By: by Matt Palisin, Asst. SID
BOXSCORE FREDONIA, N.Y. -- The Fredonia State men's basketball team defeated Geneseo 62-50 as the Blue Devils celebrated Senior Night on Saturday evening. The Devils used a strong defensive performance by senior
Julius Bryant and an eight-minute stretch – the final four minutes of the first half and first four minutes of the second half – to pad a lead that proved to be insurmountable.
Bryant produced a double-double with 10 points and 11 boards. He was dominant on the defensive end, with 9 defensive rebounds, 5 blocked shots and 3 steals.
Up 21-19 with 4:11 left in the first, the Devils would go on an 18-0 run to close out the first half and run through the 16:07 mark of the second half.
The rally started as
Jonathan Herrera and Bryant teamed up on an alley oop. The Devils seized that momentum all the way to a 39-19 lead.
Damien Goodwin II was key in the spurt, nailing a pair of threes, converting a three-point play and adding another layup.
Midway through the run, the Devils also received a buzzer-beating three pointer to close out the half from Herrera. At that point, they sported a 30-19 lead before opening the second half with nine straight points.
The Knights eventually got back on track, scoring field goals on three consecutive possessions to make it 41-26. Herrera responded with a momentum-killing long three to put the Devils back up by eighteen, 44-26.
Geneseo mounted another rally late, pulling within eight points. With just over six minutes remaining, the Devils led 52-32. Geneseo went on a 14-2 run to make it 54-46 with 1:30 left to play. The Devils closed out the game as three different players would combine to connect on all eight free-throw attempts.
Leonard Smith led all scorers with 19 points, and added 6 rebounds. Herrera had 13 points – including four three-pointers -- and Goodwin finished with 12 points.
Dalton Kashmer had 8 points.
Three different players had 7 points apiece for Geneseo.
The Devils held a 39-38 rebounding advantage.
The Devils are back in Steele Hall on Tuesday evening as they play host to Buffalo State.
