ROCHESTER, N.Y. – The Roberts Wesleyan University men's basketball team finished February with its fifth win in seven games to secure a spot in the East Coast Conference Championship Tournament.
The Redhawks outscored visiting D'Youville 7-5 in the final 59 seconds to defeat D'Youville 84-82 on Saturday afternoon in the Voller Athletic Center to earn a postseason berth. Sixth-seeded Roberts will play at No. 3 College of Staten Island at 7 p.m. on Wednesday.
Junior guard
Collin Woods scored 19 points and freshman
Jaden Lee added 17 to lead the Redhawks (8-16, 6-10 ECC).
"It's really just a collection of being healthy at this time of year," Roberts head coach
Mark Saladzius said. "Once we got healthy late in the season, we were able to start finding our rotations and figuring out how to play with each other and that takes time. When you have so many new guys coming around late, it takes time to mesh. We are by no means perfect, but we still have a couple of practices before our next game and we are going to continue to improve."
The game was tied at 77 entering the final minute when Woods put Roberts in front with a dunk. Junior
Khalik Gardner came up with a steal and went coast-to-coast to give Roberts and 81-77 lead with 43 seconds to play.
After a D'Youville basket,
Keonjay Carter gave the Redhawks a two-possession lead with another layup with nine seconds left. The Saints made a late three-pointer to pull within one, but
Jordan Brown's free throw with a second left provided the final margin.
"We didn't panic," Saladzius said. "We talked in our time outs about taking a breath and just going out there and making the plays that are in front you."
Mohamed Soumahoro had a strong game inside for Roberts with 16 points and seven rebounds. Brown finished with nine points and seven assists and Gardner contributed five points and five assists.
The victory capped a Senior Day celebration for Roberts as Carter and
Calab Rigdon were honored in a pregame ceremony.
Roberts lost both of its matchups with CSI this season, including an 84-75 loss on the road on Feb. 22, but is eager for the opportunity that Wednesday will bring.
"They've been trending upwards all year," Saladzius said of his team. "Hopefully, we're clicking at the right time."