Men's Basketball | 2/17/2009 11:10:16 PM
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ROCHESTER, NY – Corey McAdam's buzzer-beating 3-pointer from 30-feet out lifted visiting Nazareth (11-12, 8-6 Empire 8) to a dramatic, 86-84 win over the RIT men's basketball team (17-7, 12-3 Empire 8) 80-72 on Tuesday evening at Clark Gym. Senior center
Mark Carson (Voorheesville, NY/Voorheesville) (Voorheesville, NY/Voorheesville) became the 21st player in the history of the Tiger men's basketball program to reach 1,000 career points.
Sophomore guard Nate Korinchak (Strongsville, OH/Strongsville) (Strongsville, OH/Strongsville) gave RIT its first lead of the second half with 2.9 seconds left, converting on a 3-point play. #Marcus Lowe (Anchorage, AK/Service)# (Anchorage, AK/Service) took a shot from the left baseline that was blocked by Nazareth's Ryan McAdam. The rebound went right to Korinchak under the basket. He put the ball in and was fouled on the play. He calmly made his free throw.
Nazareth inbounded the ball to Corey McAdam at his own foul line. He took the ball past mid-court and with Adam Sweet (Weedsport, NY/Weedsport) (Weedsport, NY/Weedsport) draped all over him, swished the 30-footer from the left side to keep Nazareth alive in the Empire 8 playoff race.
The game-winning shot spoiled Carson's milestone night. He hit the magic 1,000-point mark on a lay-up with 2:38 left. His made free throw to complete the 3-point play tied the game at 79. The senior center, who leads all of college basketball in rebounds per game (14.4), scored a career-high 31 points on 13-of-14 shooting from the free throw line, added 20 rebounds and blocked a career-best eight shots. It is his 21st double-double of the season.
Nazareth's win denied RIT Head Bob McVean his 400th victory at RIT for the second straight outing.
The Golden Flyers led by as many as eight in the second half.
Corey McAdam led Nazareth with 24 points, 20 coming in the second half. He also added eight assists and two steals. Jason Corletta scored 16 of his 21 points in the first half and added seven boards. Ryan McAdam finished with 20 points and six boards for the Golden Flyers.
Shawn Roe (Corning, NY/Corning East) (Corning, NY/Corning East) chipped in with 13 points, four rebounds and four assists for RIT, who still has an outside chance of finishing first in the Empire 8 Tournament next weekend. They need Nazareth to defeat Ithaca on Friday and then beat the Bombers themselves on Sunday.
Korinchak finished with 11 points, seven boards, six assists and three steals, while Lowe added 12 points on 5-of-8 shooting and five assists.
Nazareth shot 48 percent from the field, while RIT converted 42 percent of their shots. RIT out-rebounded Nazareth 43-33.
Nazareth led 40-39 after a wild first half that saw both teams at the best and their worst. RIT opened the game on a 14-4 run, while Nazareth responded with a 17-2 tear to go up 21-16 with 8:43 left. RIT scored the next six points then played back and forth for three minutes before Nazareth went on a run to lead by eight, 36-28 with 1:57 left. A three-point play by #Brendan Harder (Oneonta, NY/Oneonta)# (Oneonta, NY/Oneonta) and pair of 3-pointers by Roe ended the half on a positive note for RIT.
RIT leads the all-time series against Nazareth, 32-25. RIT defeated Nazareth, 94-81 on overtime on Dec. 6, while the Golden Flyers upended RIT 87-73 on Jan. 14.
The Tigers close out the regular season on Sunday, as they travel to Ithaca to play the Bombers at 2 p.m.
