Hamilton, N.Y. — The SUNY Poly men's basketball team battled through a fast-paced, physical contest on Thursday night, outlasting the Hamilton College Continentals 78–72. With the win, the Wildcats improved their record to 5-2 on the season.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
Both teams opened the night searching for an offensive rhythm, trading early misses before Hamilton struck first. After a pair of free throws by Nate Raub at 19:12, the Continentals grabbed a 2–0 lead. SUNY Poly answered quickly — Kamryn Comstock powered in a layup at 18:48, tying the game 2–2.
Hamilton responded with a brief surge behind Matthew Rideout, whose early five points helped push the visitors ahead 7–2. But SUNY Poly's transition game kicked in moments later. The Wildcats' bench delivered a crucial spark at the 15-minute mark. After Hamilton stretched the lead to 13–7, Steven Dowdall buried a three off a Brian Bonin assist, and Anthony Rose followed with another triple to bring SUNY Poly within 13–10. Rose drilled two more threes to pull Poly even at 16–16.
Hamilton steadied itself with inside scoring, but Poly's depth continued to shine. Oumaru Hydara scored in traffic to knot the score at 19–19, and Comstock followed with back-to-back finishes as the Wildcats took their first lead, 23–19.
The Continentals countered again, and the teams traded blows in a high-tempo stretch that saw transition buckets, blocks on both ends, and multiple lead changes. Rose continued to carve up Hamilton's defense, notching back to back fastbreak baskets, pushing the Wildcats ahead 27–21.
As the half tightened, William Scanlon drilled a three off a Samuels feed to widen the gap to 33–24, but Hamilton stormed back with a 6–0 run. The final minute belonged to the Wildcats as Dowdall buried a three with a minute left, and Rose punctuated the half with a three at the buzzer, sending SUNY Poly into the break up 43–37.
SUNY Poly came out of halftime determined to keep momentum. After a rugged start where both teams failed to convert at the rim, Comstock steadied the Wildcats by sinking two free throws at 18:42 to extend the lead to eight, 45–37.
Moments later, Scanlon splashed a three off a Rose assist, and Rose himself sliced to the basket for a layup at 17:33, pushing the lead to 50–39
Hamilton refused to go away, leaning heavily on Rideout, whose mid-range jumper cut the lead to 45–39 and later rallied the Continentals back within single digits. But each time the visitors made a push, SUNY Poly answered. Comstock powered in a layup at 16:30, and Rose added another finish at 15:31 to keep the Wildcats in control at 54–43.
That lead quickly shrank again as Hamilton capitalized on turnovers and a three from Cain, pulling within 59–56 at 11:35 after a fastbreak dunk. A tense, back-and-forth stretch followed. With Poly's offense stalling, Rideout tied the game 58–58 on a tip-in at 10:23.
But as they had all night, the Wildcats hit big shots exactly when they needed them.
Rose buried a clutch corner three at 9:33, and after a chaotic sequence featuring technical fouls on both sides, Comstock calmly knocked down two free throws to extend the lead to 64–58.
Hamilton mounted one final push as Rideout scored five straight points to cut the game to 64–63, and Reese gave the Continentals a 65–64 lead at 6:52, their first advantage of the half. From that point on, SUNY Poly out-executed Hamilton in crunch time.
After a pair of defensive stands, Comstock delivered a go-ahead dunk at 2:25 off a perfect feed from Hydara, putting Poly back in front 71–69. Hydara would soon follow with one of the biggest shots of the night — a deep three with 29 seconds remaining, giving the Wildcats a 74–72 advantage.
Hamilton was forced to foul, and SUNY Poly sealed the win at the free-throw line. Comstock drained two at 16 seconds to push the lead to four, and Hydara iced it with two more at the stripe with five seconds left. A final Hamilton heave missed, and Hydara secured the rebound as the Wildcats clinched a 78–72 victory.
Really proud of our guys tonight!, said head coach Rob Schoener. "To be in control for so much of the game and then be down a point with five minutes to go…our guys just stuck together and dug in. Big-time shot by Oumaru to give us the lead for good!"
