FARMINGDALE, N.Y. --- (www.OLDWESTBURYPANTHERS.com) SUNY Old Westbury men's basketball was unable to recover from an early 43-29 first-half deficit before falling 88-70 to the defending champions Farmingdale State College Rams (12-10, 8-5 Skyline) Tuesday evening in Skyline Conference road action inside Walter A. Lynch Sports center in Farmingdale, New York. Old Westbury (13-9, 9-4 Skyline) split the season series for the first time dating back to the 2016-17 campaign.
At the 18:39 mark of the opening half,
Charles Wingate laid in two to give Old Westbury the early 2-0 lead. 13 seconds later, Ryan Kennedy knocked down a three-pointer for Farmingdale State to claim the 3-2 lead.
Justin Alleyne-Washington dropped in a layup at 18:01 as the Panthers took its last lead of the night, 4-3. From 17:46 to 4:45, the Rams outscored the Panthers 35-16, capped by a pair of Kennedy free throws, to claim the 18-point lead (38-20). Wingate scored six of Old Westbury's seven-unanswered points over the next 1:29 to trim the deficit to 11 (38-27). Farmingdale State closed out the half with a brief 5-2 spurt to send the 43-29 game into the break.
The Panthers got in close as nine (43-34) to open the second-half after Wingate's layup at the 18:26 mark. Jermaine Fraser finished a three-point play to push the Rams' lead back up to double-digits, 46-34, with 17:50 left. Trailing 70-50 with 8:42 remaining, a
Shakirro Samuels' layup kickstarted a 12-5 run for Old Westbury to pull within 13 points (75-62) with 5:30 remaining. Farmingdale State responded by scoring 11-straight points during the span of 2:22 to build its game-high 24-point lead, 86-62. The Panthers put together an 8-2 run in the remaining 1:58 capped by
Jacob Coston's layup to settle the 88-70 final.
Wingate tied-career high 25 points (9-of-17 FG, 3-of-7 3FG, 4-of-6 FT) to go with five rebounds and three steals to pace Old Westbury. Alleyne-Washington followed with 12 points (4-of-6 FT), six rebounds and five assists while Pedro Marquez scored 11 points.
Kennedy led all scorers with 26 points (8-of-14 FG, 8-of-11 3FG, 2-of-2 FT), six rebounds, two assists and two steals in the Rams' victory. Fraser chipped in with 12 points (8-of-11 FT), eight rebounds (game-high) and two blocks while Dominique Senat poured in 10 points (4-of-4 FG, 2-of-2 FT) and five assists from the bench.
In the end, Old Westbury shot 33.8 percent (23-of-68) from the field, 22.2 percent (6-of-27) from three-point territory and 56.3 percent (18-of-32) from the free-throw line. By comparison, Farmingdale State connected on 58 percent (29-of-50) from the floor, 54.2 percent (13-of-24) from beyond the arc and 73.9 (17-of-23) from the charity stripe. Farmingdale State won the boards battle, 47-29, while scoring 11 second-chance points off 10 offensive rebounds. The Panthers outplayed Farmingdale State in steals (13-8), points in the paint (34-30) and fastbreak points (16-14) while scoring 26 points off 26 Ram turnovers. The Rams held the edge in assists (15-11), blocks (5-1) and bench points (37-16).
UP NEXT:
Old Westbury returns to campus Saturday (Feb. 15) for a Skyline Conference Senior Day battle against the College of Mount Saint Vincent Dolphins (8-14, 5-8 Skyline) at 12 p.m. inside Clark Athletic Center.
Prior to tip-off, seniors Alleyne-Washington (2018-20) and Marquez (2018-20) along with cheerleading seniors Chantel Coleman (2017-20) and Shauna Henderson (2019-20) will be honored with the annual Senior Day ceremony for their dedication to Old Westbury athletics.
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