January 31, 2009
MBB: DOLPHINS COME-FROM-BEHIND FOR 65-60 WIN AT NEW
HAVEN
West Haven, Conn. - Junior forward Laurence Ekperigin
(Cortlandt Manor, N.Y./Walter Panas) scored 15 second-half
points to lead the Le Moyne College men's basketball team to a
come-from-behind 65-60 win at New Haven on Saturday at Charger
Gymnasium.
Ekperigin, who finished with a team-best 17 points and nine
rebounds, went 5-of-6 from the field and 5-of-7 from the foul line
in the second half. Junior guard Damani Corbin (Brooklyn,
N.Y./Frederick Douglass) finished with 11 points and hit
four foul shots in the final 1:10 to seal the win. Sophomore
forward Kevin Roth (Lake View, N.Y./St. Francis)
joined Ekperigin and Corbin in double-figures with 10 points.
Cassius Chaney led the Chargers with 21 points, including 14 of New
Haven's first 21 points. Forward Kelvin Jackson posted a
double-double of 12 points and 10 rebounds, while Robert Jamerson
tallied 10 points and nine rebounds off the bench.
The Dolphins opened the second half on an 11-6 run behind
Ekperigin and freshman guard Chris Johnson (Lindenhurst,
N.Y./Lindenhurst). Ekperigin made three layups and a pair
of free throws and Johnson tied the contest at 37 apiece on a
three-pointer from the right wing with 12:18 remaining. The two
squads traded baskets over the next 10:27, resulting in seven ties
and three lead changes.
After Chaney tied the game for the final time with 1:51 left on a
free throw, Ekperigin converted a conventional three-point lead to
put the Dolphins ahead for good. Roth and Corbin each followed with
a pair of free throws to take a seven-point lead. A put-back dunk
by Jackson and a three-pointer by Chaney pulled the Chargers to
within three points with 33 seconds left, but Cormier hit one foul
shot and Corbin drilled two to seal the game.
After falling behind 6-3 lead over the opening three minutes of
the contest, the Chargers scored seven straight points, including
five by Chaney, to take 10-6 lead. The Dolphins responded to pull
to within 15-14 on a three-pointer by James Cormier
(Trumbull, Conn./Trumbull/Proctor Academy (N.H.)) with
just over 12 minutes remaining.
The Chargers rattled off a 16-4 streak to push out to a game-best
13 point lead with 3:22 remaining in the stanza. Guard D.J.
Sackmann and Chaney drilled back-to-back three-pointers to ignite
the run. Following baskets by Roth and Ekperigin around four points
from Josh Paulino, New Haven recorded six straight points to take a
31-18 lead. The Dolphins closed out the half with eight straight
points of their own, including a buzzer-beating layup by
Corbin.
Le Moyne (11-10, NE-10 7-9), winners of four of its last five
games, returns home for a pair of Northeast-10 Conference games
next week. The Dolphins host Pace at 7:30 on Wednesday and Southern
Connecticut State at 3:00 p.m. on Saturday.
-agate-
Le Moyne 65, New
Haven 60
Le Moyne (11-10, NE-10
7-9)
26
39
-
65
New Haven (7-14, NE-10
5-11)
31
29
- 60
