MORRISVILLE, N.Y. – The Morrisville State College men's basketball team picked up a much needed North Eastern Athletic Conference (NEAC) victory Tuesday night, taking down rival SUNY Polytechnic 66-57 in Morrisville.

The win boosts the Mustangs to 6-12 overall, lifting them to 3-8 in conference play, while the visitors drop to 6-12, 5-5 in NEAC action.

Four posted double figures for Morrisville State in the win, including junior forward Ibrahima Toure (Brooklyn, N.Y.) who notched 16 points and snagged 10 rebounds for the double-double. Toure also registered three blocked shots on the night.

Qwuhail Barlow (Cortland, N.Y.) added a 14 point, five rebound effort, while teammates Trent Ward (Auburn, N.Y.) and Tyler Bliss (Liverpool, N.Y.) each chipped in 11 points and two assists. Ward also grabbed nine rebounds to add to his tallies.

Maverick Hodge led the Wildcat efforts with 15 points, seven rebounds and four assists, while teammate Kaleel Johnson added 10 points, and snagged 13 rebounds for SUNY Poly. Michael Boyea contributed 10 points in the losing efforts.

Morrisville State held the 32-25 lead at the break before going on a 10-4 run over the opening six minutes of the second half to increase their lead to 11.

SUNY Poly was able to cut the lead to just six late in the contest on a layup by Johnson, but the Mustangs converted 8-of-10 opportunities from the free throw line to secure the win.

Morrisville State hit 41.2% from the floor on the night, including 41.7% from long range on 5-of-12 three-point shots, while holding the visitors to a 35.8% shooting performance from the floor in the contest.

The Mustangs return to the court Saturday, traveling to Penn College of Technology before returning home to face SUNY Cobleskill on Wednesday.

Morrisville State'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.

In addition to being named to the 2014 President's Higher Community Education Service Honor Roll, the college was recognized by U.S. News and World Report as an institution in the top tier of the Best Regional Colleges list and ranked second among regional colleges nationwide for outperforming its anticipated graduation rate. For more information visit www.morrisville.edu.

#30#