| 3/9/2003 5:00:14 PM
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PITTSFORD, N.Y. – Rochester Institute of Technology senior forward Mike Stanton scored 23 points and grabbed nine rebounds as the Tigers captured the ECAC Upstate Men's Basketball Tournament Championship with a 78-76 victory at Nazareth Sunday afternoon.
Stanton was one of three Tiger seniors in double-figures as Dan Cerro added 15 points, nine boards and five assists, while Nick Panepinto (Niagara Falls, N.Y./Niagara Catholic) scored 16 points including 3-for-5 beyond the three-point arc.
The victory gave RIT a 20-8 final record and head coach Bob McVean his sixth 20-win season and the school’s seventh, while RIT is perfect in ECAC title appearances taking their last championship game in 1993 when RIT defeated Hamilton 105-95.
The first half was a battle of the team's two strong senior offensive producers as the Tigers' Mike Stanton scored 12 first-half points on 5-for-8 shooting including two unusual three-point bombs, while Nazareth's counterpart Empire 8 Player of the Year Jimmy Evans matched Stanton with 13 also going 5-for-8 from the floor including 3-for-5 beyond the arc. Stanton scored 10 of RIT's first 14 points, while Evans had 13 of the Golden Flyers first 21 points.
Stanton’s 23 points, nine boards and two assists earned ECAC Upstate Tournament MVP honors, while Evans finished with 29 points, four steals, two assists and one block.
This battle emphasized the way all three prior meetings in 2002-03 shaped up in this evenly-contested rivalry. There were eight first-half ties and 11 lead changes, although Nazareth had built a six-point advantage at the 7:47 mark of the first half on a jumper by Jake Steck. RIT battled back on a layup and free throw by Luis Villalongo (Chicopee, Mass./Chicopee Comprehensive) and a pair of free throws by John Johnson (Hamburg, N.Y./Frontier Central) to take a 32-31 lead with 5:13 to go in the half.
The teams traded buckets for the remainder of the half and it looked as though Nazareth would carry the momentum into the lockerroom after a steal in the backcourt and 360-dunk by Lawrence Maroney with 35 seconds to go to tie the game for the eighth time. A late foul by Nazareth's Jake Steck with five seconds to go gave Sean Murphy (Buffalo, NY/Williamsville North) the chance to break the tie connecting on 1-of-2 free throws to take the 40-39 first-half lead.
While the first half was a battle of the two premier seniors on each squad and numerous lead changes, the second half was all RIT thanks to an early 10-2 run to open up the half sparked by another Tiger senior with six points from Nick Panepinto (Niagara Falls, N.Y./Niagara Catholic). The run helped the Tigers build a 50-41 advantage in the first two minutes of the half. RIT never relinquished the lead the second half.
However, Nazareth battled back with youth and veteran play as Maroney scored five points in the run on a layup and three-pointer, while Evans added four during the Naz comeback. Maroney finished with 21 points, 14 rebounds, four assists, two blocks and one steal.
RIT was able to regain the advantage after a pair of missed three-pointers by Evans and Maroney, when Albert White (Addison, N.Y./Notre Dame) connected on a layup with 11:59 remaining, 54-52. The teams traded baskets over the next five minutes, until Jake Steck cut the lead to 64-62 with 7:12 remaining in the game. RIT went on a 6-0 mini-run over the next minute on a three-pointer by Matt Borthwick (Highland Mills, N.Y./Monroe-Woodbury) and a three-point play by Panepinto to build an eight-point advantage 70-62 with 6:19 to go.
RIT led 76-69 with 1:26 remaining on a layup by John Johnson (Hamburg, N.Y./Frontier Central), but a pair of free throws by Fran Zablocki and a three-point play by Nazareth’s Evans cut the lead to two points, 76-74 with 52 seconds remaining.
Nazareth fouled on the next inbounds play putting Stanton on the line with 45 seconds to go and he made 1-of-2 to give the Tigers a 77-74 lead. On Nazareth’s next trip down the floor Jake Steck missed a layup and then fouled Stanton once again with 22 seconds and he made 1-of-2 again to build a four-point lead, 78-74.
Steck missed a three-pointer with five seconds to go, but the Golden Flyers got the back after a turnover by Johnson on the inbounds play as he launched it to midcourt, where Evans stole the ball and called timeout with two seconds to go.
Evans hit a layup in the lane on a feed by Steck with one second to go and the quick timeout gave Naz a chance to intercept the inbounds play. Coach McVean inserted Brent Pozzi (Rochester, NY/Gates Chili) to inbound the ball and he threw it off Maroney who was guarding the baseline as the clock expired.
