The Keuka College men’s basketball team edged host SUNY Geneseo 55-53 in the semifinals of the Empire 8 Conference Men’s Basketball Championship Tournament.
Keuka College (14-13, 9-7 Empire 8) advances to the Empire 8 Championship game for the first time in program history and will play in its first conference title game overall since the 2002-03 season.
Lamar Lovelace led the Wolves with 23 points. Kaleb Nutifafa added nine points and grabbed a team-high 10 rebounds.
#7 Keuka College 55, #3 SUNY Geneseo 53 – Empire 8 Tournament Semifinals
Geneseo opened the game with momentum, knocking down its first two three-pointers to jump out to an 8-2 lead. Keuka responded and chipped away at the deficit. Lovelace found Nutifafa under the basket to tie the game at 12-12. The Wolves then surged ahead, holding the Knights scoreless for more than six minutes.
The teams traded the lead as halftime approached. Kevin Felasco hit a three-pointer to put Keuka in front 25-22, and the Wolves carried a 27-23 advantage into the break.
Keuka extended its lead to 10 early in the second half. Lovelace drained a deep three and later assisted Quinn VanKerkhove for another triple on the break to make it 35-25 five minutes into the half. Malik Junious-Fuller added to the run with a drive to the basket and a three-point play.
Geneseo answered with nine straight points to cut the deficit to 38-34, and the Knights’ run eventually reached 13, tying the game with nine minutes remaining. Lovelace responded with a pull-up jumper to regain the lead for Keuka.
A Geneseo three-pointer put the Knights ahead 47-45 with five minutes to play, but the Wolves continued to battle. Lovelace hit a fadeaway jumper to give Keuka a four-point cushion with 2:33 left. He later assisted Makya Morrison for a dunk and an and-one, pushing the lead to six.
Geneseo chipped away at the free-throw line to make it a 55-53 game with under a minute remaining. Keuka missed the front end of a one-and-one with six seconds left, but the Knights’ final shot fell short, sealing the two-point victory for the Wolves.
Keuka Notes
The win marks Keuka’s first victory at Geneseo in program history. The Wolves are now 4-14 all-time against the Knights.
It is the third conference championship appearance in program history and the first since competing in the North Eastern Athletic Conference in the early 2000s.
Keuka won the rebounding battle 41-34, with Morrison adding nine rebounds.
Up Next
Keuka will travel to face SUNY Brockport in the conference championship on Saturday at 2 p.m. The Wolves defeated the Golden Eagles 65-62 in January, but Brockport earned the higher seed and will host the title game.
