SCHENECTADY, N.Y.—Jim Rahill’s free throw with 18:39 left broke a 30-30 tie and started Union on a 21-10 run that helped the Dutchmen win their record-setting third consecutive Sig Makofski / Union College Basketball Invitational championship as the Garnet defeated Wesleyan, 67-54, at the Viniar Athletic Center.
The victory, the third-straight for the Dutchmen, evened Union’s record at 5-5 while the Cardinals, who saw their eight-game win streak come to an end, dipped to 9-4.
Freshman forward Charles Stone scored 23 points and pulled down 17 rebounds to lead Connecticut College over St. Joseph of Vermont, 78-61, in the consolation game.
Union’s game-deciding run featured a balanced attack as six Dutchmen contributed points. Junior guards Chris Murphy and John Cagianello led the charge with five points each while Rahill, freshman forward Kyle Grimm and senior forward Devon Bruce all had three points. Senior guard T.J. Ramey’s layup with 9:10 remaining closed out the spree, which left the Dutchmen with a 51-40 advantage.
Robert Kelly’s layup off Tim Holland’s feed brought the Cardinals back to within eight, 51-43 with 8:09 showing, but Union took off on another run that saw it capture its biggest margin of the game, 66-50, with 1:12 on the clock. Once again Union’s offense was balanced as five Dutchmen put points on the board with sophomore guard Joe Mackey leading the way with five points. Bruce, who was named the event’s Most Valuable Player, put the icing on the run…and the game…with a slam dunk.
Bruce led the Dutchmen with 14 points while All-Tournament team selections Cagianello and Mackey scored 13 and 11 points, respectively. Rahill also finished in double digits for Union as he knocked down 10 markers.
Kelly and Nick Pelletier, who were both named to the All-Tournament team, scored 19 and 13 points, respectively.
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Stone, who was named to the All-Tournament team, had 11 points and 13 boards at the half helping the 2-9 Camels take a 34-28 lead into the break. Jeff Young contributed 13 points while Zarrette Rogers added 11 for the Camels.
Brandon Sowers, who hit just one of 11 shots in St. Joseph’s 85-32 loss to Union in the opening round, connected on all 10 of his field goals, including three from three-point range, to finish with 23 points. Ian Nimblett scored 18 for the 2-9 Saints.
ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM—Charles Stone (Conn College), Robert Kelly (Wesleyan), Nick Pelletier (Wesleyan), John Cagianello (Union), Joe Mackey (Union). MVP—Devon Bruce (Union)
UNION COLLEGE DUTCHMEN 67, WESLEYAN 54 WESMEN1 (9-4) Robert Kelly 6-11 6-8 18; Nick Pelletier 6-9 1-2 13; Jimmy Shepherd 3-5 0-0 9; Tim Holland 2-15 3-6 7; Will Griffin 1-2 2-4 4; Blake Curry 1-7 0-1 3; Doug Rubenstein 0-3 0-0 0; Mike Raymond 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 19-53 12-21 54. UNION COLLEGE DUTCHMEN (5-5) Devon Bruce 5-6 2-4 14; John Cagianello 2-9 9-9 13; Joe Mackey 4-5 1-2 11; James Rahill 4-10 1-1 10; T.J. Ramey 3-5 2-2 9; Chris Murphy 1-2 2-2 5; Kyle Grimm 1-5 0-0 3; Robert Futia 0-1 0-0 0; Delon McAllister 0-1 0-0 0; Alex Plaisted 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 20-45 19-24 67. WESMEN1....................... 28 26 - 54 Union College Dutchmen........ 28 39 - 67 3-point goals-WESMEN1 4-17 (Jimmy Shepherd 3-4; Blake Curry 1-4; Tim Holland 0-7; Doug Rubenstein 0-1; Mike Raymond 0-1), Union College Dutchmen 8-15 (Joe Mackey 2-3; Devon Bruce 2-2; James Rahill 1-1; T.J. Ramey 1-3; Chris Murphy 1-2; Kyle Grimm 1-1; Robert Futia 0-1; John Cagianello 0-2). Fouled out--WESMEN1-None, Union College Dutchmen-Devon Bruce; James Rahill. Rebounds-WESMEN1 37 (Tim Holland 11), Union College Dutchmen 29 (Kyle Grimm 9). Assists-WESMEN1 9 (Tim Holland 3; Robert Kelly 3), Union College Dutchmen 14 (Joe Mackey 4). Total fouls-WESMEN1 18, Union College Dutchmen 22. A-100 Championship game of the 21st annual Sig Makofski/Union College Invitational ********************************************** CONN vs St. Joseph 1/8/05 1:00 at Schenectady,Ny At Schenectady,Ny CONN 78, ST. JOSEPH 61 CONN (2-7) Charles Stone 8-16 7-9 23; Jeff Young 5-10 0-0 13; Zarrette Rogers 3-10 4-4 11; Zak Harris 4-7 0-0 8; Malik Brown 2-4 1-2 7; Jahkeen Washington 3-8 0-0 6; Sokol Zejnullahu 0-1 5-6 5; Gabe Patton 1-4 2-4 4; Derek Kelly 0-1 1-2 1; Danny Melzer 0-2 0-0 0; David Greenidge 0-1 0-0 0; Gabe Bluestone 0-1 0-0 0; Christian Mosley 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 26-66 20-27 78. ST. JOSEPH (2-9) Brandon Sowers 10-10 0-0 23; Ian Nimblett 7-14 4-5 18; Paul Dixon 2-13 4-4 8; Wesley Bell 2-6 1-4 6; James Madgwick 0-2 2-4 2; James Hughes 1-5 0-0 2; Nick Sawyer 1-7 0-0 2; Courtney Lee 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 23-58 11-17 61. CONN.......................... 34 44 - 78 St. Joseph.................... 28 33 - 61 3-point goals-CONN 6-17 (Jeff Young 3-7; Malik Brown 2-3; Zarrette Rogers 1-4; Gabe Patton 0-1; Danny Melzer 0-1; Christian Mosley 0-1), St. Joseph 4-14 (Brandon Sowers 3-3; Wesley Bell 1-2; Paul Dixon 0-5; James Hughes 0-3; Courtney Lee 0-1). Fouled out--CONN-None, St. Joseph-None. Rebounds-CONN 49 (Charles Stone 17), St. Joseph 34 (Wesley Bell 7). Assists-CONN 14 (Jahkeen Washington 5), St. Joseph 8 (Paul Dixon 4). Total fouls-CONN 13, St. Joseph 18. A-1