Albany, N.Y. – First-year graduate student guard Isaiah Salter (Charlotte, N.C./Central Cabarrus/American International/Adelphi) scored a career-high 26 points to lead the Le Moyne College men's basketball team to a 74-71 come-from-behind victory at The College of Saint Rose on Saturday afternoon in Northeast-10 Conference action at Daniel P. Nolan Gymnasium.

"We've been talking about just continuing to play," said head coach Nate Champion '14. "Continuing to grind through things, continuing to fight against adversity. You know walking into this gym that it's going to be an interesting game. The big thing we talk about is, when you get an opportunity to get in the game and make a difference, you have to make the most of that opportunity. We had some guys that really stepped up in those situations today. I love the resiliency of our guys. We really talk about just playing. Continue to play, continue to do the right things, and good things will come. We took advantage of our opportunities today."
 
"It's great that we came away with this one. That was a hard-fought win and Saint Rose is a team that plays extremely hard. They have nothing to lose, so it was a dangerous game coming in here, but just playing the way that we played, if we continue to do that, continue the intensity on the defensive end, and continue to work hard on offense, we're going to be just fine."

Salter, who connected on six three-pointers in the game, tallied 21 of his points in the second half, while adding three assists and three rebounds. Senior forward Xavier Wilson (Spring Valley, N.Y./Archbishop Stepinac/The Hotchkiss School/Central Connecticut State) registered 17 points, including 13 in the second half, on 6-of-9 shooting from the field and 4-of-4 from the foul line, while adding three steals and three assists. First-year graduate student guard Nate McClure (Houston, Texas/Concordia Lutheran/Texas State/State Fair C.C./IUPUI) recorded 11 points and a pair of steals.

Josh McGettigan led the Golden Knights in the loss with 25 points, including 17 after halftime, and six rebounds. Max Jusianiec posted 16 points, including 11 in the second half, and had five blocks. The starting backcourt of Frankie Phelan and Latiek Briscoe each scored 10 points, while Phelan added four assists and three steals.

After Saint Rose hit a three-pointer on its first possession, the Dolphins scored 16 of the next 20 points for a16-7 lead at the 12:58 mark. McClure and Salter each made lay-ups and then after a jumper by Briscoe each nailed three-pointers on back-to-back possessions. Following a Saint Rose lay-up, Wilson had a dunk, first-year graduate student guard Mike DePersia (Cherry Hill, N.J./Haddonfield Memorial/IUPUI) made two free throws and then sophomore guard Zy'Ever Wingfield (Richmond, Va./Henrico/Fork Union Military Academy) converted a lay-up.

The Golden Knights answered back with 10 of the next 11 points to even the score at 17 with 9:58 remaining. McGettigan made a pair of lay-ups around a three-pointer by Jusianiec and then Briscoe knotted the score with a three-pointer.

After the teams traded points over the next four minutes, the Golden Knights posted a 10-2 run to take a 30-23 lead with one minute left in the half. Jusianiec and Phelan hit jumpers, Phelan knocked down another jumper and two free throws and then McGettigan made a lay-up.

Le Moyne scored four of the final six points of the half to pull within 32-27 at the intermission.

Jusianiec opened the second half by draining a pair of three-pointers around a lay-up by Wilson to put the Golden Knights up by nine.

Le Moyne countered with nine of the next 11 points to pull within 40-38 with 16:22 to go. Salter drilled a three-pointer, fourth-year junior forward Luke Sutherland (Syracuse, N.Y./West Genesee/Siena/Bryant) made a lay-up and then Wilson made two free throws and a fast-break lay-up.

Jusianiec buried another three-pointer and Phelan made a jumper to push Saint Rose's lead back to seven with 14:55 left, but McClure nailed a three-pointer and then Salter hit a jumper and another three-pointer to make it 47-46 with 12:59 remaining.

The Golden Knights took their largest lead of the game at 56-46 with the next nine points. McGettigan made a three-pointer and a lay-up around a jumper by Briscoe and Keegan Zoller capped the streak with two free throws with 9:18 left.

Salter answered with a pair of three-pointers around a free throw by fourth-year junior guard Jeremiah Washington (Chicago, Ill./Bogan/Ferris State) to get the Dolphins back within three with 8:36 remaining.

Saint Rose pushed its lead to six on a pair of occasions over the next three minutes, the last of which came at 63-57 with 5:07 remaining, but the Dolphins scored nine of the next 11 points to take their first lead of the half. Wilson made a lay-up and freshman guard Trent Mosquera (Brookline, Mass./Belmont Hill School) buried a three-pointer to get he Dolphins within 63-62 with 4:11 left. Following two free throws by McGettigan, Wilson had a dunk and Mosquera converted two free throws for the lead.

After McGettigan made a jumper with 2:20 left to regain the lead for Saint Rose, Wilson drilled a three-pointer from the left corner with 2:01 remaining to give the Dolphins the lead for good.

Salter followed with a three-pointer 18 seconds later to put Le Moyne up by five. McGettigan countered with a jumper with 1:19 remaining to pull Saint Rose within three, but Salter followed 11 seconds later with a lay-up to make it a five-point game again. However, a technical foul was issued to the Dolphins following the basket and McGettigan converted both free throws to get Saint Rose within 74-71.

Each team committed a turnover over the next 30 seconds, which gave Saint Rose the ball with 25 seconds remaining. Jusianiec got off a contested three-pointer in the closing seconds, but it was off the mark and Salter grabbed the rebound and ran the clock out.

Le Moyne (11-11, 8-6 NE10), which swept the season series with the Golden Knights for the fourth time in the last five seasons, starts a three-game homestand on Wednesday against Adelphi University at 7:30 p.m.