ALBANY, N.Y. -  The SUNY Geneseo men's basketball team ended a four-game skid by defeating Sage on Friday evening by a score of 70-60. The victory improves the Knights record to 4-7 overall and 1-1 in Empire 8 play, while Sage falls to 8-3 overall and 1-1 in conference action.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

• After some back and forth action to start the game, a fast-break layup from Colin Gentile to give Geneseo a 10-9 lead jump started a momentum shift for the Knights. Following Gentile's layup, the Knights never gave up the lead for the remainder of the game.
• Justin Yearwood extended the lead to nine points in the first half with a layup at 24-15, but a quick response from Sage cut the deficit to five points at 28-23. However, an and-one from Sebastian Pacheco and a layup from Robert Pericolosi quickly brought the lead back up to 10 points.
• Leading by 11 at half, Michael Gentile helped the Knights extend the advantage to 14 with seven points in the first four minutes of play in the second half.
• The Gators managed to claw their way back into the game, reducing the deficit down to just three points with 5:19 left on the clock. However, Geneseo responded with a layup from Pericolosi and never gave Sage the ball back with a chance to tie the game. The Knights defense only allowed four points in the final five minutes of the game to help seal the 70-60 win.

QUICK FACTS:

• Pacheco led all scorers in the game with 17 points, and nearly reached a double-double totaling nine rebounds, also a team-high.
• Colin Gentile (11), Michael Gentile (10), and Pericolosi (10) also reached double digit scoring in the game.
• The Knights defense was dominant in the game, limiting Sage to a field goal percentage of 29.2.

WHAT'S NEXT?
Geneseo will continue Empire 8 play tomorrow afternoon as they head to Hartwick at 4 p.m.