Men's Basketball Picks Up First Skyline Win Over Sage

Brooklyn, NY - The NYU-Poly men's basketball team held off a second half rally by Sage College to pick up a much-needed  Skyline Conference victory Tuesday night in the Jacobs Gymnasium. The Fighting Blue Jays would earn their first Skyline win of the year as they recorded the 84-78 win. NYU-Poly is now 3-8 overall and 1-5 in the league, while Sage drops to 2-9 overall and  1-6 in the conference.

NYU-Poly had a 36-31 lead at the half as they made 13-15 free throws (86.7%) and held the Gators to a 16.7% effort from three-point range. By game's end, sophomore forward Eddie Ortiz (Brooklyn, NY) had racked up a game-high 21 points after making an impressive 5-of-6 from three-point range. Joining Ortiz in double-digit scoring on the night was junior forward Anthony Mattola (Brooklyn, NY) as he added 19 points. Rookie guard Myles Hinchcliffe (Flower Mound, TX) added 13 points for the Blue Jays.

In the first half Sage jumped out to a 3-0 lead but NYU-Poly answered back as Ortiz connected on 16 of his 21 in the half. His three-pointer from way behind the arc, with under 3:00 to play, put the Jays up by its largest lead of the half 34-25. But, just seconds later Sage's Ryan Harris would answer with a three of his own and equally as far from the hoop. NYU-Poly would go into the half with a 36-31 lead.

The first 11 minutes oft he second half saw Sage slowly erase that five point margin. With 9:45 left in the game, Sage evened the score at 51-51 when freshmen Mervin Springer (Copiague, NY) connected on a three. Sage would take its first lead since the beginning of the game at the 9:00 mark when Harris hit his second money ball of the night, putting Sage up 54-51. Moments later, the Gators would own their biggest lead of the night, 61-55, when freshmen Matt Farbotko (Rouses Point, NY) cashed in on a jumper.

But the final seven minutes went to the Jays and this time it was Matolla who netted 10 of his 19 in the final moments. After back-to-back buckets by Matolla, the Jays and Gators were even at 67-67. NYU-Poly would end the game on a 17-11 run and seal the victory.

Sage's freshmen Farbotko and Springer each finished with 19 points on the night. Sage had four players finish in double-digit scoring in the game as Mason Horne (Albany, NY) added 10 points and Alex King (Saratoga Springs, NY) connected for 16 points. Farbotko added a double-double with his 10 rebounds and hit 7-18 of his shots from the floor.

NYU-Poly visits Mount Saint Mary College Thursday night for a 7:00 p.m. tip in a  Skyline game on the road.