MORRISVILLE, N.Y. – The Morrisville State College men's basketball team used a strong shooting second half to hand visiting Cazenovia College the 80-68 North Eastern Athletic Conference (NEAC) action Wednesday night in Morrisville.
With the win, Morrisville State improves to 7-3 overall on the season, 4-1 in conference play. Cazenovia drops to 1-11 overall, 1-4 in NEAC action.
Three registered double figures for the hosts, including junior Trent Ward (Auburn, N.Y.) who led the way with 20 points and three assists. Freshman Kevin Dennis (Bronx, N.Y.) also posted 20, adding nine rebounds to his tallies on the night.
Kenny Bonaparte (Soundview, N.Y.) recorded 17, to go along with three assists, while teammate Jordan Hoose (Hudson, N.Y.) collected a game high 11 rebounds to lead Morrisville State to the 40-33 advantage on the glass.
Cazenovia had four post double digits in the efforts, including Mike Deluca who netted a team high 15 points. Will Thompson added 14 and a team high nine rebounds, while teammates Jaceary Menes and Thomas Burch registered 13 and 10, respectively.
The Wildcats jumped out to an early six point lead, before Morrisville State went on a 7-0 run to claim their first lead of the contest.
Cazenovia regained the five point lead with a six point spurt of their own, but then momentum swung in favor of the hosts who put together a 10-0 run over the ensuing four minutes to reclaim the advantage.
Much like the first outing earlier in the season, both teams played to a back and forth physical battle for the remainder of the half, but it was Cazenovia who closed out the period with the final six points to take the 33-32 lead into the locker room at the break.
Morrisville State opened the second half with a 12-2 run for the 10-point lead nearly three minutes in, before Cazenovia clawed their way back to within four at the 15 minute mark.
A 16-4 run by the Mustangs saw the hosts reach a double digit lead, one that they maintained and increased to as many as 20 late in the period and used to collect the conference win and series sweep.
Morrisville State collected 24 points off 17 Cazenovia turnovers, and held the slight advantage in second chance points, 19-10, on the night.
The Mustangs return to the court Saturday, traveling to SUNY Canton for a non-league contest with the Roos.
Morrisville State College's curricula are enriched with applied learning and pave the way for opportunity at both the Morrisville and Norwich campuses. An action-oriented, interactive learning lab, the college is a national leader in technology and has been lauded for its exemplary, innovative and effective community service programs.
The college was ranked among the Best Regional Colleges in the North by U.S. News and World Report Best Colleges 2016 issue and was also recognized in the Top Public Schools, Regional Colleges North in the 2016 Best Colleges rankings. For more information about Morrisville State College, visit www.morrisville.edu.
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