SCHENECTADY, N.Y. – SUNY-Polytechnic Institute (4-3) defeated Saint Joseph's College (3-4), 79-61, in the 2022 Sig Makofski Invitational Championship, hosted by Union College, on Sunday afternoon.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

The unfamiliar foes exchanged the lead four times in the first half and the Monks trailed 37-35 after grad Griffin Foley (Portland, Maine) hit a jumper with 1:45 before the break, but the Wildcats closed out the opening frame riding a 10-2 run to secure a 10-point (47-37) cushion heading into intermission.

Early in the second stanza, Saint Joseph's hit a rough patch in the shooting department and was 0-for-8 from the field before sophomore Teagan Hynes (York, Maine) connected on a three-pointer to make it a 55-42 game with 14:57 left.

St. Joe's remained withing striking distance and faced a 65-53 deficit after junior Camryn Yorke (Auburn, Maine) made a layup with 6:52 remaining, but SUNY-Poly claimed a game-high 20-point (73-53) advantage after posting an 8-0 run, which was capped with an LJ Randle jump shot at the 4:08 mark.

STATS OF THE GAME:

After recording a respectable 46.9% (15-32) shooting clip in the first half, the Monks shot just 16.7% (5-30) from the field and 12.5% (2-16) from three-point range in the second half…SUNY-Poly shot 51.6% (32-62) from the floor and held a 60-26 lead in points in the paint on the afternoon.

LEADERS – SAINT JOSEPH'S:

• Foley led the Monks with 18 points and added two rebounds and a pair of assists
• Freshman guard John Paul Frazier (York, Maine) added 12 points and a pair of boards
• Senior forward Drew Shea (Mount Desert Island, Maine) chipped in with five points, nine caroms, two assists, and a pair of blocked shots
• Senior forward Ashtyn Abbott (Farmingdale, Maine) contributed five points and eight rebounds

LEADERS – SUNY-POLY:

• Dylan Ernst tallied 19 points, eight rebounds, three blocked shots, and a pair of assists
• Jesse O'Dell was 8-for-12 from the field with 18 points and nine boards
• Randle added 11 points and five rebounds
• Mitch Kernizan netted 10 points with three rebounds and two assists

HISTORICALLY SPEAKING:

Today's contest was the first-ever between the Monks' and Wildcats' men's basketball programs.

NEXT!

Saint Joseph's will host Colby-Sawyer College in the 2022-23 Great Northeast Athletic Conference opener on Saturday at 3:00 PM.

ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM:

Justin Regis (Union)
Xavier Allen (SJU-LI)
Ashtyn Abbott (SJC)
Dylan Ernst (Poly)
MVP: Jesse O'Dell (Poly)

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