Brooklyn, NY – Senior Quran DuBois exploded for 26 second-half points as the SUNY Canton men's basketball team overcame a 20-point halftime deficit to earn an 89-85 road win at Medgar Evers on the opening day of the Cougars tournament on Thursday.

The Roos will square off with St. John Fisher University in the championship game at 3 p.m. on Friday. The Cardinals defeated Misericordia 84-82 in Thursday's opening contest. Medgar Evers will square off with Misericordia in the consolation game at 1 p.m.

THE BASICS

• Result: SUNY Canton 89, Medgar Evers 85
• Location: Cougars Cave – Brooklyn, NY
• Records: SUNY Canton (3-10) | Medgar Evers (3-6)

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Roos jumped out to an early 8-0 lead behind four points from Brennan Harmer and a dunk from Fadil Atcha-Dedji. Canton extended its lead to as many as  10 (16-6).
• The Cougars responded with 21 straight points over the next five minutes to take a 27-16 lead nine minutes into the game. Medgar Evers closed the final two minutes of the half on a 9-0 run to take a 50-30 lead into intermission.
• The hosts still led by 16 points nearly five minutes into the second half. The Roos stormed back with a 14-4 run to get within 62-56 with 12:11 to play.
• Canton took their first lead of the second half with 6:04 to play after Juztin Chambers-Phillips drained a three-pointer off a pass from DuBois.
• Trailing by three with 4:23 to go the Roos rattled off seven straight points including five from DuBois to open a two-possession lead with 2:33 to go. The Cougars knocked down a three before DuBois hit two free throws to give Canton an 86-83 lead with 31 seconds left.
• Andre Evans Jr. and Harmer each split a pair of free throws before Evans Jr. split another trip to the line to cut the Canton lead to two with 21 seconds left.
• After a Canton turnover JJ Omaga blocked a potential game-tying Cougar jumper with 10 seconds left. Omaga split a pair of free throws and then came up with a steal and knocked down another free throw to seal the win.

 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• DuBois led all players with 28 points, 26 of which came after halftime. He was just four points shy of his career-high from last season. DuBois shot 8-for-15 from the field, 2-for-5 from three and 10-for-11 from the line. He added seven rebounds and four assists.
• Harmer and Chambers-Phillips tallied 15 points and five assists each. Harmer added seven rebounds and four steals, while Chambers-Phillips had five boards. Omaga tallied 12 points, while Michael Nunnally posted eight points. Atcha-Dedji hauled down a team-high 12 rebounds to go with six points.
• Evans Jr. led the Cougars with 22 points, while Dimitri Weeks (17) and Richar Frias (13) both reached double figures. Mousa Sinera ripped down a game-high 14 rebounds.
• The Cougars had the upper hand in points off turnovers (35-18) and bench points (52-33), while the Roos had the edge in fast break points (16-6) and second chance points (14-8).

 
 
WHAT'S NEXT?
The men's basketball team is back in action on Friday when it squares off with St. John Fisher in the championship game of the Medgar Evers Tournament at 3 p.m.
   
About SUNY Canton
As Northern New York's premier college for career-driven bachelor's degrees, associate degrees and professional certificate programs, SUNY Canton 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 23 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 SUNY Canton Kangaroos 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.