BRONXVILLE, N.Y. - The Sarah Lawrence men's basketball team continued its strong start in Skyline play Thursday, defeating Merchant Marine, 61-54, on Homecoming 2018 at Campbell Sports Center. With the win, Sarah Lawrence improves to 4-3 overall with a perfect 3-0 mark in league play.
IN SHORT
Sarah Lawrence (4-3, 3-0) def. USMMA (0-3, 0-2), 61-54.
TOP GRYPHON PERFORMERS
Enike Anyia led the way for the Gryphons, recording game-highs in points (18) and rebounds (12), notching his third consecutive double-double.
BJ Sanders finished with 11 points, nine rebounds and two assists, while Isaiah Pean contributed 11 points, two rebounds, two assists and one steal.
Austin Jones led the squad in assists (6) and steals (3), while Andrew Varoli scored eight points while handing out three assists. Gabriel Eng finished with six points and five rebounds, while Kaleb Robinson added five points and three rebounds.
RECAP
The Gryphons performed well in front of a packed house at Noyes Court, as Sarah Lawrence celebrated 20 years of the Campbell Sports Center and of the College Mascot, Godric the Gryphon.
Sarah Lawrence was solid defensively in the opening half, holding Merchant Marine to 28-percent shooting while forcing 10 turnovers.
The Gryphons defensive prowess allowed them to build a 21-10 lead with 6:05 left to play in the stanza, capped off by a triple from Robinson and a field goal from Sanders.
Merchant Marine chipped away at its deficit, outscoring Sarah Lawrence 9-4 in the final minutes to trail 25-19 at intermission.
The Mariners scored the first six points of the half to tie the contest 25-25 with 18:27 remaining in regulation. Sarah Lawrence countered with a 12-2 spurt, fueled by five points from Pean, regaining the lead (37-27) with 12:04 left to play.
Merchant Marine did not go away, getting within one point (39-38) with 10:09 remaining in the half. Sarah Lawrence extended its cushion, scoring eight unanswered points, capped off by back-to-back layups from Anyia, to take a 47-38 lead with 5:52 remaining.
The Mariners cut the deficit to four with 4:26 left in regulation (49-45), but Eng dashed any hopes of a comeback, draining a 3-pointer to fuel an 8-0 run to give Sarah Lawrence its largest lead of the game (57-45) with 2:12 left to play, securing its second straight win.
The Gryphons did most of their damage inside, outscoring the Mariners 36-20 in the paint.
Sarah Lawrence now has four victories through seven games this year, matching its win total from a season ago.
UP NEXT
The Gryphons will look to remain undefeated in conference play Saturday (Dec. 1) at Purchase. Game time is scheduled for 2 p.m.
