Gators Come Back to Down SUNY Poly in Overtime
ALBANY, N.Y. – In a matchup that pitted the top offense against the top defense in the Empire 8 Conference, Russell Sage College Men’s Basketball erased a six point deficit across the final 2:03 of regulation to down visiting SUNY Poly 85-77 in overtime.
| Final | 1 | 2 | OT | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
32 | 34 | 11 | 77 |
|
|
35 | 31 | 19 | 85 |
Team Stats
SUNY Poly
| Game Statistics | SUNY Poly | Russell Sage College |
|---|---|---|
| Field Goals | (33-71) | (27-71) |
| Field Goal % | 46.5% | 38.0% |
| Rebounds | 50 | 47 |
| Assists | 13 | 9 |
| Turnovers | 21 | 9 |
| Pts off Turnovers | 2 | 17 |
| 2nd Chance Pts | 12 | 14 |
| Pts in the Paint | 52 | 42 |
| Fastbreak Pts | 14 | 13 |
| Bench Pts | 22 | 9 |
ALBANY, N.Y. – In a matchup that pitted the top offense against the top defense in the Empire 8 Conference, Russell Sage College Men's Basketball erased a six point deficit across the final 2:03 of regulation to down visiting SUNY Poly 85-77 in overtime.
The Gators (11-2/3-1 E8), which entered the night scoring 85.1 points per-game, rode the late momentum, never trailing in the extra session.
Junior guard Pape Tunkara (Mount Vernon, NY/Iona Prep/Genesee CC) topped all players with 29 points on 7-of-14 shooting. The guard, who added six rebounds, four assists, and three steals, registered nine of his points in overtime to help RSC hand the visiting Wildcats (10-3/3-1 E8) their first road setback of the season.
Junior center Khalel Noteman (Brooklyn, NY/Canarsie) recorded 16 points of 6-of-10 shooting and seven rebounds, while senior guard Brandon Harris (Elmsford, NY/Alexander Hamilton/Herkimer CC) tallied 14 points on 6-of-16 shooting, five rebounds, three assists, two blocks, and two steals.
Junior guard Marquis Samuels paced SUNY Poly, which had a seven-game winning streak come to a close, with 26 points on 11-of-18 shooting, seven assists and three steals. Senior forward Anthony Rose and junior guard Oumaru Hydara contributed 16 points apiece for the Wildcats.
Trailing 35-32 at the break, the visitors, which came into tonight holding opponents to 63.4 points per-game, utilized an 11-2 run across 3:54 to take a 50-46 advantage. The action stayed tight from there with the squads staying no more than five points apart, until Rose converted a turnaround jumper while being fouled to put Poly up by six, 63-57 with 2:03 left.
Harris keyed the RSC comeback, knocking down a three to knot things at 64 with 1:23 left, before laying in a drive with 11 seconds remaining to tie it at 66. SUNY Poly committed a turnover on its ensuing possession, putting five more minutes on the clock.
In overtime, RSC took control with a 13-3 run.
Looking at the schedule, tonight kicked off a stretch of five-straight E8 home games for the Gators. RSC hosts Houghton on Friday night.
Gator Bites: The 2025-2026 season marks the 17th for Head Coach Brian Barnes at the helm of Russell Sage College Men's Basketball…He achieved career win number 200 on November 15 at SUNY Cobleskill...RSC got off to its best five-game (5-0) and ten-game (9-1) starts to a season in program history…The lone loss was to top-ranked Trinity…The 2014-2015 edition of the Gators started their season at 6-1 and 7-3 on their way to a 23-5 overall record and capturing the Skyline Conference Tournament Championship, and accompanying NCAA Tournament berth...RSC started that historic season, and also began last year, with a 12-3 record...The Gators are coming off a trip to the Quarterfinals of the Empire 8 Conference Championship Tournament…Seven players back from last year's squad…Junior guard Deavion Springsteen (Albany, NY/Albany), Harris, and Noteman…Harris, voted third-team All-Conference, topped the Gators with 12.9 points per-game last season…The senior converted the game-winning layup with two seconds left in the January 6 overtime victory at Utica…Barnes added seven newcomers to the program…Sophomore guard Kyle Dhu (Ozone Park, NY/Brooklyn Law and Tech) was tabbed the E8 Player of the Week for the period ending Sunday, November 16…He averaged 25.5 points on 60.7 percent shooting in the 2-0 week…The sophomore made 61.5 percent of his three-point attempts and totaled 11 rebounds, five steals and four assists across the pair of victories...RSC opened the week as the top offense in the Conference, averaging 85.1 points per-game...Harris and Tunkara occupy the top-two spots in the Conference for steals per-game...Harris is averaging 2.8 steals per-game, while Tunkara comes up with 2.6 steals a game.
