BUFFALO, NY - The Medaille College men's basketball team got back on track this evening when they torched the nets en route to an (80-70) victory over crosstown rival Hilbert College in their AMCC home opener.  The Mavs never trailed in the game and led by as many as (17) points in the key AMCC win.

The Mavs jumped out quickly to a (13-2) lead less than seven minutes into play.  That lead would swell to (16-4) with twelve minutes remaining in the first half.  The Hawks were able to manage mini-runs throughout the game but the Mavs consistently knocked down key shots that would not only stop the Hilbert runs but would lead to larger Medaille runs.  The Mavs held a (14) point edge at the half.

A second half shooting frenzy would lead to the Medaille win as they knocked down (15 of 20) field goal attempts for an incredible (75.0%) over the final 20 minutes.  All told the Mavs finished the day shooting (60.5%) from the floor while knocking down (46.2%) of their three point attempts.

Sophomore Alex Baron was terrific in the win, leading all scorers with (21) points on (9 of 12) shooting from the floor, while also pulling down six rebounds in (29) minutes of action.  Senior Tyler Stevens knocked down three shots from beyond the arc en route to a (13) point outing.  Two of those three pointers came in critical moments late in the game and stole momentum away from the surging Hawks.  He finished (5 for 7) from the field and (3 for 5) from long range.

The Mavs won the battle of the boards in the victory, edging Hilbert (38-33) on the glass.  Leading the way for Medaille was senior Anthony Battaglia who matched a game high with (9) rebounds.  Several of which came late in the game when the Mavs were trying to lock up the win.  He also knocked down (8 of 12) attempts from the charity stripe.  While sophomore Jammal Coleman chipped in with (10) points while dishing out a game best five assists.

The victory gets the Mavs back into the win column as they improve to (4-2) overall and (1-1) in conference play.  They will have little time to celebrate the win as they host perennial AMCC power La Roche College (4-2, 2-0) on Saturday (12/8) at 3:00pm in the Sullivan Center.

SEASON STATS