Syracuse, N.Y. – Junior forward Stan Buczek (Port Jervis, N.Y./Burke Catholic) scored seven of his career-high 25 points in overtime to lead the Le Moyne College men's basketball team to an 80-74 win over Caldwell University in non-conference action on Saturday afternoon at Ted Grant Court.

Buczek connected on five of his seven shot attempts, including all three from three-point range, while going 12-for-12 from the foul line. The 12 made free throws without a miss are the most by a Dolphin over the last 14 seasons. Classmate Tyquan Rolon (Syracuse, N.Y./Nottingham/Mohawk Valley C.C.) tallied all 23 of his points after halftime, while adding a season-high five assists and four rebounds. Sophomore guard Anthony Richards (New Castle, Pa./New Castle/West Virginia Wesleyan), who entered the day with just three points, one rebound and two assists in 32 minutes over eight games, came off the bench to net 15 points (all from long-range), grab four rebounds and dish out three assists in 30 minutes of action. Senior guard Qwadere Lovell (Mount Vernon, N.Y./Mount Vernon), who failed to convert a field goal attempt for the first time in 81 career starts, led the Dolphins with seven rebounds and dished out five assists. After going 398 consecutive games between recording 15 three-pointers in a contest, the Dolphins did it for the second straight game, connecting on 15 of 32 attempts.
 
Billy McDonald led the Cougars with a game-high 28 points and nine rebounds before fouling out in overtime. Dawan Lighty recorded 15 points, six rebounds and two steals, while Ahmad Harrison came off the bench to post 10 points, three rebounds and a pair of steals.

After the teams traded points over the first 2:01 of the game, the Dolphins tallied an 8-2 run to take their largest lead of the half. Buczek started the run with a baseline jumper, senior forward Connor Mahoney (Hanover, Mass./BC High/Brooks School) followed with a three-pointer and then Richards nailed his first three-pointer of the half with 12:15 left for a 12-8 lead.

Caldwell regained the lead with five straight points on two free throws by McDonald and a three-pointer by Lighty.

After Richards buried consecutive three-pointers around a three-pointer by Tyler Drews to give the Dolphins an 18-16 lead, the Cougars scored nine of the next 11 points to take their largest lead of the half. Austin Woods Lighty each had three of the points, while Brian Kenny added a put-back lay-up and Vin O'Beirne made a free throw.

Following a three-pointer by freshman guard Eriq Jenkins (Windsor, Ontario/Catholic Central) to get the Dolphins within two, Lighty made a jumper in the paint to give Caldwell a 27-23 lead at halftime.

Caldwell pushed its lead to six points on two occasions in the first two minutes of the second half and still led by five following a fast-break dunk by McDonald with 16:18 left before the Dolphins started their comeback. Rolon made a lay-up, Buczek hit two free throws and then Rolon drilled a three-pointer to cap a 7-2 run which tied the score at 38 with 14:54 left.

Following five points each from McDonald and Buczek over the next 2:16 to tie the score at 43, the Dolphins rattled off 13 of the next 16 points to take the game's largest lead, 56-46, with 8:02 remaining. Sophomore forward Daniel Kaigler (Syracuse, N.Y./Bishop Ludden/Gannon) started the run with a jumper, Jenkins followed with his first career lay-up and then Rolon buried a pair of three-pointers around a trifecta by Richards, which came off a pass from Rolon.

After the teams traded points over the next 2:12, which resulted in a 61-52 Le Moyne lead, the Cougars recorded a 13-3 run of their own, including a 7-0 spurt at the end, to regain the lead. Harrison nailed two three-pointers and two free throws in the stretch, while McDonald added five points, including a go-ahead lay-up with 39 seconds left.

Rolon drew a foul with 23 seconds left and made the first free throw to knot the game at 65-apiece. After he missed the second attempt, the Cougars misfired on a three-pointer with 11 seconds left and then the Dolphins turned the ball over before they could get off a shot at the buzzer.

Following ties at 67 and 70 over the first two and one-half minutes of overtime, the Dolphins took control with eight straight points. Kaigler gave the team the lead for good with two free throws with 2:14 left, Buczek followed with a three-pointer, Rolon made one foul shot and then Buczek converted two free throws with 17 seconds to go.

After five missed shots by the Cougars during Le Moyne's run, Salvatore Vitello made a transition jumper with 14 seconds left to get Caldwell within six.

Rolon tallied Le Moyne's final two points from the foul line with eight seconds remaining, while Lighty finished the game's scoring with a jumper with three ticks left.

Le Moyne (5-5), which improved to 4-0 at home, returns to Northeast-10 Conference play on Saturday, January 2 against Southern Connecticut State University at 2:00 p.m.