The Le Moyne Dolphins, a Division II basketball program, held several double-digit leads throughout the game, but the Bearcats fought back each time, including tying the game at 45 with 12:22 left on a Robi Davidson (Tel Aviv, Israel/Beverly Hills) three-pointer.
Following a timeout, the Dolphins immediately went on a 19-6 run during the next six minutes to build a 64-51 advantage.
Baruch fought back to get as close as 67-62 with 1:35 left on a Cheick Fadika (Abidjan, Ivory Coast/Petit) layup, but Tournament MVP Corey Smith (Gouverneur, NY/Gouverneur) nailed a killer three-pointer from the deep corner to go up, 70-62.
Baruch controlled the boards with a 46-39 advantage, including 20-6 margin on the offensive end. They also played well in winning points in the paint (24-20), second-chance points (13-4), and bench scoring (25-12).
Le Moyne notched only 19 field goals the entire game, but solid three-point shooting (8-17) and enough free throws (26-37) proved to be the difference.
Fadika and Louie Karis (Brooklyn, NY/Xaverian) were named to the All Tournament Team. Davidson led all Bearcat scorers in the game with 16 points (5-12, 3FG).
Baruch will next play on Wednesday, January 4, with a non-conference road game at SUNY-New Paltz. Tip off is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.
LE MOYNE 72, BARUCH 65 BARUCH (10-3) Davidson, Robi 5-12 1-3 16; Karis, Louie 6-17 0-2 14; Fadika, Cheick 5-13 2-5 12; Emengo, Carl 1-8 5-6 7; Kunkel, George 3-4 1-3 7; Baptiste, Anwar 1-7 3-4 5; Williams, Chris 1-5 0-0 2; Hepworth, Tim 1-2 0-0 2; Serrano, Adrian 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 23-68 12-23 65. LE MOYNE (5-5) Sid Pond 5-5 6-9 16; Jason Holmes 3-7 7-9 15; Corey Smith 4-9 2-2 14; Matt Cooper 3-5 2-3 8; Damani Corbin 1-6 5-8 7; Phil Schoff 1-3 2-4 5; Stefan Horbanczuk 2-5 0-0 5; Luke Postorino 0-2 2-2 2; Dan Cromwell 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 19-43 26-37 72. Baruch........................ 28 37 - 65 Le Moyne...................... 36 36 - 72 3-point goals-Baruch 7-29 (Davidson, Robi 5-12; Karis, Louie 2-8; Emengo, Carl 0-4; Baptiste, Anwar 0-1; Williams, Chris 0-3; Fadika, Cheick 0-1), Le Moyne 8-17 (Corey Smith 4-8; Jason Holmes 2-3; Stefan Horbanczuk 1-3; Phil Schoff 1-1; Luke Postorino 0-2). Fouled out--Baruch-Williams, Chris, Le Moyne-None. Rebounds-Baruch 46 (Fadika, Cheick 12), Le Moyne 39 (Sid Pond 7). Assists-Baruch 14 (Davidson, Robi 4), Le Moyne 17 (Jason Holmes 4; Corey Smith 4). Total fouls-Baruch 25, Le Moyne 19. A-472