SALEM, Va. --- Roanoke got past a tough SUNY-Cortland squad, 84-82 to win the 2009 Domino's New Year's Classic in double-overtime action Saturday afternoon at the Bast Center. The Maroons won their ninth-straight game and improved to 10-1 on the year. The Red Dragons dropped to 4-4 on the season.
The 2009 Domino's New Year's Classic All-Tournament Team is Adam Powell of Greensboro, Tyriq Smith of PSU-Abington, Paul Oliver and Mike Lewis of SUNY-Cortland and
Parrish Walker of Roanoke.
Drew Gaeng garnered Tournament MVP honors for the Maroons.
Roanoke had a 21-10 advantage in points off turnovers including an 8-4 advantage in fast break scoring. With the game on the line and with 18 seconds remaining, Walker got two big steals and hit all four of his free-throw attempts to seal the win. Walker finished with seven points, four assists and five steals in addition to a career-best seven rebounds.
The Maroons, now ranked #26 in the latest D3Hoops National Poll, are now 2-1 in overtime games this season and 14-8 under head coach
Page Moir's 20 seasons at Roanoke.
The Red Dragons jumped out to a 15-6 lead in the first eight minutes of the opening period as the Maroons called timeout with 11:44 remaining in the half.
Roanoke came out after the timeout and slowly cut away at Cortland's lead. Two
Corey Poindexter free-throws gave the Maroons a two-point lead, 26-24 with 3:39 remaining.
Cortland scored 12 of the next 18 points and went into the half with a 36-32 lead. They took the lead with 13 offensive rebounds which led to 18 second chance points. They out-rebounded Roanoke, 24-13 for the half.
Neither team could pull away in the second half as the biggest lead was a 62-56 Roanoke advantage with 4:44 remaining in regulation. SUNY-Cortland got to the line late and hit the four free-throws in the final minute to tie the game, 64-all with 17-seconds remaining.
Curtis Peery's three-pointer fell short and moved into overtime.
In the first overtime period, both teams went back and forth as there were four ties and three lead changes. With the score 70-69 with just two minutes remaining, Gaeng hit a big three-pointer to make it 72-70. With the score tied at 72-all with 45-seconds remaining, he hit another big shot to put them ahead, 74-72 as Cortland called timeout.
Cortland's, Ron Evans hit both free-throws to tie the game and with no time on the clock, Gaeng attempted a long-range three that just missed as the Red Dragons forced a second overtime.
In the second overtime, Felix stepped up early and scored the first four points to give the Maroons a one-point lead, 78-77 with 2:31 left. After Ron Evans sixth three-pointer of the game put them within one, Mike Lewis scored off a layup to give the Red Dragons a 79-78 lead with just under two minutes remaining.
From there it was all Walker as he scored the next five points and
Corey Poindexter hit both free throws with 2.7 seconds left to give the Maroons an 83-79 lead.
Curtis Peery led the Maroons with 35 points for the tournament, including a 22-point, six rebound and three assists effort in the championship against a fierce frontline from SUNY-Cortland. His 1,076 career points passed former great
Walt Dierks '54 for 26
th on the all-time scoring list at Roanoke.
Gaeng had a career-high 11 points and five assists to lead the Maroons. His outside shooting kept them in the game as he was 3-of-4 from beyond the arc.
Melvin Felix finished with 11 points and four assists.
Aaron Tyson had three blocked shots on the day and six for the weekend. He needs only six more to enter the top-10 all-time at Roanoke in career blocked shots.
Cortland out-rebounded Roanoke, 54-35 and held a 23-14 second chance points advantage. The Red Dragons also outscored the Maroons, 32-26 in the paint.
Lewis and Oliver combined for 31 points and 28 rebounds as both players recorded a double-double for Cortland. Ron Evans led all scorers with 22 points and eight rebounds including 6-for-10 from three-point range. Will Coston added 10 points, five rebounds and three steals for the Red Dragons.
The men are back in action Wednesday, Jan. 7 as they return to ODAC play against Emory & Henry on the road. The Maroons are 63-40 all-time against the Wasps, 23-18 under Page Moir. They have won the last three meetings against E&H. Game time is set for 7 p.m. in Emory, Va.
You can access top stories, scores, updated stats and more. Make sure to sign up for e-scores for the latest Roanoke athletic updates sent right to you phone or e-mail. You can sign-up on the school's athletic home page on the left by simply click on the e-scores icon. Be sure to view all home games live on our live feed via internet brought to you by ustream.tv. Click on live feeds on the main athletics page and then click on the link for those who are outside the area. To keep up to date with Maroon athletics from your mobile phone or PDA, please visit m.roanoke.edu/sports.
