Syracuse, N.Y. – Junior guard
Tyquan Rolon (Syracuse, N.Y./Nottingham/Mohawk Valley C.C.) scored 30 points to lead the Le Moyne College men's basketball team to an 86-69 victory over American International College on Saturday afternoon in Northeast-10 Conference action at Ted Grant Court.
Rolon, who scored at least 30 points on three occasions last year at MVCC, hit five three-pointers en route to registering 20 of his season-high point total in the first half, while adding a season high-tying three blocks. Senior guard
Qwadere Lovell (Mount Vernon, N.Y./Mount Vernon) tallied 19 points, including 11 in the second half, while recording four rebounds and four assists. Sophomore guard
Tanner Hyland (South Portland, Maine/South Portland/Bridgton Academy) was the third Dolphin in double figures with 14 points, while adding a team-high six rebounds and four assists. Le Moyne's 15 made three-pointers in the contest are the most by the program over the last 14 seasons.
The Yellow Jackets had five players score between 10 and 13 points in the contest, with four of those players coming off the bench. Nolan Woodward, the only starter of the quintet, led the team with 13 points, eight of which came in the second half, while adding three steals. Reserves Max Risch, Cameron Dobbs and Jayvon Pitts-Young each tallied 11 points, while Trahmier Burrell scored 10 points. Risch and Burrell led the Yellow Jackets with seven rebounds each.
After Woodward opened the game's scoring 17 seconds in, Rolon connected on a three-pointer and Hyland followed with a pair of trifectas to give the Dolphins a 9-2 lead.
Following a three-pointer by Lovell to put the Dolphins in front 18-8 with 12:36 left in the first half, the Yellow Jackets scored seven straight points and 11 of the next 14 to get back within two with 9:56 left. Dobbs hit two three-pointers in the span, while Risch had three points and Pitts-Young made a lay-up.
The Dolphins answered with an 8-0 run to regain their double-digit lead. Rolon nailed back-to-back three-pointers and then junior forward
Stan Buczek (Port Jervis, N.Y./Burke Catholic) connected on a jump shot with 7:58 to go.
American International closed within six points (35-29) with 4:26 left, but the Dolphins closed out the half with 10 of the last 13 points to take a 45-32 lead into the intermission. Rolon scored half of the points, while Lovell made another three-pointer and sophomore forward
Daniel Kaigler (Syracuse, N.Y./Bishop Ludden/Gannon) converted a lay-up.
The teams went back and forth over the opening eight minutes of the second half with Le Moyne's lead bouncing between 10 and 16 points.
After Kaigler gave the Dolphins their second 16-point lead with 11:59 lead, the Yellow Jackets scored eight straight points in 2:06 to cut their deficit in half. Woodward had four of the points after Burrell had the first three.
Le Moyne responded with a 10-0 run to put the game away. Lovell tallied five of the points, Hyland nailed a three-pointer and Rolon capped the streak with a fast-break lay-up.
American International trimmed its deficit to 18 on a pair of occasions, but the Dolphins used an 8-2 spurt to take their largest lead of the game. Rolon had a conventional three-point play, Lovell followed with a steal and fast-break lay-up and then Rolon buried a three-pointer from the right wing with 1:06 left for an 86-65 advantage.
Le Moyne (4-5, 3-2 NE-10), which is 3-0 at home to start the season for the third straight year, closes out the Fall semester on Saturday against Caldwell University at 2:00 p.m.
