The Morrisville State College men's basketball team withstood a late Wildcat comeback, and topped Route 20 rival Cazenovia College 94-88 Saturday afternoon in Morrisville in North Eastern Athletic Conference (NEAC) action.

The win lifts the Mustangs to 11-6 overall, improving their mark to 8-3 overall in the conference, while Cazenovia drops to 5-12, 3-8 in NEAC play.

Morrisville State's senior class dominated the action on the court, with five posting double figures in scoring and two recording double-doubles. Brandon Hanks (Syracuse, N.Y.) led all scorers with 26 points as he went 7-for-10 from the floor, draining three from long range, while adding five rebounds and assisting another three. Teammate Kucjok Ater (Syracuse, N.Y.) posted a double-double behind a 17 point, 10 rebound performance, blocking two.

Jordan Prior (Cortland, N.Y.) added 15, converting 9-of-11 from the free throw line, while snagging six boards and assisting a game high five. Center Tom Wilk (Cortland, N.Y.) added 13 points and a team high 11 rebounds, seven of which were on the offensive glass, as he registered his second double-double of the season, adding three assists to his tallies, while teammate Jailaan Kinsey (Syracuse, N.Y.) rounded out the leaderboard with 10 points for the Mustangs, also posting three assists.

Hanks' three 3-field goals and three assists put him atop the Mustang record books in all-time three-pointers made (127) and all-time assists (403) recorded in a career at Morrisville State. He now holds three records for the Mustangs, all being set this season.

Five tallied double figures for the visitors, led by Nate Hudson with 19 points on 6-of-8 shooting from the floor, including 4-of-4 shooting from beyond the arc. Malik Adair-Mountain added to the Wildcats hot shooting from downtown, posting 18 points for Cazenovia, nine total from long range, while Daniel Cunningham added 14.

Keith Caiello had 13 on the day, while DeMarcus Bernard came off the bench to round out the scoring leaders for Cazenovia with 11. Ryan Gavin led the Wildcats with 11 rebounds, two coming on the offensive glass.

Cazenovia was quick to make a statement, as Gavin drained the Wildcat's first three of the day on their first possession, and increased the early lead to four with another from Hudson nearly three minutes in.

Morrisville State then picked up the pace and went on a 12-2 run over a two minute spurt behind two tre's from Hanks to take the 16-10 lead with 15 minutes remaining in the half.

The Mustangs held the slim single digit lead until a three from Bernard made it a one-point margin with 9:50 to go in the opening half.

Three straight buckets by Wilk in the post sparked a 10-2 Mustang run, capped off by a throw down by Prior after collecting the offensive board, for a nine point advantage for the hosts.

A layup by Wilk with 2:29 to go in the half gave Morrisville State the 10 point lead, but a three from Caiello cut it to seven as the visitors hit two free throws down the stretch to make it a five point game at the break.

In the second, Hudson drained one for Cazenovia to make it a 41-41 game with 17:51 to go, but the Mustangs offense got rolling and posted a 15-3 run over the next three minutes to break the game open to a 12 point margin.

The Wildcats reversed the tables and put together their own 13-3 spurt to make it a one point game, and hung within single digits of the Mustangs, but couldn't overcome the hosts as Morrisville State posted the 93-88 conference win.

The Mustangs shot 50 percent from the floor in the game, including 64.3 percent in the second half, but struggled on the free throw line, only managing to convert 24-of-42 attempts.

Morrisville State dominated play in the paint, outscoring the Wildcats 50-24, but it was Cazenovia who was the threat from long range, nailing 13-of-27 from beyond the arc The Mustangs held the 46-36 advantage on the glass, and forced 12 Cazenovia turnovers.

The Mustangs take a break from conference play and host SUNY Canton on Tuesday, before taking on current conference leader, Lancaster Bible, on Friday.

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 Community Education Service Honor Roll. The college was recognized, by U.S. News and World Report, in its top tier Best Regional Colleges list and ranked second among regional colleges nationwide for outperforming its anticipated graduation rate. Visit www.morrisville.edu to experience, Morrisville in motion. 

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