BUFFALO, NY -- The RIT (3-6) men's basketball team erased an eight-point deficit inside the last minute of regulation to pull out a thrilling 77-76 win at D'Youville College (4-5) Wednesday afternoon. Senior Marcell Davis (Buffalo, NY/St. Joseph's Institute) converted an old-fashioned 3-point play with four seconds remaining to complete the comeback and give the Tigers the win.

"We showed a lot of grit and determination today, especially in the last minute," said RIT head coach Bob McVean. "It was a great learning experience for us and it proves if you stay with it, good things will happen. This is something to build on heading into a big Liberty League weekend."

D'Youville's Devon Darrell gave the Spartans a 76-68 lead on a pair of free throws with 58 seconds to play in regulation. Jaymee Rosser (Newark, NY/Newark) pulled RIT to within five points on his 3-pointer with 53 seconds to play, and after a D'Youville miss, Rosser drained his second straight shot from long distance, cutting the Spartans lead to 76-74 with 12 seconds to play. 

D'Youville turned the ball over on its next possession leading to the Davis bucket. He was fouled on the play and converted the go-ahead free throw with four seconds to play to give the Tigers a one-point lead. The Spartans turned the ball over as time ran out to secure the 77-76 win for RIT.

Rosser led the Tigers with 24 points, four rebounds and five assists. Davis finished with 15 points and had three steals, while Chuck Okehie (Owings Mills, MD/McDonogh) tallied 10 points. Matt Anderson (Bennington, VT/Mt. Anthony Union) added nine points, while Chase Lewis (Ewing, NJ/Princeton Day School) dished out six assists. Master Radford (Buffalo, NY/Bishop Timon St. Jude) chipped in with six points and a season-high three blocks.

RIT shot 50.0 percent from the floor on 31-of-62 shooting, including 64.3 percent in the second half. RIT made just 6-of-17 from beyond the arc, and made 9-of-13 from the foul line.

Jer VanDuluitgaarden led D'Youville with 26 points, while Darrell finished with 24 points for the Spartans, who shot 48.1 percent from the floor.  

D'Youville led 35-30 at halftime. The Tigers shot 38.2 percent from the floor on 13-of-34 shooting. Rosser led the Tigers with 12 points, three rebounds and three assists in the opening half. Devon Camel led D'Youville with 17 points, while VanDuluitgaarden added 13 points for the Spartans. 

RIT tallied 44 points in the paint, and 24 points off of turnovers. The win snaps a five-game losing skid by the Tigers. RIT returns to Liberty League action on Friday, January 4 at Hobart College beginning at 7 p.m.