Syracuse, N.Y. – Junior forward Tom Brown (Ellicott City, Md./Centennial) scored 19 points to lead the Le Moyne College men's basketball team to a 71-57 victory over The College of Saint Rose in Northeast-10 Conference action on Saturday afternoon at Ted Grant Court.
 
Le Moyne (16-8, 13-6 NE10) closes out the regular season on Tuesday at the University of New Haven at 7:30 p.m. The Dolphins and Chargers enter the final night of the season in a three-way tie for first place in the NE10 Southwest Division with Adelphi University, which visits American International College to conclude the regular season. The winner of the Le Moyne-New Haven game will claim the top seed in the NE10 Championship, even if still tied with Adelphi, while the loser will either be the second or third seed depending on Adelphi's result. Full scenarios are detailed at the bottom.

Brown recorded 11 of his 19 points in the second half, while adding nine rebounds and a pair of blocks. Classmate Kobi Nwandu (York, Pa./Northeastern York/East Stroudsburg) tallied 10 of his 15 points in the first half, while pulling down six rebounds. Senior forward C.J. Asuncion-Byrd (Greenwich, Conn./Greenwich/St. Thomas More/Gannon) scored 13 points off the bench, while sophomore guard Tim Leavell (Marion, Ind./Marion/State Fair C.C.) netted eight of his 10 bench points in the second half.

Sekou Sylla recorded a double-double to lead the Golden Knights with 16 points, including 10 in the second half, and 11 rebounds. Matt Cerutti posted 12 points, while Tyler Washington turned in 10 second-half points.

After the teams traded points over the opening 6:10 of the game, the Dolphins scored 10 straight points to take their first double-digit lead, 15-4, with 12:11 left in the half. Freshman forward BB Chuks-Mady (Hamilton, Ontario/GTA Prep) recorded a conventional three-point play and then Brown made a lay-up and a three-pointer around a jumper by Asuncion-Byrd.

Following a pair of Saint Rose three-pointers around a three-point play by Asuncion-Byrd, the Dolphins took their largest lead of the half with the game's next six points. Asuncion-Byrd made two foul shots, Nwandu made a lay-up and then graduate student forward Necdet Gurkan (Ankara, Turkey/Cumhuriyet Anadolu Lisesi/Saint Leo) made two free throws for a 24-10 lead with 6:37 left.

The teams split the final 20 points of the half as the Dolphins took a 34-20 lead into the intermission. Nwandu scored five of Le Moyne's 10 points, including a three-pointer with two seconds left in the half, while Sylla had four points for the Golden Knights.

After the teams split the first 28 points over the opening 7:01 of the second half, during which Le Moyne's lead bounced between 12 and 17 points, the Dolphins scored 10 of the next 12 points to take its largest lead of the game, 58-36, with 9:30 to go. Junior guard Ryan Roland (Syracuse, N.Y./Westhill/Mercyhurst) hit a three-pointer and made a fast-break lay-up, while Nwandu buried a three-pointer and Brown capped the stretch with a lay-up.

Saint Rose answered with 11 of the next 14 points to get back within 14 with 4:15 left. Jeff Allen recorded a three-point play and then Sylla scored six points around a jumper by Washington.

Le Moyne's lead was either 15 or 17 over the next three and one-half minutes before Washington made a jumper to make it 68-55 with 30 seconds left.

Leavell answered with a three-pointer to beat the shot clock, while Sylla converted a transition lay-up for the game's final points.

Top three seeds scenarios:
If Le Moyne wins and Adelphi wins – Le Moyne is the first seed, Adelphi is second and New Haven is third.
If Le Moyne wins and Adelphi loses – Le Moyne is the first seed, New Haven is second and Adelphi is third.
If New Haven wins and Adelphi wins – New Haven is the first seed, Adelphi is second and Le Moyne is third.
If New Haven wins and Adelphi loses – New Haven is the first seed, Le Moyne is second and Adelphi is third.