The Presidents (3-10) will now meet No. 3 ranked Wooster in the finals tomorrow evening at 8:00 pm. The Fighting Scots held off The College of New Jersey, 63-52, in the opening game of the tournament.
Washington & Jefferson fought back from an early deficit to take a 16-10 lead midway through the first half after freshman center Josip Lucic-Jozak’s (Pittsburgh, Pa./Baldwin) basket.
The Privateers (2-9) came back to assume a 27-23 lead at the 5:14 mark on Gerard Danzy’s three-pointer, but the Presidents closed to within 36-35 at halftime after a triple at the buzzer by junior guard Brandon Studer (Johnstown, Pa./Conemaugh Valley).
Lucic-Jozak canned a pair of free throws with 13:52 remaining to give W&J a 45-41 advantage; however, SUNY-Maritime used a 10-4 rally to take back the lead.
W&J responded with 15 of the next 24 points, capped on a Studer three-point play, and notched a 64-58 lead with 4:48 left on the clock.
The Privateers narrowed the gap to one point twice in the final four minutes, but Koch iced the win from the foul line to help W&J advance to the championship game.
Koch added five assists and four rebounds, while playing all 40 minutes. Lucic-Jozak totaled 17 points and eight rebounds, while Studer finished with 16 points after drilling four treys.
The Presidents shot 51 percent (26-of-51), including 55 percent in the second half. W&J also posted a 30-28 rebounding advantage.
Robert Benton led the Privateers with 22 points on 10-of-14 shooting. Nikero Barbes added 16 points, five rebounds and four steals. SUNY-Maritime connected on 47 percent (27-of-57) of their attempts.
The Presidents and Fighting Scots will meet for the 10th time in history with Wooster holding a 6-3 edge in the previous meetings. Last year, Wooster edged W&J, 79-73, at Timken Gymnasium.