NEWBURGH, N.Y. – Farmingdale junior Shahee Martin (Queens, N.Y.) racked up a game-high 32 points to lead his team past Mount Saint Mary College, 91-71, in Skyline Conference action on Saturday. The Rams improved to 13-12 overall (13-7 Skyline) while dropping the Knights to 10-15 (9-11 Skyline).
Farmingdale led by as many as ten in the first half, but the Knights closed the half on a 4-0 run to make it 46-40 at the break. Junior
Tim Morris (Greenwich, N.Y.) drained a pair of free throws with 38 seconds remaining and then sophomore
Carlos Valdez (Slate Hill, N.Y.) put home a layup with just one second showing on the clock to make it a six-point game.
The Mount continued their strong play out of the gates in the second half, as a three-pointer from freshman
Lenny Ragaglia (Staten Island, N.Y.) brought them to within four at 18:37. Valdez banked home a feed from junior
Matt Weinberger (Washingtonville, N.Y.) to cut the deficit to two, and after a stop at the other end, Morris finished off a feed from Weinberger to tie the game at 48-48.
Farmingdale senior Terrence Howard (Queens, N.Y.) scored on the ensuing possession and then it was Mount freshman
Dylan McCann (Staten Island, N.Y.) who missed a triple that would have given the Knights the lead. From there, the Rams would score 11 of the next 15 points to seize a 61-52 advantage with 13:19 remaining.
Mount Saint Mary would close to within seven on a pair of occasions, but were never able to threaten again. The Rams extended their lead for the rest of the way and a three-pointer by Howard made the final margin, 91-71.
Martin was unstoppable at the offensive end, shooting 10-of-18 from the floor and 4-of-9 from downtown. The junior also collected 6 rebounds and dished out 5 assists. Howard was the next high man for the Rams, tallying 18 points on 7-of-11 shooting. Junior Alvin Dennis (Bellport, N.Y.) also reached double figures with 12.
Valdez led the Knights with 19 points and 13 rebounds. Sophomore
Kevin Milella (Floral Park, N.Y.) played hard once again, and finished with 18 points and 8 boards. Morris had a nice game as well, totaling 14 points.
It was a hot shooting day for the Rams who finished at 56.9-percent for the contest. They also drained 9-of-15 from three-point range (60.0-percent). The numbers weren’t so appealing for the Mount – the Knights shot 36.4-percent from the field and 3-for-20 from three.
Farmingdale advances to the Skyline Conference tournament and will take on Maritime College in a quarterfinal game on Tuesday. The Knights finish at 10-15.