Morrisville, NY – Four players scored at least ten points, led by Jahdeuir Reese with 16, but the SUNY Canton men's basketball team fell 88-80 at the hands of the Morrisville Mustangs in their SUNYAC Opener Friday night.

THE BASICS

• Result: Morrisville 88, SUNY Canton 80
• Location: STUAC Gymnasium – Morrisville, NY
• Records: SUNY Canton (1-5, 0-1 SUNYAC) | Morrisville (2-4, 1-0 SUNYAC)

HOW IT HAPPENED

• In the conference opener for both these teams, it was a tight matchup early on with neither team going up by more than three points in the first quarter of the game. With 10 minutes left on the first half timer, the game was 15-15 with Malaki Smith leading the way with six points for the Roos.
• With 8:22 on the timer and the score knotted at 18, the game was put on pause for 45 minutes due to a burning stench in the gymnasium. The entire facility was evacuated for over 30 minutes, then after the teams did some warmups to get loose again, we were back in action.
• After some more even play, the Mustangs pulled ahead 26-21 for the game's first two-possession lead with 6:14 to go in the first half.
• These points for Morrisville were part of a 23-9 run to end the first half, and despite a couple late buckets by Reese, the Roos trailed 41-28 at the break.
• In the second half, neither team was able to go on a big run early. The Roos were unable to get the game within 10, but the Mustangs could not pull away either.
• It was not until around 12 minutes left that the Roos got the stops they needed and the points on the other end. SUNY Canton went on a 14-4 run to make the contest 67-60 with 7:37 left to play. Smith led the Roos with six points in this span.
• Morrisville brought their advantage back up to 17 points, but the Roos claimed 11 of the game's next 13 points capped by Reese's steal and breakaway layup at the other end as SUNY Canton threatened with the game at 79-75 with two minutes to play.
• Unfortunately for SUNY Canton though, the Mustangs were able to recover to get a few fouls drawn on the Roos and some points late, pulling ahead 88-75 and winning 88-80.

 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• Reese had 16 points on the night for SUNY Canton as well as five rebounds. Both Chris Nastasi and Smith each turned in 15-point, 5-rebound performances.
• Tanner Sullivan rounded out the double-figure scorers for the Roos with a season high 11 points. Eugene Johnson Jr. scored eight points and grabbed nine rebounds while Bryon Streb contributed four points, 11 boards, and a team-leading five assists.
• The Mustangs had five players scoring at least 11 points, with Jalyn Moorehead going for 18 as the team's highest scorer. Jacob Works, the season leading scorer for Morrisville, had 15 points, four rebounds, and two assists.
• The Roos outshot the Mustangs going 43% from the field (29-67) while Morrisville was at 38% (28-73) and also outrebounded the home team 52-41, but the turnover battle was the key to success for the Mustangs. SUNY Canton committed 22 turnovers to Morrisville's 13, leading to the Mustangs getting more points off turnovers (21-15) and nearly double the fastbreak points (26-14).

 
WHAT'S NEXT?
The Roos will have their second half of the road weekend series tomorrow, December 6 at 4 p.m. against the Cortland Red Dragons.
   

Discover SUNY Canton, where innovation meets opportunity. The college's career-focused educational programs emphasize hands-on and applied learning opportunities in digital design, engineering technology, health, information technology, management, public service, and veterinary technology. Faculty members bring real-world experience and exceptional academic expertise to the classroom. As a leader in online education, SUNY Canton offers unmatched flexibility with hundreds of courses and 23 comprehensive degree programs offered completely online. The SUNY Canton Kangaroos compete at the NCAA Division III level and are members of the SUNYAC. In addition to its 15 traditional teams, SUNY Canton offers coed varsity esports and cheerleading.