ROCHESTER, NY – The RIT (7-4, 2-1 Liberty League) men's basketball team won its second straight game with a 70-68 victory over St. Lawrence (6-5, 1-2 Liberty League) on Friday evening. Junior JP Reagan (Cortland, NY/Cortland) led RIT with 17 points, as a three quarter court heave by the Saints fell just shortat the buzzer. RIT is now 28-30 all time versus the Saints.

RIT shot 44.6 percent from the floor on 25-of-56 shooting. The Tigers made 5-of-20 from behind the arc, and went 15-of-26 from the foul line. Reagan led RIT with 17 points on 6-of-14 shooting, including a pair of 3-pointers while grabbing six rebounds and dishing out four assists. Kamron Davis (Syracuse, NY/Nottingham) scored 11 points and had a team high seven rebounds.

RIT led by as many as 10 points in the first half, opening up an 18-8 lead on a Kevin Drain (Baldwinsville, NY/C.W. Baker) layup at the 12:25 mark. RIT shot 43.2 percent from the floor in the first half. Davis led the Tigers with seven points and five rebounds.

St. Lawrence responded with a 22-10 run over an 8:05 span, taking a 30-28 lead on a jumper by Kyle Kobis with 4:20 to play in the half. Both teams would exchange buckets down the stretch, finishing the half tied 36-36. St. Lawrence shot 52.0 percent from the floor in the first half led by Willie Zachery who tallied 12 points.

The Saints scored the first five points of the second half, taking a 41-36 lead on 3-pointer by Riley Nacierio with 19:18 to play. The Saints would extend its lead to six points when Kieran Miller scored at the 14:28 mark giving the Saints a 53-47 edge.

RIT responded with a 6-0 run, tying the score at 53-53 on a layup by Miguel Lopez (Guaynabo, Puerto Rico/St. Francis) with 12:08 to play off an assist from AJ Horde (Oak Park, MI/University of Detroit Jesuit). The Tigers outscored the Saints 9-4 midway through the second half, taking a 62-57 lead on a made free throw by Lopez with 7:25 to play. RIT extended its lead to 67-60 with 3:57 to play on a 3-pointer by Matt Gundrum (East Meadow, NY/East Meadow). Horde drove the baseline and spotted Gundrum in the corner. Gundrum caught and fired a long bomb that hit nothing but nylon.

Leondre Simmons laid the ball in with 3:11 to play, pulling the Saints to within 3:11 to play in regulation. After a missed RIT shot, Zachery came down on St. Lawrence's next possession and drained a 3-pointer, making it a 67-65 RIT lead. A layup by Reagan with 38 seconds to play made it a two possession game.

After a made free throw by Reagan with 1.5 seconds to play, Kyle Kobis launched a desperation heave from his own 3-point line that barely missed off the front iron giving RIT the two-point win.

RIT held a 38-24 rebounding edge. The Tigers scored 13 points off of 15 offensive rebounds. RIT tallied 34 points in the paint and tallied 15 points off of 16 St. Lawrence turnovers.
 
The Tigers return to action on Saturday, Jan. 10 when the Tigers host Clarkson University at 4 p.m. on the floor of Clark Gym.