Roberts Wesleyan Redhawks

If only losing two out of three ball games at the Wendy's Classic was the major concern of the Roberts Wesleyan College men's basketball this morning it would most likely be business as usual. Unfortunately, the tournament took a heavy toll on the Raiders last week. Starting center and captain, Alif Bland, was the first to go down with a high ankle sprain against ultimate tournament champion Nazareth College in the first round. The Raiders lost that game on Wednesday night to Nazareth at first round site, Saint John Fisher College, 83-74. 

The Raiders opened up the game with an 8-4 lead and led 15-13 at the ten minute mark of the game. A 27-17 Nazareth run to finish the first half put the Golden Flyers ahead 40-32 going into the locker room at the half and Roberts was never able to recapture the lead. Three times late in the contest Roberts had a chance to cut the margin to a one possession game but a missed shot followed by a Golden Flyer response that kept the Raiders from regaining the lead. Bland was lost at the 7:00 minute mark of the first half and it took a while for the Raiders to gather themselves to make a run. When they did, Nazareth was up to the challenge displaying tremendous execution. Time and time again, Naz hit clutch shots to hold off the Raiders. It was the same clutch play that led Nazareth to the Championship as they went on to defeat Hobart in the semi-finals and the University of Rochester in the final game of the Wendy's Classic.

Both Roberts and Nazareth had four players in double figure scoring. Dan Foley led the Raiders with 19 followed by Jordan Heath with 17 points and 8 rebounds. Rashaad Stokelin had 12 points and Jacob Russell scored 10 points off the bench.  

Jason Corletta led all scorers with 22 points including 9-10 from the free throw line. Phil Scaffidi had 21, Tyshun Stephens 16, and Brad Ford 14 for Nazareth.

Box Score

RWC 82 vs RIT 72

On Friday afternoon at Hobart and William Smith College the Raiders bounced back with a ten point victory over RIT, defeating the Tigers 82-72. The Raiders started slowly falling behind by ten points early and trailing by eleven points at the ten minute mark. Roberts  then went on their own 16-3 run to take the lead 31-29, but RIT recovered and went into the locker room at the half up four, 44-40.

Roberts regained the lead at 51-49. From that point the Raiders were able to extend their lead to a fourteen point cushion. With Foley out, RIT did cut the margin to six points late, but the Raiders made some strong plays down the stretch and held on for a ten point victory. 

The Raiders were led by Jordan Heath who had 20 points. Rashaad Stokelin had 15 points and 8 rebounds. Dan Foley had 15 points and 4 steals, and Herb Alexander recorded his first double digit total of the year with 10 points. Curt Despard provided a much needed spark with 5 points, 4 rebounds, 2 blocks and 2 assists in eleven minutes of play.

RIT was led by Anthony Terry with 27 points while Justin Heisig and Brendan Harder each contributed 17.

The devastating news came later when x-rays revealed that senior captain and overall team leader, Dan Foley, had suffered a broken fibula and 6'6 senior defensive stopper, Justin Andrerozzi, chipped a bone in his wrist. Both players will be out indefinitely.

Playing without two captains and three starters the Raiders were no match for SUNY Geneseo. The Knights played extremely well and handled the Raiders easily, 89-60. Roberts was able to get out in front early and led 10-9 at the five minute mark but the Knights gradually built their lead. Roberts hung around for a while cutting the deficit to five points early in the second half, but from that point on SUNY Geneseo methodically took the Raiders apart winning going away 89-60. The Knights shot 64% from the floor and 58% from behind the three point line, caused 21 turnovers, and were stronger on the boards than the Raiders.  Fourteen different Knights scored led by Ethan Estabrooks 14 points.

The Raiders were led by Rashaad Stokelin who had 13 points and 7 assists. Jordan Heath had 12 points and 9 rebounds and Curt Despard also chipped in 10 points.

Rashaad Stokelin received Second Team All-Tournament recognition.

The Raiders went into the Wendy's Classic seeded #1 with a 5-2 record. They had just broken into the top 25 in the country in the latest NAIA D2 poll at #24. Now at 6-4 with different players in key roles the Raiders will need to regroup and find different ways to be successful. 

Come out and support the team on Tuesday night as the Raiders take on division foe Daemen at 8:00 at home at the Voller Athletic Center.