SUNY Brockport will advance to play St. John Fisher at the University of Rochester on Friday at 6:15 p.m.
Brockport set season highs in free throws (33) and free throw attempts (40), while allowing the Tigers just eight points on 15 trips to the charity stripe.
The Golden Eagles connected on their first five attempts from the field, building a 10-5 lead 3:06 into the contest. From that point, Brockport went on a 17-7 run, capped by a Ben Bellucci three-pointer, to seize a 27-12 lead with 10:36 remaining in the opening half. The Golden Eagles continued to fire on all cylinders in the opening half, taking a 53-29 edge into intermission.
SUNY Brockport converted on a blistering 61.3 percent of their shots in the opening half, including 63.6 percent of their three-point attempts. The Golden Eagle defense limited the Tigers to 28.9 percent from the field
Tyler Springer connected on a three-pointer for RIT 3:29 into the second half, igniting a 37-13 run, capped by a game-tying lay-up from Fran Snyder, to knot the score at 71-all, with 4:16 remaining in regulation. The teams traded baskets down the stretch, with Jerry Cheves converting on the back end of a two-shot foul, to give the Golden Eagles an 82-79 edge with 13 seconds remaining, but Rick Whitwood drained a three-pointer to send the contest to overtime, tied at 82.
Rubertone scored the first five points in overtime; with all five coming at the free throw line, giving SUNY Brockport an 87-82 lead with 4:29 remaining. Josh Zenkel followed with a lay-up, pushing the advantage to 89-82. The Tigers mounted a final run, with Snyder and Cameron Youngblood scoring to pull RIT to within 89-86, but Brockport connected on all six of their free throws to pull away for the win.
Brockport held a 51-44 advantage on the boards, but RIT out rebounded the Golden Eagles on the offensive glass, 17-11.
Bellucci led Brockport offensively, pouring in 22 points, 11 rebounds, four assists, and one steal. Rubertone recorded 20 points, connecting on all 10 of his free throws, and grabbing six rebounds. John Rother scored 19 points, while Zenkeland Jerry Cheves chipped in 14 and 13 points respectively.
Springer led RIT with 19 points and three assists, while Barrett Zeinfeld had 18 points and two steals. Kris Kowalczyk registered 12 points for the Tigers.
Newspaper Box Score SUNY Brockport vs RIT 01/11/06 8:15 p.m. at Brockport, NY (Tuttle North Gymnasium) At Brockport, NY (Tuttle North Gymnasium) SUNY BROCKPORT 99, RIT 87 SUNY BROCKPORT (5-5) BELLUCCI, Ben 6-13 7-8 22; RUBERTONE, Dan 5-12 10-10 20; ROTHER, John 6-10 5-8 19; ZENKEL, Josh 4-5 6-8 14; CHEVES, Jerry 5-12 1-2 13; MACK, Ian 1-1 2-2 4; WILKES, Mychal 1-7 0-0 3; AMPARO, Kenny 1-4 0-0 2; KAYS, Eamon 0-1 2-2 2; HANLON, Jake 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 29-65 33-40 99. RIT (5-5) SPRINGER, Tyler 6-13 2-5 19; ZEINFELD, Barrett 6-13 2-2 18; KOWALCZYK, Kris 4-10 0-0 12; SNYDER, Fran 2-7 4-5 8; HILL, Brian 3-7 0-0 6; CARSON, Mark 3-5 0-0 6; WHITWOOD, Rick 2-5 0-0 5; MARTIN, Drew 2-7 0-0 5; YOUNGBLOOD, Cameron 2-6 0-0 4; ROY, Colin 1-3 0-0 2; BACON, Tim 1-6 0-3 2; BERRY, Nate 0-0 0-0 0; HAMPTON, Rob 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 32-84 8-15 87. SUNY Brockport................ 53 29 17 - 99 RIT........................... 29 53 5 - 87 3-point goals-SUNY Brockport 8-21 (BELLUCCI, Ben 3-6; ROTHER, John 2-3; CHEVES, Jerry 2-5; WILKES, Mychal 1-5; RUBERTONE, Dan 0-2), RIT 15-41 (SPRINGER, Tyler 5-9; ZEINFELD, Barrett 4-10; KOWALCZYK, Kris 4-8; MARTIN, Drew 1-3; WHITWOOD, Rick 1-3; ROY, Colin 0-1; HAMPTON, Rob 0-1; YOUNGBLOOD, Cameron 0-1; HILL, Brian 0-1; SNYDER, Fran 0-4). Fouled out--SUNY Brockport-ZENKEL, Josh, RIT-ZEINFELD, Barrett; CARSON, Mark. Rebounds-SUNY Brockport 51 (BELLUCCI, Ben 11), RIT 44 (WHITWOOD, Rick 12). Assists-SUNY Brockport 18 (BELLUCCI, Ben 4), RIT 26 (ROY, Colin 7). Total fouls-SUNY Brockport 16, RIT 28. A-300