UTICA, NY -- Three Tigers scored in double figures led by
Miguel Lopez (Guaynabo, Puerto Rico/St. Francis) and his career-high 22 points, as the RIT (4-4) men's basketball team defeated SUNY Polytechnic Institute 74-55 on Saturday afternoon. The win snapped a two-game losing streak by the Tigers who close out the 2015 calendar year with a win.
RIT shot 54.1 percent from the floor on 33-of-61 shooting. The Tigers went 5-of-15 from behind the arc, and went 3-of-10 from the foul line. Lopez led with 22 on 10-of-16 shooting.
Mitch Herman (Webster, NY/Webster Schroeder) added 14 points on 5-of-8 shooting, including four 3-pointers and added six rebounds.
Kamron Davis (Syracuse, NY/Nottingham) added 12 points and grabbed five rebounds.
Thomas Lucas led SUNY Poly with 11 points, while Malik Johnson and Tyler Taverne each scored 10 points for the Wildcats, who shot 43.1 percent from the floor.
RIT trailed only briefly in the first half, closing out the half on a 19-6 run, leading 35-23 at the break. Johnson gave SUNY Poly an 17-16 lead on his bucket with 9:11 to play in the half. The Tigers took the lead back on their next possession on a bucket from Davis. That sparked an 8-0 spurt by RIT, as they opening up a 24-17 lead in a jumper by Lopez with 5:47 to play in the half. Lopez scored six of the eight points in the run for the Tigers.
The Tigers led by as many as 23 points in the second half, as they continued their hot shooting from the floor.
Wyatt Smith (Rochester, NY/Irondequoit) gave RIT a 54-31 lead on his bucket with 11:33 to play in the second half. SUNY Poly answered with a 13-1 run, cutting the RIT lead to 55-44 on a basket by Peyton Griffiths with 8:21 to play.
RIT would weather the run by the Wildcats and pull away for the 19-point win. RIT held a 32-30 rebounding edge, tallying 14 second-chance points. The Tigers took advantage of 19 SUNY Poly turnovers, tallying 20 points.
The Tigers return to action on Jan. 2 when RIT hosts Brock Univesity at 2 p.m. in an exhibtion game.
