Colts go 1-1 at the Monroe Community College Classic.

On November 16th-17th the SUNY Orange Colts traveled to Monroe Community College to play against the Tribunes of Monroe Community College and the Kats of Erie Community College.  In game one the Colts took on the Tribunes of Monroe Community College and had their troubles to begin half number one, trailing 18-8 with less than 15 minutes left in the first half as Coach Rickard decided to take the teams first time out. At the end of half number one the Colts managed to cut the nine after a Jabari Phillip layup with 00:07 left on the clock to make it 46-37, there were three Colts who were able to score seven points, two Colts who dished out four assists and as a team the Colts finished 8-9 free throws for the first half. 

Half number two was extremely back and forth until the Colts found themselves trailing by the largest margin of the game of 21 points. With a score of 51-70 the Colts decide to take their first timeout of the second half and with under nine minutes left in the game Coach Rickard will be looking for any answer to their problems and start a comeback. Outscoring the Tribunes 19-9 the Colts were able to cut their lead to nine points before they forced Monroe to call a timeout with 1:21 left in the game. In the second half Colt guard #3 Daniel Lans was responsible for 21 points in just 17 minutes as he finished 5-6 from the field with 2-2 three pointers and missed just one free throw finishing 9-10, Lans scored the Colts last 11 points of the game but was not enough to lead the comeback.

Overcoming a 21 point deficit with under 10 minutes in the game was not enough to come away with the victory as the Colts would lose their first game of the season 84-81 to the Tribunes of Monroe Community College. They will have a quick turnaround as the Colts took on the 2-2 Kats less than 24 hours after playing the Tribunes. 

The Colts leading scorer was So. guard #3 Daniel Lans who scored a season high and career high 26 points. Lans finished the game shooting 7-11 from the field, 2-2 from behind three point range and went 10-11 from the free throw line. While also leading the Colts in assists with seven Lans also added three rebounds, two steals and a block.

There were two Colts who finished with 14 points scored Sophomores Marquis Gill and Jabari Phillip as they both have scored 10+ points in every game that the Colts have played thus far. Jabari Phillip finished with 14 points on 6-12 shooting, came down with eight rebounds, dished out five assists and grabbed one steal. Marquis Gill finished with 14 points on 5-13 shooting making one three pointer and going 3-6 from the free throw line. Gill also added four rebounds, three assists and two blocks to his night. 

On Nov. 17th the Colts took on the Kats from Erie Community College in a game where the Colts looked to get the better of the Kats after losing to them in a disappointing fashion coming from a game winning buzzer beater to give the Colts the 102-99 loss. Much like the first match up the Colts jumped out to an early lead as they were leading by 13 points at the end of the first half after a back and forth half where it seemed to be anybodies game. With five different lead changes and three times where the score was tied in the first half the Colts decided enough was enough outscoring the Kats 24-13 with over seven minutes  left in the half.

In what was a slow start of the second half of the game the Colts did not give up the lead for the entire half and were able to secure the victory by a score of 81-75. The Colts move on to a 5-1 record and will have a few days off with their next game being an away game against a conference opponent the Vikings of Westchester on November 21st @7:00. After finishing the weekend going 1-1 the Colts will put those games in the past and will look towards the Vikings. The last time the Colts played the Vikings was for the Region XV DII Championship game where the Colts came away with the win. This game will be an exciting two halves as both teams know what is at stake.

In the win against the Kats of Erie CC there were four Colt athletes who finished with 10+ points, this is the fifth game where four or more Colts finished with 10 or more points and is the sixth game in a row where there were three athletes finished with 10 or more points. The four athletes are Sophomores Marquis Gill, Jabari Phillip, Mathew Shea and Freshman Kassius Paulin.

Jabari Phillip finished as the teams leading scorer with 19 points on 6-9 shooting. Phillip also grabbed five rebounds had three assists and snagged one steal. 

Marquis Gill finished with 17 points and also added four rebounds, two assists and one steal. 

Daniel Lans might not have put many points on the board he found ways to help his team as he led the Colts in assists. Lans finished with just four points scored but dished out a career high nine assists while also grabbing five rebounds. 

Mathew Shea scored 12 points on 5-11 shooting. Shea led the team in other ways as he led the Colts with six grabbed rebounds and came away with three steals in the win over Erie CC