Pat Sullivan '12 scored a season-high 21 points to lead Hamilton College to a 79-68 win over Farmingdale State College in the championship game of the Hamilton Thanksgiving Tournament at Margaret Bundy Scott Field House on Nov. 27.
Sullivan was 7 of 11 from the floor and led the Continentals with seven rebounds. His 1,119 career points place him 25th on Hamilton's career scoring list, just one point behind Tim Nevin '90.
Four other Hamilton players scored in double figures. Hans Schulte '13 chipped in 16 points, and Greg Newton '14, Eric Benvenuti '13 and Bradley Gifford '15 added 10 apiece. Newton dished out a game-high six assists, and Schulte added four.
A.J. Matthews '13 and Josh Smith '12 scored 18 points apiece for the Rams, and Matthews added a game-high 10 rebounds and two blocks. Dyshaun Flournoy '12 and Ibrahim Johnson '15 scored 12 apiece, and Johnson posted seven rebounds and a game-high two steals. Smith and Ryan Davis '13 handed out five assists apiece.
There were two ties and 13 lead changes through the first 10 minutes, 54 seconds. Farmingdale State took a 19-18 lead on a layup by Smith with 9:06 remaining and led the rest of the half. After a three-point play by Flournoy with 45 seconds left, the Rams had built a 39-30 lead, their largest of the game.
Hamilton (5-0 overall) took the lead for good with a 24-1 run that spanned the first and second halves. Schulte hit a 3-pointer with 36 seconds left in the first half to spark the run, and Gifford capped the spurt with another 3-pointer with 12:19 remaining in the game to give the Continentals a 54-40 lead.
A 3-pointer by Smith pulled Farmingdale State (3-2) to within four points at 60-56 with 6:03 left, but the Rams did not get any closer the rest of the way. Hamilton was 18-for-19 at the free-throw line, including 17 of 18 (94.4 percent) after the break, to seal the tournament title. The Continentals are 5-0 for the first time since 2006.
Jose Stable '14 posted a game-high 28 points and 16 rebounds to power Berkeley College (N.Y.) to an 89-73 victory over SUNY Cobleskill in the consolation game.
Stable was 11 of 15 from the floor, and led the Knights with seven assists. Kaseem Williams '13 chipped in 22 points and seven boards, and Jovan Bovell '14 added 15 points and five assists. Elijah Craig '14 pulled down 13 rebounds.
Brendan Doherty '12 paced the Fighting Tigers with 17 points to go along with 10 assists and two steals. Clint Foster '12 scored a team-high 20 points.
Berkeley (4-3) scored the first seven points. Cobleskill tied the score at 10 with 15:06 on the clock, and there were seven ties and seven lead changes during the next 12:33. Bovell hit a pair of free throws with 2:33 left to give the Knights the lead for good at 35-34. Berkeley held a 39-37 advantage at the break.
The Knights opened the second half with an 11-4 run to stretch their lead to nine points at 50-41 with 17:34 remaining. Foster hit a pair of free throws 35 seconds later to pull the Fighting Tigers within 50-45. But that was as close as Cobleskill (0-6) could get. Berkeley led by as many as 22 with just under five minutes left.
The Knights shot 57 percent from the floor, and outrebounded the Fighting Tigers 46-20. Cobleskill went 12-for-15 (80 percent) at the free-throw line.
TOURNAMENT MVP: Pat Sullivan (Hamilton)
ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM: Hans Schulte (Hamilton), A.J. Matthews (Farmingdale State), Dyshaun Flournoy (Farmingdale State), Jose Stable (Berkeley), Brendan Doherty (SUNY Cobleskill)
