MORRISVILLE, N.Y. – SUNY Morrisville men's basketball propelled themselves to the top of the North Eastern Athletic Conference (NEAC) North Division standings Wednesday night, avenging a mid-January loss to SUNY Poly in the 72-69 come-from-behind effort on their home court in Morrisville.

THE BASICS:

• Final Score: Morrisville 72, SUNY Poly 69 (halftime: Poly 32-29)
• Location: STUAC Gymnasium, Morrisville, N.Y.
• Records: Morrisville 11-8, 8-2 NEAC; SUNY Polytechnic 10-9, 7-3 NEAC

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:

• Host SUNY Morrisville men's basketball took over the top spot in the NEAC North Division standings Wednesday night with an 8-2 league stint, posting the come-from-behind 72-69 victory over visiting SUNY Poly in Morrisville.
• The win is the fourth straight for the Mustangs, who improve to 11-8 overall, avenging the mid-January set back to the Wildcats on the 18th.
• Morrisville, who trailed 32-29 at the halftime break, played within two possessions of the visitors throughout the first 10 of the second period, but it was back-to-back buckets by senior Derek Beames (Otego, N.Y.) in the paint that kicked off a 15-3 offensive blast by the hosts to turn the tables on the Wildcats.
• Rahmell Smith (Syracuse, N.Y.) played a critical role in the Mustang run, nailing a three-ball from the left wing, and following with a second moments later to extend the host lead.
• A three from Ishmael Chisholm (Poughkeepsie, N.Y.) extended the Mustang advantage to eight-points, before Smith struck again, collecting back-to-back scores in the paint on consecutive possessions.
• The Wildcats attempted to claw their way back into the contest, hitting a three from the top of the key, but a fast break slam by Kevin Dennis (Bronx, N.Y.) regained a nine-point lead for the hosts.
• Much like he had all night, Josh Gregory fired the long ball from the left wing to cut the deficit to six, and on the ensuing possession LJ Randle added a third straight from beyond the arc to make it a three -point ball game with 1:20 remaining.
• Jake Kulakowski hit a layup for Poly with 11 seconds to go to make it a one-point ball game, but a foul in the back-court on Smith sent the sophomore to the free throw line for two, both of which he converted for a three-point advantage.
• Gregory had one last attempt for the visitors in the closing seconds, but his attempt hit off the back of the iron and Morrisville avenged the loss.
• Dennis led all scorers with 21 points, 14 coming in the second half of action, while collecting a total four blocked shots and 10 rebounds.
• Chisholm added 14 total across the night, 11 in the first half, before Smith came off the bench and collected all 12 in the second half, including a game total two from behind the arc. Smith also notched five assists and three steals for the Mustangs.
• Beames finished with nine points and four rebounds, while Jon Brennan (Irvington, N.Y.) posted a team high seven assists.

 
WHAT'S NEXT:
 

• Morrisville will continue rivalry week on Saturday, hosting Route 20 Rival Cazenovia at 1 p.m. on the Mustangs home court in Morrisville. The last meeting between the two saw Morrisville fall at the buzzer.