The Morrisville State College men's basketball team escaped with a narrow 85-80 North Eastern Athletic Conference (NEAC) victory over visiting SUNY Cobleskill Wednesday night, withstanding a late Fighting Tiger surge for the win.

The win pulls the Mustangs even at 3-3, and 1-1 in NEAC play, while Cobleskill dropped to 1-5 overall, 0-2 in conference action.

Jailaan Kinsey (Syracuse, N.Y.) came off the bench and had the hot hand to lead Morrisville State in scoring, netting 22 points on 9-for-13 from the floor, while adding three assists and two steals to his tallies. Jordan Prior (Cortland, N.Y.) added 18 points, converting 9-of-10 from the charity stripe, while Kucjok Ater (Syracuse, N.Y.) added 11 to round out top scoring, dishing out three assists.

Morrisville State was hot from long range, hitting 8-of-13 attempts, including three each from Kinsey and Prior who both attempted five three-point field goals.

Sherard King (Brooklyn, N.Y.) grabbed 10 rebounds for the Mustangs who dominated the Fighting Tigers on the glass, 38-25, including a 19-8 advantage on the offensive boards.

Cortell King led the Cobleskill efforts, netting 23 points on the night, while posting a team high eight rebounds, as two additional teammates posted double figures. Bryan Backus added 13 and Travis Woods 12, while Woods also collected six rebounds.

Morrisville State held a slim 42-39 advantage at the half, led by a 15-point effort by Kinsey, and maintained the single digit margin until the 15:25 mark of the second half, when Prior drained a three sparking a 19-6 spurt over the next five minutes to blow open the contest to a 15 point margin.

The Mustangs increased the lead to as many as 20 with five minutes to go on the clock, but Cobleskill took advantage of four straight Morrisville State miscues to climb back within 10 with just under two minutes remaining.

Backus converted four straight free throws for the Fighting Tigers, and found King on the ensuing Cobleskill play, cutting the lead to just six with a minute to go.

Cobleskill had a chance to cut it to three, but King's three-point attempt deflected off the back of the rim and into the hands of Prior who was sent to the line, converting the first of two attempts.

Kemar Hemmings hit a jumper following a steal as time expired, making it an 85-80 final.

Both teams shot well from the floor on the night, Cobleskill holding the edge 51.9% to the Mustangs 49.2%, but it was the bombs from long range that proved to be the difference down the stretch, as Morrisville State hit 8-of-13 (61.5%) to Cobleskill's 6-of-17 (35.3%).

The Fighting Tigers were near perfect from the charity stripe, hitting 18-of-19 attempts on the night.

Morrisville State returns to the court Friday, taking to the road for a NEAC matchup with Penn State Berks.

Cobleskill is back in action Saturday, traveling to Wells College.

Morrisville State sets the world in motion for students. Curricula are enriched with applied learning and pave the way for opportunity at both the Morrisville and Norwich campuses. An action-oriented, interactive learning lab, the college is a national leader in technology. Lauded for its exemplary, innovative and effective community service programs, the college was named to the 2012 President's Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll. Visit www.morrisville.edu to experience, Morrisville in motion. 

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