CAZENOVIA, N.Y. – Sophomore Trent Ward (Auburn, N.Y.) registered his first collegiate double-double Saturday afternoon to lead visiting Morrisville State College men's basketball past Route 20 Rival Cazenovia College 84-75 in the North Eastern Athletic Conference (NEAC) showdown.

The win is the second straight for the Mustangs in conference play, improving their NEAC record to 2-0, while boosting the overall tally to 5-3. Cazenovia drops to 1-5 overall, 1-1 in NEAC action.

Ward led all scorers on the day with 22 points, adding a collegiate best 14 rebounds to collect the double-double. He also recorded four assists and three steals, and drained five from long range.

Joe Hulbert (Duanesburg, N.Y.) also posted double figures, chipping in 19 behind his five from behind the arc, while dishing out three assists. Jordan Hoose (Hudson, N.Y.) tallied a 15 point effort for the Mustangs in the win.

Ryan Gavin and Avery Wilmore paced Cazenovia with 17 points in the loss, with Gavin adding a team high 11 rebounds in the Wildcat efforts.

Morrisville State dominated the glass 49-36, including 10-3 on the offensive boards. The Mustangs drained a season high 14 from beyond the three-point line.

Cazenovia opened with a layup from Will Thompson to take the early 2-0 lead before Morrisville State went on a 13-0 run over the next four minutes to break open the game early on.

The Mustangs jumped out to as many as a 19 point lead in the first half before Cazenovia was able to chip away and make it a eight point game at the break. Morrisville State led 41-33 after the opening period.

Morrisville State maintained a double digit lead for a majority of the second half, before Cazenovia put together a late second half 9-0 run to cut the deficit to five with just under three minutes to go.

With under a minute remaining in regulation, Wilmore converted a layup with 47 seconds showing on the clock to make it a five point game, but the Mustangs went 6-for-8 from the free throw line down the stretch to secure the win.

Morrisville State finished with a 40% shooting performance from the floor, and converted 14-of-17 opportunities from the free throw line (82.4%) on the contest.

The Mustangs return to the court Wednesday, Dec. 15 hosting Medaille College for a non-conference stint before heading into the holiday break.

Morrisville State College's 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 and has been lauded for its exemplary, innovative and effective community service programs.

The college was ranked among the Best Regional Colleges in the North by U.S. News and World Report Best Colleges 2016 issue and was also recognized in the Top Public Schools, Regional Colleges North in the 2016 Best Colleges rankings. For more information about Morrisville State College, visit www.morrisville.edu.

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