The Cazenovia College men's team kicked things off with an exciting 87-83 come-from-behind victory against the Panthers in the 1:00 PM game. With the win, the Wildcats improved to 7-16 on the year and 5-8 in NEAC play. The Panthers fall to 4-16 with the loss and move to 2-11 in NEAC play.
Cazenovia fell behind in the first half by 13 as the Panthers' David Bastar hit a lay-up with 5:20 remaining in the first stanza. Bastar finished with 14 points for Purchase and recorded five rebounds for the Panthers.
Cutting the lead to 37-43 at the half, the Wildcats came out sluggish from the intermission and found themselves behind by 13, again, at the 8:20 mark, 57-70. However, it would be the day's hero, senior Sedric Hawkins ('06, Syracuse / Henninger HS), who would answer the second of two 13 point margins with a lay-in, a steal and an assist on a Erik Sauer ('09, Pennellville / Phoenix HS) bucket in the next 20 seconds to rally the team and turn the tide.
The Wildcats proceeded to go on a 15-4 run over the next six minutes to pull ahead of the Panthers, 76-75 at the two minute mark when Hawkins, running the floor, received and deposited a well placed Josh Winans ('07, Afton / Afton HS) pass, into the basket with a thunderous dunk.
After four quick lead changes and a tie, The Wildcats would pull ahead for good on a Hawkins bucket that put the team up by one point, 81-80, at the 1:01 mark. Cazenovia would never again relinquishing the lead as freshmen shooter Steven Harris ('09, Watervliet / Watervliet HS) went 4-for-4 from the charity-stripe in the final 20 seconds to secure the victory.
Hawkins, who was honored for his hard work and determination as one of the teams graduating seniors in the afternoon's senior-day activities before the game, had the day of his career. Starting at the power-forward position, Hawkins, in front of friends and family from the local Syracuse area, finished with a team-leading and career-high 24 points, snagged a game-high and career-high 17 rebounds, recorded a career-high three steals and tied a career-high with three assists. Hawkins, who had two game-changing dunks in the win over the Panthers, is now shooting 54 percent from the field on the year.
The Panthers' Akantunde Henderson-Amere led all scorers with 29 points in the losing effort.
The Wildcats out-rebounded the Panthers by a season-high 25 boards.
Cazenovia out-scored Purchase 27-6 in second-chance opportunities.
The women's game helped the Wildcats move two games up on the Keystone College Giants in the battle for the NEAC North third seed. Winning 78-58, the Wildcats are now 6-17 on the year and 5-8 in NEAC play. The Panthers fall to 9-12 on the year and 5-7 in the NEAC.
Pulling ahead for the first three minutes of play, the Panthers would relinquish the lead at the 16:11 mark when Heather Nearpass ('08, Clyde / Clyde-Savannah HS) hit three of her 16 points. The Wildcats went on to lead 46-31 at the half.
Never blinking, the Wildcats cruised to victory as the team created a comfortable lead in the second half. Cazenovia pulled ahead by as many as 21 points, in the final 2:38 of the game, as Kate Lincoln ('08, Waterloo / Waterloo HS) hit two of her 12 points on the day. Lincoln, who had 12 rebounds, recorded her first double-double of the year.
The Wildcats' stingy defense forced the Panthers to shoot just 8-for-31 from the field in the second half and a poor 2-for-15 from the three-point arch on the day.
For the Wildcats, Nearpass fell just short of a record-setting day. Nearpass, who finished with nine boards, nine assists and 16 points, ended the game just a single rebound and assist shy of the first triple-double in the modern statistics area of Cazenovia's basketball program. Nearpass, who played 35 minutes of the game, also added six steals on the night to record the best line of her young Cazenovia career. Nearpass was one point shy of matching her career-high 17-point effort earlier this season at SUNY IT.
Ashley Lewis (Whitesboro / Whitesboro HS) finished with a team-high 18 points for the Wildcats. The Panther's Jennifer Danio led all scorers with 20 points.
Before the game, seniors Ashley Agresta ('06, Amsterdam / Galway HS), Amy Mason ('06, Amsterdam / Amsterdam HS) and Talia Habeck ('06, Palmyra / Palmyra-Macedon HS) were thanked by for their outstanding contribution to Cazenovia College in a Senior-Day ceremony.
Both Wildcats teams are next in action on Tues., Feb. 14. They face NEAC North opponent Bard College at the Cazenovia College Athletics Center. Game time is slated for 6:00 PM for the women's game and 8:00 PM for the men's game. The night will also feature a senior day presentation for the two Cazenovia senior cheerleaders, Jennifer Ball and Misty Shores.
SUNY Purchase vs Cazenovia College 02/11/06 1:00 PM at Cazenovia College Athletics Center At Cazenovia College Athletics Center CAZENOVIA COLLEGE 87, SUNY PURCHASE 83 SUNY PURCHASE (4-16 (2-11 NEAC)) Henderson-Amere, A. 10-17 8-9 29; Ien, Jamal 5-9 6-7 16; Bastar, David 7-15 0-1 14; Turner, Desmond 5-12 0-0 11; Charney, Chad 3-6 0-0 9; Gibson, Fred 2-3 0-0 4; Lowe, Clinton 0-1 0-0 0; Wimmer, Mike 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 32-64 14-17 83. CAZENOVIA COLLEGE (7-16 (6-8, NEAC)) Hawkins, Sedric 11-12 2-6 24; Harris, Stephen 6-16 4-4 20; Sauer, Erik 6-17 8-8 20; Zavackis, Steven 6-11 3-4 15; Winans, Joshua 2-13 1-4 6; Gyder, Chris 1-3 0-0 2; Mahoney, Andrew 0-0 0-0 0; Graham-Battle, Chris 0-0 0-0 0; Delgado, Pablo 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 32-73 18-26 87. SUNY Purchase................. 43 40 - 83 Cazenovia College............. 37 50 - 87 3-point goals-SUNY Purchase 5-12 (Charney, Chad 3-6; Turner, Desmond 1-3; Henderson-Amere, A. 1-1; Wimmer, Mike 0-1; Bastar, David 0-1), Cazenovia College 5-23 (Harris, Stephen 4-12; Winans, Joshua 1-7; Gyder, Chris 0-1; Sauer, Erik 0-3). Fouled out--SUNY Purchase-Gibson, Fred; Ien, Jamal, Cazenovia College-Zavackis, Steven. Rebounds-SUNY Purchase 27 (Gibson, Fred 7), Cazenovia College 52 (Hawkins, Sedric 17). Assists-SUNY Purchase 15 (Ien, Jamal 6), Cazenovia College 16 (Winans, Joshua 8). Total fouls-SUNY Purchase 21, Cazenovia College 18. A-225 ### SUNY Purchase vs Cazenovia College 02/11/06 3:00 PM at Cazenovia College Athletics Center At Cazenovia College Athletics Center CAZENOVIA COLLEGE 78, SUNY PURCHASE 58 SUNY PURCHASE (9-12 (5-7, NEAC)) Danio, Jennifer 7-19 4-4 20; Ciardulli, Jen 4-11 7-9 15; Schneider, Hilary 2-10 4-6 8; Krasniqi, Albana 1-8 3-4 5; Sylvester, Kernita 1-4 1-2 3; Mckoan, Desiree 0-2 3-4 3; Dervin, Lindsay 1-2 0-0 2; Rivera, Sylvia 1-2 0-0 2; Maddox, Janet 0-0 0-0 0; Murtha, Caitlin 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 17-58 22-29 58. CAZENOVIA COLLEGE (6-17 (5-8, NEAC)) Lewis, Ashley 6-15 3-4 18; Nearpass, Heather 7-13 0-0 16; Lincoln, Kate 3-13 6-9 12; Lipiska, Jenna 4-11 1-3 10; Agresta, Ashley 2-18 4-6 9; Habeck, Talia 3-3 0-0 6; Welch, Emilie 1-1 3-4 5; Mason, Amy 1-2 0-0 2; Fox, Aubre 0-1 0-2 0; Mraz, Alysha 0-0 0-2 0. Totals 27-77 17-30 78. SUNY Purchase................. 31 27 - 58 Cazenovia College............. 46 32 - 78 3-point goals-SUNY Purchase 2-15 (Danio, Jennifer 2-8; Ciardulli, Jen 0-1; Schneider, Hilary 0-5; Dervin, Lindsay 0-1), Cazenovia College 7-24 (Lewis, Ashley 3-9; Nearpass, Heather 2-3; Lipiska, Jenna 1-1; Agresta, Ashley 1-6; Lincoln, Kate 0-5). Fouled out--SUNY Purchase-Ciardulli, Jen, Cazenovia College-Agresta, Ashley. Rebounds-SUNY Purchase 45 (Krasniqi, Albana 11), Cazenovia College 58 (Lincoln, Kate 12). Assists-SUNY Purchase 14 (Ciardulli, Jen 3), Cazenovia College 20 (Nearpass, Heather 9). Total fouls-SUNY Purchase 21, Cazenovia College 21. A-175 Created On: 2/11/2006 7:34:17 PM