Cortland (7-1) placed four scorers in double figures as it improved its record to 4-0 versus Empire 8 conference teams. Junior Dave Maggiacomo (Pleasant Valley/Arlington) scored 15 points, followed by junior Dave Jutton (Red Hook) with 14 points. Senior Frank Ranieri (Cicero/Cicero-North Syracuse) finished with 12 points and senior Simon Skrelja (Hastings-on-Hudson/Hastings) added 10 points, a career-high 15 rebounds and three blocked shots.
Jutton made 4-of-7 three-point attempts and Maggiacomo hit three shots from behind the arc. Ranieri recorded four assists and four rebounds.
Tim Bacon (Massena) led RIT (4-2) with 19 points and 11 rebounds, including seven offensive boards. He was the Tigers’ lone double-figure scorer. Barrett Zeinfeld (Tuscon, AZ/Catalina Foothills) scored eight points and Tyler Springer (Endwell/Maine-Endwell) handed out a game-high nine assists.
Cortland jumped out to an early 7-0 lead, but the RIT fought back to take a 10-9 lead and the game remained close for most of the first half. Skrelja scored five points during a 6-0 run that turned a 24-22 lead into a 30-22 margin with 2:23 left in the half, and the Red Dragons settled for a 32-28 halftime lead.
Cortland’s lead was 34-32 when Jutton nailed a three-pointer with 18:34 left to start the decisive run. Jutton and Maggiacomo each scored six points on two three-pointers during the spurt, which was capped by Skrelja’s layup with 10:07 left to give the Red Dragons a 57-35 advantage.
RIT clawed back to with 59-46 with 5:07 left, but failed to score on its next two possessions. Freshman Carson Niehoff (West Islip) made a pair of free throws with 4:14 left to extend Cortland’s lead to 15 points and the margin was at least 12 the rest of the way. Niehoff finished with six points, including 4-of-4 foul shooting.
Cortland is off until Jan. 4, when it will host Hartwick at 6 p.m. as the second half of a doubleheader with the women’s team.
SUNY Cortland vs Rochester Inst. of Tech. 12/13/05 7 p.m. at Rochester, NY (Clark Gym) SUNY CORTLAND 66, ROCHESTER INST. OF TECH. 52 SUNY CORTLAND (7-1) MAGGIACOMO, Dave 4-10 4-4 15; JUTTON, Dave 5-11 0-0 14; RANIERI, Frank 6-9 0-0 12; SKRELJA, Simon 4-11 2-7 10; NIEHOFF, Carson 1-5 4-4 6; HEADLEY, Rod 0-2 5-6 5; TAGGART, Scott 1-2 0-0 2; FISH, Derrick 1-2 0-0 2; SARGENT, Joe 0-0 0-0 0; MERRITT, Quentin 0-1 0-0 0; NALLS, Elbert 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 22-54 15-21 66. ROCHESTER INST. OF TECH. (4-2) BACON, Tim 8-13 3-6 19; ZEINFELD, Barrett 2-9 2-3 8; WHITWOOD, Rick 2-2 0-0 5; SNYDER, Fran 2-6 0-0 4; MARTIN, Drew 2-6 0-0 4; CARSON, Mark 2-2 0-0 4; SPRINGER, Tyler 2-5 0-0 4; HILL, Brian 1-2 1-1 3; BERRY, Nate 0-2 1-3 1; BEVILACQUA, Bob 0-2 0-0 0; BOCCIOLATT, Chris 0-1 0-0 0; HEMPFLING, Andrew 0-1 0-0 0; KOWALCZYK, Kris 0-3 0-0 0; ROY, Colin 0-3 0-0 0; HAMPTON, Rob 0-3 0-0 0. Totals 21-60 7-13 52. SUNY Cortland................. 32 34 - 66 Rochester Inst. of Tech....... 28 24 - 52 3-point goals-SUNY Cortland 7-18 (JUTTON, Dave 4-7; MAGGIACOMO, Dave 3-8; NIEHOFF, Carson 0-2; RANIERI, Frank 0-1), Rochester Inst. of Tech. 3-17 (ZEINFELD, Barrett 2-5; WHITWOOD, Rick 1-1; MARTIN, Drew 0-4; SPRINGER, Tyler 0-1; BEVILACQUA, Bob 0-1; KOWALCZYK, Kris 0-2; ROY, Colin 0-1; HAMPTON, Rob 0-1; SNYDER, Fran 0-1). Fouled out--SUNY Cortland-None, Rochester Inst. of Tech.-None. Rebounds-SUNY Cortland 37 (SKRELJA, Simon 15), Rochester Inst. of Tech. 41 (BACON, Tim 11). Assists-SUNY Cortland 13 (RANIERI, Frank 4), Rochester Inst. of Tech. 16 (SPRINGER, Tyler 9). Total fouls-SUNY Cortland 18, Rochester Inst. of Tech. 16. A-250