Canton, NY – Romario Fletcher (Queens, NY) used a dribble drive from the three-point line and finished at the basket with 3.2 seconds remaining to lift the SUNY Canton men's basketball team to a thrilling 67-65 win against visiting Utica College on Tuesday evening in front of a packed Roos House.

The Roos improve to 4-3 overall, while the Pioneers drop to 0-7.

SUNY Canton trailed by seven with 3:35 remaining but closed the game on an 11-2 run to earn the come-from-behind victory. Walt Jeter (Fort Drum, NY) found Rashad Richardson (Rochester, NY) inside for a bucket with 3:16 remaining and split a pair of free throws a minute later. Carl Taylor scored in the paint on the ensuing possession with 1:59 remaining but that would be the final basket of the game for Utica.

Adrian Williams (Brooklyn, NY) hit a deep three with 1:45 on the clock to trim the deficit to one possession at 65-62. Utica shot a quick jumper eight seconds later but Hunter Remley corralled the offensive rebound and was quickly fouled. SUNY Canton fouled him three seconds later as he missed the front end of a one-and-one.
Fletcher responded at the other end with a layup with 1:14 remaining. After a Pioneer miss from long distance with 43 seconds remaining Victor Bakre (Bronx, NY) was fouled with 26 seconds to play as he went to the line for the one-and-one. His attempt hit back rim and fell to tie the game at 65. Bakre missed the second but Fletcher fought through traffic and pulled down a crucial offensive rebounds as the Roos called timeout to set up the winninng play.

The Roos jumped out to a quick 6-0 start and led by as many as nine in the opening half (35-26) before taking a 37-30 lead into intermission.
Jeter paced the Roos with 11 points in the opening half hitting on three of his four attempts from distance. Chung added nine points, while Richardson posted six points and nine boards. Justin Strielkauskas and Hunter Remley tallied eight apiece for the Pioneers.
 

For the game Fletcher paced the Roos with 17 points, 16 rebounds and three blocks as he recorded his fifth consecutive double-double. Williams added 16 points, while Jeter was extremely efficient tallying 14 points on just six field goal attempts to go with six rebounds, four assists and a pair of blocks. Richardson added nine points and 10 rebounds for Canton.

Ivan Iton led the Pioneer attack on a double-double with 19 points and 11 rebounds as 16 of his points came after intermission. Strielkauskas added 13 points, while Remley (12) and Jerome Brabham (11) also scored in double figures.

Both teams struggled shooting the ball from the field but the Roos hit on 11 of their 25 three-pointers (44 percent) and held a 53-41 advantage on the glass.

"What a gutsy win today at home by our guys," Head Coach Ben Thompson said. "We are thankful for all that Coach Cohen did for SUNY Canton. It was really great that we were able to honor his dedication today with a win. A huge THANK YOU to our fans for coming out and supporting us so much tonight. We are thankful for their efforts!"

The Roos unveiled the naming of Stan Cohen Court in both a pre-game and halftime ceremony at Tuesday's game. The court is named after

the late Stanley W. Cohen, a SUNY Canton and New York State Basketball Hall of Famer, he began his career at the College in 1957 when he joined the staff as a basketball coach and accounting instructor. He worked at the College for 39 years and retired in 1996 from the physical education department. Beginning in 1957, Cohen spent 16 seasons as the headmen's basketball coach at SUNY Canton with a record of 247-143. He then coached the women's team for seven years, compiling a 79-57 mark. Cohen was a member of SUNY
Canton's inaugural Hall of Fame class in 2011.
 
In 1973 Cohen joined the Potsdam Bears coaching staff. As a Bears' assistant coach, he helped Potsdam achieve incredible success. The program posted a 698-458 record (.604 winning percentage) with Cohen on the bench. He helped guide Potsdam to NCAA Division III National Championships in 1981 and 1986.
 
The men's basketball team returns to action on Friday when it hosts Houghton College at 7 p.m. in the Roos House. Stay up to date with the latest news directly from the SUNY Canton Athletics department by "liking" us on Facebook and "following" our Twitter, Instagram and YouTube accounts.

About SUNY Canton
SUNY Canton is Northern New York's premier college for career-driven bachelor's degrees, associate degrees and certificate programs. The college delivers quality hands-on programs in engineering technology, health, management and public service. Faculty members are noted for their professional real-world experience in addition to outstanding academic credentials. SUNY Canton OnLine offers hundreds of flexible and convenient courses, as well as 10 exclusively online bachelor's degrees. The college's 15 athletic teams compete as members of the NCAA Division III and the USCAA.