News Release

UTICA, N.Y. — Senior Frank Ranieri (Cicero/Cicero-North Syracuse) scored a game-high 21 points on 10-of-13 shooting and junior Dave Jutton (Red Hook) added 17 points, including two crucial three-pointers in the final four minutes, as Cortland defeated host SUNYIT, 76-70, in a matchup of the SUNYAC’s co-leaders.

Cortland extended its winning streak to 13 games and improved to 13-1 on the season. The Red Dragons, fifth among the “others receiving votes” section in the latest D3hoops.com national poll, are 6-0 in league play. The Wildcats are 5-1 in the SUNYAC and 7-5 overall.

Jutton made 5-of-10 three-pointers for the Red Dragons, while junior Dave Maggiacomo (Pleasant Valley/Arlington) scored 11 points and handed out a team-high five assists. Senior Scott Taggart (Sidney Center/Franklin) scored 11 points and grabbed seven rebounds, senior Simon Skrelja (Hastings-on-Hudson/Hastings) finished with nine points and junior Rod Headley (Peekskill) recorded a game-high eight rebounds.

Chris Reaves (Syracuse/Herkimer CC) led SUNYIT with 16 points and six assists. Antoine Gilkes (Bronx/MVCC) made 6-of-7 shots and finished with 12 points and a team-high seven rebounds. Elvis Belone (Queens/MVCC) ended with 12 points on 4-of-8 three-point shooting and Chris Plante (Whitesboro) scored 11 points, including three treys.

The hosts jumped out to a 24-12 lead nine minutes into the contest, but Cortland scored 15 of the next 17 points to take a 27-26 lead with 5:49 left. The game remained tight from that point on, with neither team leading by more than six the rest of the way.

Ranieri’s jumper with 6:49 left in the game staked the Red Dragons to a 62-56 lead, but Belone nailed a pair of three-pointers to tie the game at 62-62. After Ranieri and Reaves traded baskets, Jutton hit a three-pointer with less than four minutes remaining to give Cortland a 67-64 lead.

The Red Dragons were holding on to a two-point lead when Maggiacomo made a jumper to up the lead to 71-67 with 1:20 left. Belone’s three-pointer with under a minute remaining drew the Wildcats back within 71-70, but Jutton responded with a trey of his own with under 15 seconds left and the Red Dragons were back up by four. Sophomore Mark Schaller (Rochester/Greece Athena), inserted late in the game, made two free throws with four seconds left to complete the scoring.

Cortland is 10-1 away from home this season, including a 9-0 road mark and a 1-1 record in neutral court games. The Red Dragons have played only three home games, but conclude the regular season with eight of their final 11 contests at Corey Gymnasium.

SUNY Cortland vs SUNY Inst. of Tech.
1/17/06 8 p.m. at Utica, NY (SUNYIT Campus Ctr.)

SUNY CORTLAND 76, SUNY INST. OF TECH. 70

SUNY CORTLAND (13-1, 6-0 SUNYAC)
RANIERI, Frank 10-13 1-3 21; JUTTON, Dave 6-11 0-0 17; MAGGIACOMO, Dave 5-12
0-0 11; TAGGART, Scott 5-12 0-1 10; SKRELJA, Simon 4-7 1-2 9; HEADLEY, Rod
3-5 0-2 6; SCHALLER, Mark 0-0 2-2 2; MERRITT, Quentin 0-2 0-0 0; FISH,
Derrick 0-0 0-0 0; NALLS, Elbert 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 33-63 4-10 76.

SUNY INST. OF TECH. (7-5, 5-1 SUNYAC)
REAVES, Chris 7-16 1-2 16; BELONE, Elvis 4-9 0-0 12; GILKES, Antoine 6-7 0-0
12; PLANTE, Chris 4-9 0-0 11; WHALEN, Pat 4-11 1-2 9; BIEN-AIME, Chantal 2-3
0-0 6; LABOARD, Chris 2-5 0-0 4; EDWARDS, Ajani 0-0 0-0 0; BROWN, Chris 0-0
0-0 0. Totals 29-60 2-4 70.

SUNY Cortland.................   35   41  -   76
SUNY Inst. of Tech............   38   32  -   70

3-point goals-SUNY Cortland 6-17 (JUTTON, Dave 5-10; MAGGIACOMO, Dave 1-7),
SUNY Inst. of Tech. 10-26 (BELONE, Elvis 4-8; PLANTE, Chris 3-7; BIEN-AIME,
Chantal 2-2; REAVES, Chris 1-3; LABOARD, Chris 0-3; WHALEN, Pat 0-3). Fouled
out--SUNY Cortland-None, SUNY Inst. of Tech.-None. Rebounds-SUNY Cortland 35
(HEADLEY, Rod 8), SUNY Inst. of Tech. 30 (GILKES, Antoine 7). Assists-SUNY
Cortland 10 (MAGGIACOMO, Dave 5), SUNY Inst. of Tech. 12 (REAVES, Chris 6).
Total fouls-SUNY Cortland 10, SUNY Inst. of Tech. 11. A-100