The Keuka College men’s basketball team punched its ticket to the Empire 8 Conference Tournament on Saturday, earning a 93-80 road win over Russell Sage College. The victory marks the third postseason appearance in program history for the Wolves.
Two seniors powered Keuka College (10-12, 7-6 Empire 8) in the win. Lamar Lovelace led all scorers with 32 points, while Akinlana Popoola followed up his season-high performance from Friday with 22 points. Kaleb Nutifafa added his second double-double of the season, finishing with 15 points and 12 rebounds.
The game was tightly contested early, with the teams trading leads through the opening minutes of the first half. Keuka briefly pulled ahead midway through the period on a steal and dunk by Nutifafa, but Russell Sage responded to tie the game at 24. The Gators later grabbed a 42-41 lead on a three-pointer with two minutes remaining in the half, but the Wolves closed strong. Keuka scored the final seven points before the break, highlighted by a transition three from Lovelace and a layup by Popoola, to take a 48-42 lead into halftime.
Russell Sage opened the second half with a push, tying the game at 51-51 just three minutes in and later using an 8-0 run to move in front 59-55. Keuka answered with six straight points to regain the lead with 11 minutes to play and would not trail again. The Wolves locked in defensively down the stretch, holding the Gators scoreless for nearly five minutes while extending their lead into double digits before closing out the 93-80 win.
With the victory, Keuka completed a season sweep of Russell Sage and improved to 8-3 all-time against the Gators. Lovelace continued his record-setting season, moving back atop the Empire 8 scoring leaderboard and tying for fourth on Keuka’s single-season scoring list with 448 points. Lovelace and Popoola each connected on four three-pointers as the Wolves shot 10-of-21 from beyond the arc. Keuka also won the rebounding battle 49-45, led by Nutifafa’s 12 boards, while Noreon Williams added a season-high nine rebounds.
With a postseason spot secured, the Wolves will close out the regular season with seeding on the line. Keuka College hosts conference-leading Nazareth University on Friday night before welcoming St. John Fisher University to the JMW Recreation and Athletics Center on Saturday.
