Brooklyn, N.Y. - The SUNY Poly men's basketball team defeated the Colby-Sawyer Chargers by a score of 74-67 on day one of the Dr. Carol V. Decosta/Go 4 The Goal Tournament. Daimarr Miller led the way for the Wildcats with 22 points, while senior Cheickne Toure scored his 1,000th career point. The win lifts the Wildcats' season record to 4-4. 

HOW IT HAPPENED: 

SUNY Poly started strong with Cheickne Toure hitting a three and LaMarqus Merchant Jr. scoring a quick layup to make it 5-0. Merchant Jr. then added a fastbreak layup after a steal by Daimarr Miller, pushing the lead to 7-0. Colby Sawyer struggled early but got on the board with a jumper from Chaz Cullum, making it 10-2.

Colby Sawyer fought back midway, with Cullum and AJ Mutiganzi scoring to cut the lead to 14-6. However, SUNY Poly responded with three-pointers from Toure and William Scanlon, extending their lead to 23-15.

Despite a late push from Colby Sawyer, including free throws from Brady Rogers and a layup from Mutiganzi, SUNY Poly maintained control, with Merchant hitting a buzzer-beating three to make it 38-31 at the half.

The second half was a back-and-forth battle. Colby Sawyer closed the gap, tying the game at 40, but SUNY Poly regained the lead with a key three-pointer from Daimarr Miller. Colby Sawyer responded with Bryson Jenkins' three and AJ Mutiganzi's layup, briefly taking the lead at 45-44.

SUNY Poly held on, with Anthony Rose scoring a fastbreak layup to give them a 56-54 lead. They extended the lead to 65-57 after Miller's three-pointer. Colby Sawyer kept fighting, cutting the lead to 70-62, but SUNY Poly finished strong, securing the 74-67 win with key free throws.
 

Really proud of our guys tonight, said head coach Rob Schoener."We gave up an early double digit lead and found ourselves down with 10:00 to go, but guys stuck together, dug in on defense and got great shots. So cool to see Cheick get his 1000th point in front of family & friends."