Hamilton College and SUNY New Paltz advanced to the Hamilton men's basketball Tip-Off Tournament championship game with double-digit wins in the first round of the tournament at Margaret Bundy Scott Field House on Nov. 19.
Hamilton (1-0 overall) made 50 percent of its field goal attempts and 34 free throws in a 91-79 win against University of Pittsburgh-Bradford. New Paltz (1-0) drained 58 percent of its shots from the floor in an 83-67 victory against Lehman College. The championship game is at 4 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 20. Lehman and Pitt-Bradford play in the consolation game at 2 p.m.
In the opener, Matt Devine '13 led all players with 24 points and 12 rebounds as New Paltz scored 53 points in the second half to pull away from Lehman. Shereef Taylor '12 chipped in 13 points, five assists and four steals. Harris Wichard '12 added 10 points and four assists. The Hawks shot 69 percent from the floor in the second half.
The Lightning (0-2) were led by Jonathan DeJesus '12, who posted a double-double with 22 points and 11 boards. Alain De La Cruz '11 dropped in 16 points and handed out six assists. Samuel Batista '12 contributed 10 points. Lehman committed 24 turnovers.
Hamilton and Pitt-Bradford combined to commit 57 fouls and shoot 80 free throws. Ephraim McDowell led the winners with 22 points, and was 9-for-9 at the line. Pat Sullivan '12 poured in 16 points and grabbed six rebounds.
Greg Newton '14 provided a spark off the bench with 12 points and five assists. The Continentals received 37 points from their bench. Ken Click '13 added 10, and Hans Schulte '13 went 9-for-10 at the free throw line to finish with nine points. Hamilton held a 36-28 advantage on the boards.
Pitt-Bradford's Daniel Heisey '11 was the high scorer in the first round with 26 points. Sam Moore '12 had 21 points, nine rebounds and four assists. Moore and Heisey combined to go 21-for-24 at the line. Zachary Moore '12 added 12 points off the bench. The Panthers (0-2) shot just 39.6 percent from the field, including 7 of 26 (27 percent) from three-point range. Pitt-Bradford did shoot 83 percent at the charity stripe.
