Colchester, Vt. – James Cambronne made a shot with 48.3 seconds left to break an 80-80 tie as Saint Michael's College topped the Le Moyne College men's basketball team, 87-80, on Saturday afternoon in Northeast-10 Conference action at the Ross Sports Center.

Junior guard Naté Gause (Poughkeepsie, N.Y./Poughkeepsie/Quinnipiac) led the Dolphins offensively with 20 points off the bench, including 12 in the first half, while grabbing a team-best seven rebounds. Senior guard Nate Champion (Logansport, Ind./Logansport) posted 15 points (all in the first 21:05 of the game), eight assists, five rebounds and four steals. Sophomore guard Qwadere Lovell (Mount Vernon, N.Y./Mount Vernon) registered 13 of his 15 points in the second half, while junior forward Ryan Romich (Groton, Mass./Groton-Dunstable/Vermont Academy) recorded 12 of his 14 points in the first half.

Cambronne led five Purple Knights starters in double figures with 22 points, 15 of which came in the first half. Mike Holton, Jr. registered 14 of his 20 points in the opening half, while Dom Ditlefsen tallied 12 of his 15 points in the second half. Corey Crawford II and Mike Thompson each scored 12 points, while Crawford pulled down a game-high eight rebounds and dished out five assists.

Following a Saint Michael's timeout with 59 seconds left and the score tied at 80, Cambronne dribbled into the paint and knocked down a jump shot with 48.3 seconds left to give the Purple Knights the lead. Out of a Le Moyne timeout in front of its bench with 33 seconds left, the inbounds pass was thrown over the head of Janson and Cambronne was able to corral the loose ball and get it to Crawford, who was fouled. After Crawford made the first of two free-throw attempts with 30.5 seconds to play, the Dolphins were able to get an open three-pointer from the right wing, but the shot missed wide and Ditlefsen rebounded the ball and was fouled. He made both foul shots with 15.6 seconds left and then Crawford connected on two foul shots with eight seconds left after a Le Moyne turnover.

After the teams split the first 14 points of the game over the opening 3:12, the Dolphins scored nine of the next 11 points over a span of 2:21, to take their largest lead of the game. Gause, Champion and Romich each hit three-pointers in the span, while Cambronne made a jump shot for the Purple Knights.

The Purple Knights responded with 14 of the next 20 points to take a 23-22 lead with 10:20 left. Matt Bonds started the run with a free throw, Holton, Jr. nailed three three-pointers around a jumper and Thompson converted a lay-up for the lead.

Le Moyne answered back with a 10-2 run to regain their seven-point lead with 7:33 left. Champion and Janson each had four points and Gause made a jump shot.
After the teams split the next eight points over a span of two minutes, the Purple Knights rattled off a 13-5 run to take the lead back. Cambronne had five of the points, while Ditlefsen and Holton, Jr. each had three and Crawford had two.

The Dolphins had six of the half's last eight points to take a 47-44 lead into halftime. Romich and Gause made shots before sophomore forward Connor Mahoney (Hanover, Mass./BC High/Brooks School) connected on two free throws without any time left in the half.

The teams went back and forth in the second half with the score being tied seven times and the lead changing sides on nine occasions. After Ditlefsen opened the second half with a three-pointer, the Dolphins scored eight of the next 10 points to take a 55-49 lead with 17:57 left. Champion started the push with a conventional three-point play (his only points of the second half), Gause hit a jumper and then Lovell buried a three-pointer after Ditlefsen made two free throws.

After Romich made a lay-up to give the Dolphins a 57-51 lead, the Purple Knights scored eight straight points for their first lead of the second half. Crawford buried a three-pointer and then stole the ball at midcourt and was fouled going in for a lay-up. He made his two attempts and then Ditlefsen made a pair 30 seconds later for the lead. Cambronne capped the spurt with a free throw with 15:30 remaining.

Following 5-0 runs from each team that made the score 66-64 in favor of the Purple Knights with 11:07 left, graduate student center Jim Janson (Scotia, N.Y./Scotia-Glenville) made a lay-up and Lovell drilled a three-pointer around a Ditlefsen three-pointer to even the score at 69 with 9:21 to play.

The teams then alternated points over the next 5:49, resulting in a 77-76 Le Moyne advantage with 3:32 left. After Gause made four free throws and Lovell made a jumper, freshman forward Stan Buczek">Stan Buczek (Port Jervis, N.Y./Burke Catholic) made a lay-up in transition to put the Dolphins in front.

The Purple Knights got a lay-up from Thompson 16 seconds later and then Crawford made two free throws with 1:56 to go for an 80-77 Saint Michael's lead.

Janson made a free throw (1:42) and a lay-up (1:11) around an empty possession by the Purple Knights to set the stage for the final minute.

Le Moyne (7-7, 4-4 NE-10), which lost to the Purple Knights in the regular season for the first time since December 9, 2006 (75-73), snapping a streak of nine consecutive wins, returns to action on Tuesday at Assumption College at 7:30 p.m.