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SKYLINE CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP TOURNAMENT BRACKET

FARMINGDALE, NY (www.oldwestburypanthers.com) –  The SUNY College at Old Westbury men's basketball team advanced to the semifinal round of the Skyline Conference Championship Tournament with a 98-96 double-overtime road victory against the fourth-seeded Farmingdale State Rams Tuesday evening. Fifth-seeded Old Westbury improves to 13-13 on the season and will travel to the top-seeded Purchase Panthers on Thursday evening at 7 p.m. Farmingdale State dropped to 16-10 on the season after falling to the Panthers for the first time in three games this season.

Robert Adon banked in a layup to put Farmingdale State on the board with a 2-0 lead at 18:54. Old Westbury responded 12-4 spurt to take a six point lead at the 14:58 mark of the first half. The Panthers extended its lead to as many as 11 in the first half when they took a 30-19 advantage on an 11-4 run from 10:19 to the six minute mark. Farmingdale State used a 12-6 run over the final 5:38 to cut its deficit down to five points (36-31) at the intermission.

Farmingdale State scored 12 of the first 18 points of the second half to take a 43-42 advantage, its first lead since the 18:29 mark in the first half. Old Westbury responded with a 10-2 run from 13:47 to 11:14 go back up by seven, 52-45. Frantz Granjean sank a pair of free-throws at 5:26 and Lester Prosper hit two more at 4:16 to give Old Westbury a 12 point lead, its largest of the game. Farmingdale State was not done. The Rams fired back with a 16-4 run over the final 2:59 to send the game into overtime. Frantz Granjean hit the front end of a pair of free-throws with 18 second left to tie the game at 72 while Farmingdale State's Dyshaun Flournoy missed a three pointer with one second left.

In the first overtime, Matthew Duffy connected on a three-pointer to give Old Westbury an early 75-72 lead. After four ties, Farmingdale State took an 85-81 lead with 1:16 left on the clock. Lester Prosper converted a three-point play with 1:04 remaining to bring the Panthers within one, 85-84. Keith Nandin put the Rams ahead by three on a pair of free-throws with 35 second while Frantz Granjean launched a three-ball with 23 seconds to knot the game at 87. Farmingdale State's Josh Smith missed a jumper that was rebounded by Lester Prosper with one second left that sent the game into a second overtime. Prosper's rebound was his 1,000th career pull down.

Lester Prosper scored the first four points of the second overtime as OW took a 91-87 lead with 3:29 remaining. Old Westbury's lead held until Josh Smith converted a three-point play with 1:10 left in second overtime to take back a 96-95 lead. Frantz Granjean scored his career-best 33rd and 34th points of the game by sinking a pair of free-throws as Old Westbury took the lead for good. Jamal Little hit another free-throw to extend OW's lead to 98-96. Farmingdale State missed on a pair of three-pointers over the final five seconds as the Panthers were able to preserve the victory.

Lester Prosper had his 19th double-double of the season and Frantz Granjean went for his 11th. Prosper finished with 21 points, 19 rebounds and one blocked shot in 36 minutes off the bench. He currently has 1,469 points, 1,001 rebounds and 249 blocked shots over his four year career. Granjean poured in a career-high 34 points on 11-of-17 shooting from the field and 11-of-14 from the stripe to go along with 13 boards. Matthew Duffy added 12 points, hitting four triples and Jamal Little hit three to finish at 18 points. Tymel Ambrose dished out six assists and finished with seven points and five rebounds before fouling out.

Six Rams scored in double-figures to pace Farmingdale State in defeat. Josh Smith led Farmingdale State with 17 points while Dyshaun Flournoy (15 points), Keith Nandin (15 points), Jermaine Abraham (13 points), Robert Adon (12 points) and Davon Henry (11 points) followed in double-digit scoring. Nandin finished with a team-best six assists and Smith had eight steals and five assists.

Old Westbury held a +17 rebounding margin, out-rebounding Farmingdale State 59-42. Old Westbury 18 offensive boards were turned into 23 second chance points. Old Westbury shot 47 percent from the field compared to Farmingdale State, who hit 38.6 percent from the floor. OW also hit 28-of-38 from the free-throw stripe (73.7 percent) and the Rams knocked down 22-of-31 (71 percent). OW also held the advantage from long distance, connecting on 33.3 percent (8-24) while Farmingdale State hit 17.6 percent (6-34). Farmingdale State converted 20 Panther turnovers into 32 points. The game featured 13 ties (Farmingdale State-9; Old Westbury 4)

PURCHASE PANTHERS UP NEXT FOR THE OLD WESTBURY PANTHERS: The Panthers return to the hardwood on Thursday (Feb. 24) as the fifth seed when they hit the road to take on the top-seeded Purchase Panthers in the semifinal round of the Skyline Conference Championship Tournament in Purchase, New York. Game time of the 2009-10 Skyline Conference Championship game is set to tip at 7 p.m.

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