Box Score Archived Video

BRONXVILLE, N.Y.—Sarah Lawrence College men's basketball kicked off its 2015-16 Skyline season with a 68-60 loss to The Sage Colleges at Noyes Court at Campbell Sports Center on Sunday.

IN SHORT
Sage (3-1, 1-0 Skyline) def. Sarah Lawrence (1-1, 0-1 Skyline), 68-60.

FLOW OF THE GAME
Sage scored the first seven points of the game and looked to run away, but SLC leveled the game at 9-9, eight minutes into the first period. Sage again went ahead, 15-9, before the Gryphons countered to tie again at 17-17. SLC got its first taste of the lead when rookie Gabe Eng (Brooklyn, N.Y./The Beacon School) drained back-to-back three-pointers, and junior captain Graham Gilleran (San Francisco, Calif./Archbishop Riordan) also converted a trey. The 9-2 swing took less than 90 seconds and left the Gryphons on top, 26-21. SLC held the advantage until a fast-break layup with 10 seconds remaining put Sage back in front 31-30 after the first half.

Early in the second half, Sage led by six, 36-30, but the Gryphons again reeled in the deficit. Eng converted another two treys, and with just under 16 minutes remaining, the two teams were deadlocked 40-40. From there, Sage finally went ahead for good. The Gators took their largest lead of the game at 52-42, and a 6-0 SLC run narrowed it to 52-48. With two minutes to go, the contest was still within one possession, 59-57, and the final minute began with the Gryphons trailing by only three, 63-60. A Gator three-pointer on the visitors' penultimate possession iced the game, 66-60, with 23 seconds to go, and Sage came away with the 68-60 victory.

FIRST HALF STATS
Coming off the bench, Eng shot 3 for 4 and led the Gryphons with nine points at the intermission. Fellow rookie Parker Hagmeier (Oakland, Calif./Bishop O'Dowd) also subbed in and made four baskets to add nine points of his own. Gilleran was held to just six points in the period, but his aggressive play under the basket left him with five defensive rebounds and a pair of blocks on the stat sheet; he totaled a game-high four blocks on the day.

SECOND HALF STATS
Eng scored nine more points in the second half, as did junior Mat Gerak (Monroe, Conn./Masuk). Gerak shot 4 for 6 in the period and reeled in four rebounds in the frame. Hagmeier led the Gryphons with six rebounds in the period.

FROM DOWNTOWN
Eng finished the game with a team-high 18 points after shooting 6 for 11 (54.5 pct.) from three-point territory. He broke into the SLC record book by matching the third-most three-pointers in a game by a Gryphon.

UNDER THE BOARDS
In overall rebounding, SLC trailed the Gators by two, 43-41. Scoring 15 points in the game, Hagmeier finished with nine rebounds, one shy of his first collegiate double-double. Gilleran also collected nine rebounds, adding eight points on offense.

OTHER CONTRIBUTIONS
Junior Stevan Radosavljevic (Lazarevac, Serbia/Grammar School Lazarevac) tallied four points, adding five rebounds, a block and a steal. Junior Wyatt Rocheleau (San Jose, Calif./Christopher) contributed two points and dished out a pair of assists. Sophomore Malin Segal (Wenham, Mass./Concord Academy) finished with four points, four rebounds and a game-high five assists. Rookie Austin Jones (Upper Marlboro, Md./Flint Hill School) came off the bench and chipped in two points and two assists.

THE GATORS
Backed by 12 points in the second half, Travis Gill led all players with 19 points. Melvin Ford had a double-double on 17 points and a team-high 11 rebounds along with four blocks. Andre Robinson handed out give assists.

FOR THE RECORD
The Gryphons' eight-point loss is the team's second-smallest margin of defeat against a Skyline opponent. SLC lost to Maritime, 65-62, on January 17, 2015.

UP NEXT
Sarah Lawrence travels to Purchase College on Tuesday at 7 p.m. Later this week, the Gryphons will play for the first time outside of the Eastern time zone. SLC travels to California to face Cal Tech on Saturday and Occidental College on Sunday. The Gryphons host their next home game on December 5.