Canton, NY – Danny Santana led the Roos with 17 points but visiting Thomas College earned a 59-56 win in a back-and-forth battle as both teams opened North Atlantic Conference (NAC) action on Friday evening.

THE BASICS

• Result: Thomas 59, SUNY Canton 56
• Location: Stan Cohen Court – Canton, NY
• Records: Thomas (5-2, 1-0 NAC) | SUNY Canton (4-5, 0-1 NAC)

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Thomas jumped out to an early 8-2 lead and extended their advantage to 11 at 20-9 following an Evan Arsenault layup with 8:56 to play in the opening half. The Roos responded with an 8-1 run on back-to-back threes and a layup all from Santana.
• In a game of runs the Terriers rattled off a 9-0 spurt before Canton closed to within 30-21 at intermission.
• Thomas led by 10 early in the second half and still clung to a 53-47 lead with 2:46 to play. Canton used a 6-0 run behind four points from Andrew Fitch and a pair of free throws from Quran DuBois to tie the game at 53 apiece with 59 seconds remaining.
• Following Fitch's second made free throw the Roos were whistled for a costly foul on the rebounding action as Jacob Godfrey made the front end of a one-and-one and converted the second free throw for a 55-53 lead.
• The Roos missed a layup and jumper on their next possession as Demetris Webster knocked down a pair of free throws with 18 seconds left to extend the lead to four.
• Santana buried a three-pointer with 6.1 seconds left off an offensive rebound to get Canton with 57-56.
• Zach Mackinnon missed the front end of a one-and-one with five seconds left but Lovegeurson Fleurine corralled the offensive rebounds and Canton fouled with less than half a second remaining. Mackinnon knocked down both free throws and the Roos half court heave at the buzzer missed resulting in the Thomas three-point win.
• Santana paced the Roos with 17 points hitting three three-pointers and adding six rebounds. DuBois tallied 11 points and seven rebounds, while Fitch added eight points, six rebounds and five blocks.
• Mackinnon led the Terriers with 19 points as he eclipsed the 1,000 career points total in the second half. Godfrey finished with 10 points, while Tyler Nixon added nine.

WHAT'S NEXT
These two teams will have a rematch on Saturday at 3 p.m.
   

About SUNY Canton
SUNY Canton is Northern New York's premier college for career-driven bachelor's degrees, associate degrees and professional certificate programs. The college delivers quality hands-on programs in digital design, engineering technology, health, management and public service. Faculty members are noted for their professional real-world experience in addition to outstanding academic credentials. As SUNY's leader in online education, SUNY Canton OnLine offers hundreds of flexible and convenient courses as well as 16 online degree programs. The college placed first in 14 categories in a SUNY-Wide Student Opinion Survey, most notably in career services, tutoring, library resources, and classroom facilities. The college's 15 traditional athletic teams compete at the NCAA Division III level as part of the North Atlantic Conference. SUNY Canton also features varsity eSports and cheerleading. For more information, visit www.canton.edu.