The Saints marched to a 23-11 lead early in the opening half, but Brockport capitalized on 20 St. Lawrence turnovers in the half to spark an 11-5 surge, cutting the deficit to 28-22, and went into intermission trailing by four.
The Saints out shot the Golden Eagles 52.4-to-28.6 from the field in the first half, and held a 25-9 edge on the boards, but Brockport won the turnover battle, 20-5.
SUNY Brockport continued to chip away at the St. Lawrence lead in the second half, and took their first lead of the half, 61-60, on a pair of Dan Rubertone free throws with less than 5:30 remaining. Just seconds later, Jerry Cheves connected on a three-pointer to extend the Golden Eagle lead to 64-60.
After trading baskets, Tyler Wright's jumper pulled the Saints to within two, and Ben Augliano scored on the fast break to knot the score at 66-66, with Augliano stepping to the free throw line to complete a three point play, with the potential to give the Saints a one-point advantage. The Golden Eagles rebounded the errant free throw attempt to preserve the tie score.
Maldonado connected on a 10-footer with 3:05 remaining to give SUNY Brockport a lead they would not relinquish, and Cheves followed with a lay-up, to extend the lead to 70-66. Wright's free throws pulled the Saints back to within two, but the Golden Eagles snared three offensive caroms on the next possession, before a Ben Bellucci put back restored the four-point margin.
An Augliano dunk pulled St. Lawrence to within 74-72 with 40 seconds remaining, but the Golden Eagles hit three of their final four free throws to hold a three-point lead, 77-74 with nine second's remaining, and Tyler Shaver's potential game-tying three-pointer rattled off the front of the rim, preserving Brockport's victory
The Saints out rebounded Brockport 33-31, but the Golden Eagles held on 16-13 edge on the offensive boards. St. Lawrence turned the ball over 32 times in the contest, while the Golden Eagles limited their own turnovers to 16.
Cheves connected on six three-pointers to pace the Golden Eagle offense with 25 points, including a 16-point outburst in the second half. Bellucci poured in 15 points, while Maldonado chipped in 11 points.
Shaver led the Saints with 19 points.
The SUNY Brockport men's basketball team will return to action on Sunday, when they travel to Hamilton. Tip off will be at 7 p.m.
Newspaper Box Score SUNY Brockport vs ST LAWRENCE 11/22/05 7:00PM at CANTON At CANTON SUNY BROCKPORT 77, ST LAWRENCE 74 SUNY BROCKPORT (1-0) CHEVES, Jerry 8-19 3-3 25; BELLUCCI, Ben 5-11 5-6 15; MALDONADO, Dave 3-8 3-4 11; ZENKEL, Josh 3-7 1-2 8; AMPARO, Kenny 3-7 1-2 7; RUBERTONE, Dan 1-10 3-5 5; MACK, Ian 2-2 0-0 4; KAYS, Eamon 0-5 2-2 2; HAUCK, Kevin 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 25-69 18-24 77. ST LAWRENCE (1-2) Tyler Shaver 8-13 0-0 19; Bela Vonnak 6-11 1-2 13; Tyler Wright 3-3 6-9 12; Ben Augliano 3-5 6-7 12; Jimmy White 4-11 2-2 10; Tom Wopperer 2-4 0-0 5; Matt Blue 1-3 0-0 3; Terrance Harris 0-0 0-0 0; Richard Williams 0-0 0-0 0; Sebastian Kurtz 0-0 0-0 0; Pat Delmonico 0-2 0-0 0; Shane Connolly 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 27-53 15-20 74. SUNY Brockport................ 31 46 - 77 ST LAWRENCE................... 35 39 - 74 3-point goals-SUNY Brockport 9-18 (CHEVES, Jerry 6-11; MALDONADO, Dave 2-4; ZENKEL, Josh 1-1; RUBERTONE, Dan 0-1; BELLUCCI, Ben 0-1), ST LAWRENCE 5-13 (Tyler Shaver 3-6; Matt Blue 1-3; Tom Wopperer 1-2; Pat Delmonico 0-1; Shane Connolly 0-1). Fouled out--SUNY Brockport-None, ST LAWRENCE-Richard Williams. Rebounds-SUNY Brockport 33 (BELLUCCI, Ben 7), ST LAWRENCE 44 (Bela Vonnak 9). Assists-SUNY Brockport 9 (MACK, Ian 3), ST LAWRENCE 16 (Tom Wopperer 5). Total fouls-SUNY Brockport 20, ST LAWRENCE 22. A-70