Utica, N.Y. — The SUNY Poly men's basketball team delivered a wire-to-wire defensive clinic on Tuesday night, defeating St. Lawrence 64–51 at home. The win pushes the Wildcats to a season record of 4-2.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
Both teams opened the night searching for offensive rhythm. After early misses on each end, St. Lawrence broke the ice with a transition three from Colton Suriano at the 18:58 mark. SUNY Poly answered quickly, as Kamryn Comstock powered through the lane for a pair of early layups, tying the score at 4–4.
The Wildcats began to settle in defensively, forcing multiple turnovers from the Saints. Comstock and Alec Bartone sparked Poly's interior scoring — Bartone converting a layup through contact and knocking down the ensuing free throw to give the Wildcats their first lead, 7–5. Moments later, William Scanlon drilled a three off a Comstock assist, pushing the advantage to 10–8.
SUNY Poly continued to build momentum with strong contributions off the bench. Anthony Rose tipped in his own miss to make it 12–8, and the Wildcats' defensive pressure created transition opportunities. Scanlon drilled another three at the 8:26 mark, stretching the lead to 19–11, and Brian Bonin scored in transition moments later as SUNY Poly surged ahead 21–11.
The Wildcats' defense dominated the middle portion of the half, highlighted by blocks from Comstock, Bartone, and Rose. Scanlon hit his third three-pointer of the half with 4:54 remaining, extending the lead to 26–13. St. Lawrence managed a late push with buckets from Connor Parkes and Adam Dudzinski, but SUNY Poly maintained control and carried a 26–18 lead into the break.
SUNY Poly wasted no time reasserting control in the second half. Anthony Rose scored back-to-back baskets — first a smooth layup, then a two-handed dunk set up by Comstock — pushing the Wildcats to a 30–20 advantage. Comstock added a driving layup moments later, and Rose continued attacking the rim, finishing another layup at 16:46 to make it 34–20.
The Saints attempted to respond behind Dudzinski and Dan Anderson, but every run was met with a Wildcat answer. Bartone added a layup off a Bonin feed to rebuild a 12-point cushion, and Rose converted a three-point play to put SUNY Poly ahead 39–26 with 13:13 remaining.
Free throws played a key role down the stretch, as the Wildcats repeatedly drew contact inside. Comstock knocked down a pair at the line to extend the lead to 43–29, and Marquis Samuels finished a strong drive to push the margin to 47–32 with under nine minutes to go.
St. Lawrence fought to stay in the game as Downs and Phelan added buckets and free throws, but SUNY Poly's interior dominance continued. Comstock and Rose combined for several more finishes at the rim, including another Rose dunk at 6:10 that put the Wildcats up 51–38.
Poly closed the game out at the free-throw line. Comstock went 6-for-6 in the final two minutes, and Bonin added a pair of free throws to seal the win. The Wildcats' defense held St. Lawrence to just 51 points, locking in a decisive 64–51 victory.
I'm so proud of the competitiveness our guys showed tonight," said head coach Rob Scoener. "We want to hang our hat on our defense and our effort on the glass, and tonight we did that."
