Farmingdale Squeaks Past M. Basketball, 70-69

(Recap Courtesy Farmingdale Sports Information)

Farmingdale, N.Y. - The Farmingdale State men's basketball team won their sixth straight game tonight in a 70-69 victory over Skyline opponent St. Joseph's (4-11, 3-5 Skyline). With the win, the Rams improve to 11-4, 7-1 in conference play.

In the first half with the game was tied 8-8 at the 16:54 mark, St. Joseph's used a 6-1 run to grab a five point advantage, 14-9. The Golden Eagles pushed the lead to 10 at the 11-minute mark after a layup by freshman guard Andy Laurent (Amityville, N.Y.). At 7:42 with St. Joseph's leading 29-19, Farmingdale State scored seven straight points, capped off by a Justin Bailey (Jamaica, N.Y.) three-pointer, to cut the deficit to 29-26. The Golden Eagles would hold a 33-28 lead at the break.

The Rams opened the second half with five straight points, forcing two turnovers over the first minute to tie the game at 33-33. The teams traded the lead seven times until a Donald Lawes layup pulled Farmingdale State ahead 50-49 with 8:45 remaining. This sparked an 11-4 Rams run which ended with a Lawes dunk at 5:27 for the 61-53 lead.

St. Joseph's used an 8-0 run to tie the game at 61-61 with 2:51 to play. After layups by St. Joseph's junior guard Nick Gallina (Holbrook, N.Y.) and Farmingdale State sophomore guard Wilson Molina (Queens, N.Y.), we were tied at 63-63 with 44 seconds left. A Lawes block and layup gave the Rams the 65-63 advantage, before the Rams made 6-of-7 free throws down the stretch to lead 70-66. St. Joseph's hit a three at the buzzer but Farmingdale held on for the 70-69 victory.

Lawes finished with 15 points, 11 rebounds and seven blocks, while senior guard Timothy Johnson (Queens, N.Y.) had 15 points, including three free throws in the final seconds, and eight boards. Bailey finished with 14 points on 5-10 shooting and Molina added 12 points and a game-high six assists.

St. Joseph's was led by junior forward Daryl Charles (Middletown, N.Y.) with a game-high 23 points, seven rebounds, six blocks and six steals. Laurent posted 20 points and eight boards.

The Rams will now host Skyline opponent Mount Saint Mary College on Saturday, January 25 at 1:00 p.m.  St. Joseph's will travel to Purchase College at noon on Saturday.