ALBANY, N.Y. — The Keuka College Men's Basketball team broke a tie with 33 seconds left to play and hung on to defeat Russell Sage College 77-74 in an Empire 8 game on Saturday afternoon.

Keuka College (3-2, 1-1 Empire 8) was led by 27 points from senior Devin Milton. Alijah Ellis set a new career-best with 16 points and Mason VanDeMortel added 13 in the win.

Keuka College 77 at Russell Sage College 74
Both teams started slow on Saturday. The Wolves would get to the free throw line in the opening minutes, but the first basket for the Green and Gold came 5:30 into the game as Alijah Ellis made a put-back layup for the Wolves. The Gators would lead early by as many as 12 points, but the Wolves quickly cut back into the margin. Devin Milton got the margin back to single digits with a three. Then Jaden Keasey forced a steal and found Milton for another three to make it 21-15. Back-to-back threes by Russell Sage reestablished their lead, but the Wolves continued to fight. Keasey knocked down a three for the Wolves, followed by triples by Mason VanDeMortel and Devin Milton. The Wolves drew the game closer. Six straight for Keuka gave the Wolves their first lead of the game, 32-30 with 4:30 left to play in the half. The advantage would bounce between both teams until the Wolves scored five straight for a 39-35 lead with two minutes until halftime. Keuka led for the rest of the half. The opening half was capped by an impressive individual effort by Ezeke Pulliam. With eight seconds left, Russell Sage inbounded the ball in their offensive end. Pulliam ripped the ball from the Gators for a steal and went the distance to lay the ball in in the final seconds to give the Wolves a 43-37 halftime lead.

Russell Sage cut into the Keuka College lead early in the second half. They dropped the margin down to one following a three-pointer with 16:45 remaining, but Devin Milton had a personal 5-0 run to push the Keuka College lead back out. Another three by Milton followed by a pair of Jaden Keasey free throws gave the Wolves a nine-point advantage, their largest of the game. Russell Sage answered back and used a 7-0 run to tie the game with 7:41 left to play. Keion Brooks made a second-chance layup to give the Wolves the lead back, but Russell Sage grabbed the lead on the following possession with a three-pointer. A minute later, Mason VanDeMortel answered with a three to give the Wolves the lead back, but it changed right back to Russell Sage following a Gator three on the next possession. The game would be tied at 71-71 going into the final minute. Milton knocked down a jumper with 33 seconds left to take a 73-71 lead. Russell Sage would get fouled with 20 seconds left and a chance to tie but would miss both free throws and Mason VanDeMortel got the rebound. The Wolves broke the pressure. Alijah Ellis missed the initial layup but Ezeke Pulliam was there for the put-back with 13 seconds left. The Gators got a basket with four seconds left to make it 75-73 and fouled Keuka with 2.5 seconds left. Devin Milton made the first free throw to make it 76-73. In between shots, an administrative foul was called against the Wolves and Russell Sage made their one free throw to make it 76-74. Back at the other end, Milton made his second three to push the lead to three. Russell Sage's three-quarter-court effort at the buzzer missed as the Wolves won their first Empire 8 game of the season.

KC Notes:

• Saturday was the fifth time the Wolves and Gators have squared off on the hardwood. Keuka is now 3-2 and it was the first time that the road team has won in the series
• Milton's 27 points is a season-high for any Keuka College player. The senior also tied his career-high with five three-pointers
• It was also the most threes in a game by a Wolf this year
• Mason VanDeMortel and Alijah Ellis tied for the team lead with eight rebounds. The Wolves had a 40-35 advantage over the Gators on the boards
• Keuka College trailed by 12 in the first half to Russell Sage. The comeback victory is the largest for the Wolves since Keuka College came from 17 down to defeat Russell Sage last season

Up Next for Keuka College: The Wolves have a pair of non-conference games to close the 2022 portion of their schedule. Keuka College will be at home on Tuesday night to face SUNY Geneseo at 7 p.m. The Wolves will then close the fall semester on the road at Pitt.-Bradford on Friday night.