BOXSCORE
FREDONIA, N.Y. --
Amir Billups (Buffalo) and
Tyrone Clark (Elmira) struck from far and near to lead Fredonia State past Elmira, 75-60, in men's basketball Tuesday at the Steele Hall Fieldhouse.
Billups connected on a 5 of 7 three-pointers, three coming in a span of four Blue Devil offensive possessions in the second half. Clark did his scoring from in close -- he had four dunks, including one off an alley-oop to start the second half to energize the crowd. Each finished with 21 points as the Blue Devils improved to 2-2.
Chris Cassidy (Colts Neck, N.J.) led Elmira with 16 points and Kurt Dutcher (Gaylord, Mich.) added 10 points and a team-high seven rebounds. The Soaring Eagles fell to 0-3.
Elmira led for most of the first half. Two free throws by Cassidy gave them their largest lead, 15-8. Fredonia State tied the game at 19-all on two free throws by
Matt Deboy (Salamanca) and a three-point basket by
John Kovach (Shoreham).
The teams were tied twice more and the lead changed hands three more times before the Blue Devils closed out the first half with a 7-0 run. Billups scored in the paint on a second-chance basket, then grabbed a defensive rebound and fed
Zack Edwards (Duanesburg) for a three-ball at the other end of the floor. The basket by Edwards put the Blue Devils up 34-32. He closed out the first-half scoring with a jumper following a defensive rebound by Clark off a second straight missed three pointer by Elmira's Josh Keys (Bel Air, Md.).
Elmira pulled within one point, 38-37, on a layup by Dutcher, and trailed by two, 51-49, on a three-pointer by Keys with 9:18 left in the game. The Blue Devils pulled away and led by no fewer than 10 points during the final four minutes.
The Blue Devils play their first of 18 SUNYAC games when they meet New Paltz in Steele Hall at 8 p.m. Friday. The Blue Devil and Hawk women meet at 6 p.m. in the first game of the doubleheader.
