MEN'S BASKETBALL: MOST VALUABLE PLAYER COREY SMITH LEADS LE MOYNE TO HOLIDAY TOURNAMENT CHAMPIONSHIP 72-65 OVER BARUCH

SYRACUSE, N.Y. – Tournament Most Valuable Player Corey Smith (Gouverneur, N.Y./Gouverneur) scored 11 of his 14 points in the second half to lead Le Moyne to a 72-65 win over Baruch in the championship game of the Le Moyne College Holiday Tournament. The Dolphins win their third straight to even their mark at 5-5, while Baruch (10-3) drops just its third game of the season. With Le Moyne leading 67-62 in the final minute, Smith put the game away for the hosts with a 3-pointer from the corner off a feed from sophomore Jason Holmes (Mamaroneck, N.Y./Mamaroneck). It marked Smith's fourth 3-pointer of the game and third of the second half.

Senior center Sid Pond (Watertown, N.Y./Watertown) and Holmes joined Smith on the all-tournament team for Le Moyne. Pond made all five of his attempts from the field and tallied a team-high 16 for the game. Over the last three games (all Le Moyne wins), he has made 14 consecutive shots from the floor. Holmes joined Smith and Pond in double figures with 15 points.

Senior Robi Davidson (Tel Aviv, Israel) led Baruch with 16 points. He made five 3-pointers in 12 attempts. Senior Louie Karis (Brooklyn, N.Y.), an all-tournament selection, scored 14 points. All-tournament team selection Cheick Fadika (Abdjan, Ivory Coast) scored 12 points and grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds. Baruch outrebounded its hosts 46-39, including a 20-6 edge on the offensive glass.

Le Moyne made just 19 shots from the field, but recorded a sizable advantage at the free throw line. Le Moyne converted 26-of-37 (70.3%) from the line, while Baruch managed 12-of-23 (52.2%). Holmes hit 7-of-9, while Pond made 6-of-9 from the charity stripe.

Le Moyne returns to action on Monday night at Saint Michael's.

Tournament Most Valuable Player: Corey Smith, Le Moyne

All-Tournament Team: Sid Pond, Le Moyne; Jason Holmes, Le Moyne; Cheick Fadika, Baruch; Louie Karis, Baruch; EJ Harrison, Clarkson.

COMPLETE BOXSCORE

LE MOYNE 72, BARUCH 65

BARUCH (10-3)
Davidson, Robi 5-12 1-3 16; Karis, Louie 6-17 0-2 14; Fadika, Cheick 5-13 2-5 12; Emengo, Carl 1-8 5-6 7; Kunkel, George 3-4 1-3 7; Baptiste, Anwar 1-7 3-4 5; Williams, Chris 1-5 0-0 2; Hepworth, Tim 1-2 0-0 2; Serrano, Adrian 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 23-68 12-23 65.

LE MOYNE (5-5)
Sid Pond 5-5 6-9 16; Jason Holmes 3-7 7-9 15; Corey Smith 4-9 2-2 14; Matt Cooper 3-5 2-3 8; Damani Corbin 1-6 5-8 7; Phil Schoff 1-3 2-4 5; Stefan Horbanczuk 2-5 0-0 5; Luke Postorino 0-2 2-2 2; Dan Cromwell 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 19-43 26-37 72.

Baruch........................ 28 37 - 65
Le Moyne...................... 36 36 - 72

3-point goals-Baruch 7-29 (Davidson, Robi 5-12; Karis, Louie 2-8; Emengo, Carl 0-4; Baptiste, Anwar 0-1; Williams, Chris 0-3; Fadika, Cheick 0-1), Le Moyne 8-17 (Corey Smith 4-8; Jason Holmes 2-3; Stefan Horbanczuk 1-3; Phil Schoff 1-1; Luke Postorino 0-2). Fouled out--Baruch-Williams, Chris, Le Moyne-None. Rebounds-Baruch 46 (Fadika, Cheick 12), Le Moyne 39 (Sid Pond 7). Assists-Baruch 14 (Davidson, Robi 4), Le Moyne 17 (Jason Holmes 4; Corey Smith 4). Total fouls-Baruch 25, Le Moyne 19. A-472