Grabowski’s late basket starts weekend sweep for Geneseo

Courtesy: Geneseo Athletics

The SUNY Geneseo men’s basketball team remained unbeaten in SUNYAC play on Friday night as they defeated New Paltz, 77-75 behind a game-winning three from junior forward Raymond Grabowski with 2.8 seconds remaining.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Knights came out firing in the first half as they quickly jumped ahead 11-4 after Jackson Gonseth converted a three-point play just over three minutes into the action. Later in the period, junior guard Harrison Dignan found Terrance Nichols for an open jump shot to give the Knights a double-digit lead at 25-14.
• Geneseo went on to lead by as many as 19 points at 35-16 with seven minutes left in the half, but the Hawks started to find a rhythm offensively and ended up only down 10 points at halftime with a score of 45-35.
• New Paltz kept their momentum going in the second half and kept the game within reach heading down to the final minutes of play. With 5:36 on the clock, the Hawks cut the Knights advantage to just one score at 69-66. 
• Geneseo managed to maintain their lead until the final minute, when back-to-back buckets from New Paltz and a costly turnover by Knights gave the Hawks the lead at 75-74 with 18 seconds left to play. After calling a timeout, Geneseo got the ball into the hands of Dignan who drove towards the hoop and kicked it out to Grabowski in the corner who drained the eventual game-winner with 2.8 seconds left.
• The Knights defense held strong on the final possession and did not allow New Paltz to get a shot off after calling a timeout at halfcourt with 1.9 seconds on the clock. The win improved Geneseo to 6-4 on the season and 4-0 in SUNYAC play.

QUICK FACTS

• Dignan posted a double-double on 11 assists and 10 points, while senior forward Michael Gannon tallied a team-high 26 points.
• The Hawks lead at 75-74 with 18 seconds left marked their first advantage of the game since the 18:50 mark in the first half when New Paltz led 4-3.
• The Knights defeated Oneonta on Saturday 91-68 behind Dignan’s career-high 12 assists.