By JOSHUA NATOLI
Sports Editor
With Head Coach Brian Beaury not in attendance due to illness, the Golden Knights of The College of Saint Rose took the floor this past Saturday afternoon to take on the Stonehill Skyhawks with Assistant Coach Mike Perno at the helm. It was the first matchup between the two Northeast-10 Conference rivals this season.
The game came down to the wire as the Skyhawks were sent to the line ahead two points and blew the first free throw of a one-and-one opportunity. The Golden Knights grabbed the board and called timeout to set up an out of bounds play. After getting the ball at halfcourt, sophomore forward Tyler Sayre dribbled left and heaved a prayer three-pointer that would not drop. The final score would end at 75-73 with the Golden Knights falling to Stonehill.
The miss would top Sayre’s night off at 27 points and ten rebounds while playing all 40 minutes. Center Dominykas Milka earned yet another double-double with 13 points and ten rebounds. Senior guard Kareem Thomas also contributed in a big way with 21 points while shooting five of six from behind the arc.
The Golden Knights jumped out to a quick double-digit lead just ten minutes into the first half lead by Thomas and Milka. Saint Rose was able to jump out on the fastbreak on nearly every defensive possession, capitalizing on ball movement miscues and missed shots by Stonehill. Stonehill seemed winded from the pace and switched to a 2-3 zone defense mid-way through the first half, which seemed to be working as they cut the deficit down to five with seven minutes remaining in the half
“We were down 13 at one point and called a timeout,” said Stonehill head coach Chris Kraus. “We needed to mix it up with Tyler and Kareem really getting it going in the first half.”
The teams began to trade three-point buckets for nearly an entire minute, netting two each in the span. With three minutes left in the half Stonehill switched back up to man-defense as both teams moved into the bonus.
Both teams struggled to find the hole late in the first half, heading back to the locker room with the Golden Knights leading 35-32 at halftime.
Perno preached to his team, “We can score offensively; we just needed to get after it defensively.”
Thomas kept his hand hot from downtown, opening up the second half with a deep three, with Sayre adding another on the next possession.
Guard Dan Mundweiler made a quick exit to the bench three minutes into the half after picking up his fourth personal foul as the Skyhawks went up 44-41.
Saint Rose could not stop Stonehill from putting the ball in the basket as they went up 58-49.
Perno had seen enough as he checked Mundweiler back in, risking his fifth and final foul. The high-risk, high-reward move seemed to be paying off as the Golden Knights inched back into the game, down by six.
With the clock winding down, the Golden Knights missed numerous opportunities to net high-percentage buckets to try and get back on top. The lead was trimmed to just three as Mundweiler nailed a three from the corner with five minutes to play.
Shortly after, Sayre flew to the rack, got the bucket, and the foul. After the made free throw, the Skyhawk lead remained only at one.
The two teams remained separated by two with 35 seconds left on the clock, and the Golden Knights surging downcourt. The ball found its way into the hands of Milka in stride to the hoop, which could not fall as the Skyhawks grabbed the board and called timeout.
The Golden Knights needed a foul, and they got it.
Sending the Skyhawks to the line again, the Golden Knights capitalized on the first missed free throw, grabbed the rebound, and immediately called timeout to set up an out of bounds play.
After getting the ball at halfcourt with just seconds left, Sayre dribbled left and heaved a prayer three-pointer that would not drop.
“I caught the ball too early,” says Sayre. “I was only thinking about three points instead of the two or a foul.”
Pierce Cumpstone and Adam Bramati paced the Skyhawks offensively with 18 and 16 points each respectively.
“For the first 10 minutes and the last 10 minutes we competed,” says Perno. “They’re very long. We had a hard time matching up.”
Both teams are on the road for their next matchups. The Skyhawks will take on Merrimack Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. and the Golden Knights will be at American International at 7:30 p.m.
