Hamilton College led for a good portion of the game but the Rochester Institute of Technology Tigers captured their own Harold J. Brodie Tournament title with a 79-75 victory at Clark Gym on Saturday afternoon.
Box Score
Hamilton's Jack Dwyer '18 and Jack Donnelly '16 were selected for the all-tournament team. The Continentals (1-1 overall) outscored RIT 34-20 in the paint and Hamilton's bench accounted for 42 of its points.
Dwyer poured in a career-high 23 points in 27 minutes and Donnelly added 11 off the bench. Peter Hoffmann '19 chipped in 11 points and Wes Wilbur '17 filled the stat sheet with 10 points, seven rebounds and a game-high five assists.
The Tigers (2-2) were led by AJ Horne's game-high 30 points. Kamron Davis contributed 19 points, 10 boards and five blocked shots. RIT shot just 38.2 percent from the floor but went 31-for-40 from the free-throw line as the Continentals were whistled for 27 fouls.
The tournament championship game was tight most of the way as the lead changed hands 12 times and there were nine ties. Hamilton's 10-point lead in the first half was the largest for either team all afternoon.
The Tigers trailed 65-63 with 5:58 left but took the lead for good with an 11-2 run. Davis started the spurt with a pair of free throws and Wyatt Smith gave RIT a 67-65 edge on two more points from the charity stripe with 5:04 remaining. Davis made it a four-point advantage with another two free throws before Dwyer's layup pulled the Continentals back within two at 69-67 with 4:09 to go.
Smith restored the Tigers' four-point lead with a jumper and Horde drained a 3-pointer that gave RIT its largest lead at seven points, 74-67, with 3:13 left. Hamilton clawed back to within two points at 77-75 on two free throws by Andrew Groll '19 with just under a minute remaining.
The Continentals had a chance to tie the score or take the lead after the Tigers committed turnovers on two straight possessions but Hamilton missed two jumpers and two free throws in the final 50 seconds. Horde's two free throws with 10 seconds remaining clinched the victory for the home team.
RIT jumped out to an early 8-4 lead but the Continentals stormed back with 14 straight points and took their largest lead of the day at 18-8 with 10:17 to go in the first half. Hoffmann started the rally with a 3-pointer, Donnelly and Wilbur made baskets, Donnelly nailed a shot from beyond the arc and Kyle Pitman '17 and Wilbur ended the run with buckets.
The Tigers came back to retake the lead at 26-24 before Hoffmann scored five points during an 8-0 spurt that gave Hamilton a 32-26 advantage. Wilbur's layup beat the halftime buzzer and sent the Continentals into the locker room with a 36-31 lead. RIT shot 28.6 percent from the field in the opening 20 minutes.
Hamilton plays its 2015-16 home opener against Cazenovia College on Tuesday, Nov. 24, at 2 p.m.
