Five Hamilton College players scored in double figures, but the Continentals were edged 65-64 by St. Lawrence University in the finals of the Liberty League Championships tournament at Scott Field House on Feb. 24.
Top-seeded Hamilton (19-7 overall) was making its fifth straight league tournament final appearance and sixth overall. The Continentals dropped to 4-2 in tournament finals.
No. 2 seed St. Lawrence (22-5) won its first tournament title in the event's eight-year history. The Saints receive an automatic bid to the NCAA Championships tournament that goes with winning the conference tournament. The NCAA field is announced Sunday night and the pairings are released on Monday morning. St. Lawrence -- winners of four straight games -- is ranked third in the East region by the NCAA.
Ramunas Rozgys '09 came off the bench to score 12 points in 12 minutes for Hamilton. Dave Alston '10, another reserve, made three shots from beyond the arc and finished with 11 points. Alston also had three assists and three steals.
Nick Jones '07, Tsakani Ngobeni '07 and Zarrette Rogers '07 registered 10 points each. Jones also pulled down seven boards. Ngobeni finished his Hamilton career with 1,388 points, which leaves him in 10th place on the storied program's all-time list. Jones scored 1,308 points in four seasons at Clarkson University and at Hamilton.
Jones had given the Continentals a 64-62 lead on a three-pointer with 1:27 left. The Saints made two free throws to tie the score at 64-all with 1:07 remaining. After a missed shot by the Continentals, a St. Lawrence player was fouled while attempting a three-pointer with 25 seconds left. He only made the first of his three free throws, but it was enough. A three-point shot by Ngobeni was off the mark with two seconds left and a Saints player clutched the rebound to clinch the victory.
St. Lawrence jumped out to a 10-point lead and still led 26-18 with 6:13 left in the first half. Rozgys then keyed an 11-2 Hamilton run that put the Continentals up 29-28 with 2:40 remaining. Rozgys scored eight points during the run. The Saints came back to lead 34-33 at the break.
St. Lawrence scored the first eight points of the second half to go up 42-33. Hamilton roared back with a 14-3 run and a 47-45 lead with 12:46 left. The Continentals continued to apply pressure and after an Alston jumper, the Hamilton lead was six at 61-55 with 3:52 remaining. The Saints responded with seven straight points for a 62-61 advantage just 1:35 later.
The Continentals came up with nine steals, which helped force 21 St. Lawrence turnovers. However, the Saints shot 48.1 percent (25-52) from the field and owned a 42-32 advantage in rebounds. Hamilton shot just 40.3 percent (27-67) from the floor and went 0-for-4 at the free throw line.
