Men's Basketball | 2/4/2012 4:32:00 PM

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CANTON, NY -- A second half rally by the the RIT (6-14, 2-9 Liberty League) men's basketball team came up short, as the Tigers fell to St. Lawrence 80-70 in Liberty League action from Canton, N.Y. on Saturday afternoon.

RIT trailed by as many as 15 points in the first half, but a thee pointer by Ronnie Canestro (Buffalo, NY/Nichols School) as time ran out cut the Saints lead to 11 points.

St. Lawrence opened the second half with a 16-5 run, taking a 22 point lead at the 15:15 mark.

A quick 8-0 run by the Tigers cut the Saints lead back down to 14 points. Justin Heisig (Levittown, NY/Island Trees), who scored 20 of his game-high 24 points in the second half, scored five of RIT's eight points in the run.

Canestro's layup with 8:18 to play cut the St. Lawrence lead down to eight points at 59-51, caping off a 16-5 run by the Tigers.

Over the final 4:24, RIT got the Saints lead down to seven points, but could get no closer.

Heisig finished with 24 points on 9-of-13 shooting. Brendan Harder (Oneonta, NY/Oneonta) finished with 19 points, including 10 points in the second half. Canestro added 14 points, while Desmond Scott (Murphy, TX/Plano East) finished with eight assists and five rebounds.

RIT shot 45.2 percent from the floor on 28-of-62 shooting. The Tigers shot 53.1 percent in the second half, including five three pointers.

The Tigers returns to action on Friday, Feb. 10 when they host Rensselaer at 8 pm at Clark Gym.