32 points to lead Lehman. Batista was 7 of 9 from three-point range and also grabbed 11 rebounds. Jonathan DeJesus '12 posted his second double-double in as many days with 18 points and a game-high 12 boards. DeJesus made the all-tournament team. Alain De La Cruz '11 chipped in nine points and eight assists, but also had seven of the Lightning's 27 turnovers.
Lehman (0-3) held a 37-25 advantage in rebounds, and shot 55 percent from the field, including 55.6 percent from long range. The Lightning led 71-70 on a DeJesus layup with 4:27 left, but Pitt-Bradford scored the next eight points and pulled away for the victory.
