Men's Basketball | 1/26/2013 5:56:00 PM

Box Score

ROCHESTER, NY -- For the second straight day the RIT (6-11, 2-6 Liberty League) men's basketball team needed a second half comeback to come away with a win. Saturday, the Tigers erased a five point deficit to beat Bard College (4-13, 1-9 Liberty League) 64-57 in Liberty League action from Clark Gym. The win gives RIT Head Coach Bob McVean 499 for his career, one shy of the 500 plateau.

Junior Jameel Balenton (Syracuse, NY/Christian Brothers) led RIT with 20 points, five rebounds, two blocks and three steals. Eric Travis (Chicago,IL/Hinsdale South) added 12 points and seven rebounds, while freshman #J.P. Reagan# scored nine points for the Tigers who have now won two straight.

Chris McNaughton led Bard with 14 points, while Lamar Powell scored 12. Siondueh Burnette scored 10 for the Raptors who fall to 4-13 overall and 1-9 in the Liberty League.

The first half saw RIT fall behind by eight points thanks to some sharp shooting by the Raptors from behind the arc. Bard made 6-of-9 threes in the first half, shooting 60 percent overall.

RIT outscored Bard 7-0 over the final 2:27 taking a lead on a three pointer by Balenton. He fired a shot from just over half court that hit nothing but net as the buzzer sounded giving RIT a 31-30 halftime lead.

The Raptors took the lead back with 17:32 to play in the second half on a jumper by Burnette, giving Bard a 34-33 lead.

A three pointer by Ben Kane with 11:42 to play gave the Raptors a 43-40 lead.

Balenton's stuck a three pointer with 10:33 to play gave RIT a 44-43 lead.

A layup by Travis with 9:21 to play gave the Tigers their largest lead of the game of five points at 48-43.

Bard would not go away, taking a 51-48 lead with 5:24 to play on a jumper by Frank Stortini capping off an 8-0 run by the Raptors.

Two straight buckets by Travis gave the Tigers the lead back with 3:57 to play.

McNaughton's answered with a three pointer with 2:00 to play tying the game at 57-57 the sixth tie of the second half.

Desmond Scott (Murphy, TX/Plano East), who scored all eight of his points in the second half, drained a huge three pointer from the corner off an assist from Ronnie Canestro (Buffalo, NY/Nichols School) giving the Tigers a 60-57 lead with 1:41 to play in regulation.

The Raptors foulde RIT down the stretch, but Balenton went 4-for-4 from the line down the stretch to secure the win for the Tigers.

RIT shot 45.1 percent from the floor on 23-of-51 shooting. The Tigers made 8-of-20 three pointers, and went 10-of-14 from the foul line. RIT held a 31-21 rebounding edge and scored and scored 16 points off of 15 Bard turnovers.

The Tigers return to action on Tuesday, Jan. 29 when they travel to Schenectady to take Union College in Liberty League action beginning at 8 pm.