The men's basketball team suffered another disappointing run this week, losing both of its games. The team dropped a 67-82 decision to host SUNY Brockport on Friday followed by a 94-101 double-overtime loss at home on Tuesday against Buffalo State. The Knights have fallen to 8-10 overall and to 2-9 in SUNYAC play.
Junior Abe Miller scored Geneseo's first six points in Friday's match versus Brockport, and a layup from sophomore Ryan Riefenhauser at 13 minutes, one second put the team up 11-10. The opponents gained some steam soon afterward, sparked by sophomore Derek Klein's 3-pointer. Brockport was in control of play by the middle of the half, going on a 9-0 run led by a pair of 3-point shots from sophomore Stephen Sisson. The opponent showed no sign of slowing down as the Golden Eagles closed out the half with a 43-29 lead.
Geneseo head coach Steve Minton noted that his team was "off to a slow start" but "quickly caught up" in the second half by shortening the gap to a five point deficit at 12:20. Freshman Jordan Jones led the resurgence, contributing eight points to his team's rally. Still, the Knights were not able to close in on their opponents, and Geneseo fell to the Golden Eagles. Jones finished up with a team-leading 20 points, followed by Miller with 17 and Riefenhauser with six points and seven rebounds.
Minton attested the loss to "costly turnovers" and being unable to "climb out of the hole" caused by the team's point deficit.
The Knights came out aggressively at the start of Tuesday's game versus Buffalo State. Though the team trailed at the beginning of the half, an eight-point run led by Riefenhauser's layup and consecutive buckets from Miller gave Geneseo a 12-9 lead in the seventh minute. The Knights maintained their lead throughout the half and went into halftime up 38-25.
Buffalo State went on an 18-3 run early in the second half to take a 43-41 lead. Junior Chris Cartwright catapulted the run with a 3-pointer and four additional points; sophomore Justin Mitchell contributed three layups. Senior Glenroy Carr's jumper with two minutes left allowed Buffalo State to close in on Geneseo at 75-75, and with no additional scoring, the teams went into their first overtime.
Senior Mike Baker's 3-pointer and freshman Connor Fedge's two foul shots during the final seconds appeared to be enough to clinch the win for Geneseo until Cartwright hit two from the foul line to cause another extra session. Buffalo State drained 15 points during the second overtime, and Geneseo suffered a final 101-94 loss. Cartwright finished with 39 points for Buffalo State, and Fedge was Geneseo's top scorer, contributing 17 points. Junior John Drazan and classmate Mike Hoy added 11 points apiece for the Knights.
Minton hopes that "tougher, more intense practices" will translate into future success for his team. Geneseo looks to improve its record as the Knights host SUNY Potsdam and SUNY Plattsburgh this Friday and Saturday, respectively.