BRONXVILLE, N.Y. - The Sarah Lawrence men's basketball team played their final home game of the fall semester on Saturday, defeating the Golden Eagles of St. Joseph's Long Island by a score of 68-64. The Gryphons were led by 21 first-half points from sophomore Eamon Kelly and solid team free-throw shooting at the end of the contest.

Top Performers

• Kelly led the way offensively with a career-best 29 points and added six rebounds
• Lucas Murray scored 13 points for the Gryphons and pulled down 12 rebounds
• Braden Burman scored nine points for SLC while totaling a game-high six assists

How it Happened

The Golden Eagles opened the game with a 10-4 scoring run before Eamon Kelly scored five consecutive points to close the gap to just one. SJLI's Xavier Allen responded with four points of his own before Kelly took his turn with two free-throws to close the gap once again. After a triple by the Golden Eagles with 12 minutes remaining, the Gryphons found themselves in an eight-point deficit. A Lucas Murray put-back started an 11-1 run that culminated in back-to-back-to-back three pointers by Aiden Morel,  Chris Dougherty and the aforementioned Kelly. The Golden Eagles would break the scoring run with two free-throws by Spencer Malloy but Kelly answered back immediately with a triple to give the Gryphons a three-point lead. Murray would score the game's next four points followed by two of Kelly's game-high 11 makes from the free-throw line. With a nine-point lead, Burman would find Kyle Jefferson on the outside for another Sarah Lawrence triple and the Gryphons saw their lead extend to double-digits with four-and-a-half minutes remaining in the half. Allen answered with a jumper for SJLI, but Kelly would once again get to the stripe, converting twice more to keep the Gryphons ahead. The sophomore from New Orleans would score his 20th and 21st points of the half on a jumper with 1:39 remaining and despite a last-minute layup by SJLI's Malloy, the Gryphons headed into the intermission with an 11-point lead.

The Golden Eagles came out hot offensively in the second half, scoring the first 12 points of the period capped off by a triple from Xavier Allen that gave SJLI a narrow 40-39 advantage. Burman answered with a jumper of his own to give the lead back to SLC but the teams would trade the lead multiple times in the following minutes, with SJLI eventually taking a two-possession lead after a pair of Alec Tabada free-throws. A layup by Tabada with 10:25 remaining gave the visitors a seven-point advantage, wiping away any memory of SLC's double-digit halftime cushion.The teams traded free-throws and with eight-and-a-half minutes remaining, the Golden Eagles had extended their lead to 10 points. Burman would once again stop the streak, but Murray would follow with a layup and a three-pointer off a pass from Burman to make the contest a one-possession game. Burman would stay involved, connecting on a triple of his own just over a minute later to tie the contest at 55 points apiece and foreshadow a close Skyline ending. 

Allen connected from the mid-range to give the lead back to the visitors but after a timeout it would be Kelly to strike again from deep, this time off a pass from Andrew Kim, giving the Gryphons a one-point advantage with three minutes remaining. With a one-point lead, Kelly found his way to the line and knocked down both shots, extending the lead to three points. The Golden Eagles would go two-for-two at the line two possessions later, bringing the lead back down to one in what seemed like a never-ending contest of tug-a-war. After a Sarah Lawrence timeout and two throwaway fouls by SJLI, Burman took the ball out of bounds in the backcourt, hoping to keep the ball in SLC's hands and convert at the free-throw line. The aforementioned Kim got away from the stack of players at midcourt and Burman found the first-year for a wide open layup to give the Gryphons a three-point lead once again. After a stop by the Sarah Lawrence defense, Kelly found his way to the line again as the visitors attempted to prolong the game and force the Gryphons to hit free throws. Kelly knocked down both ends of the one-and-one to make it a two-possession game before giving the ball back to SJLI. Allen, the team's leading scorer, took the inbounds pass and ran the floor to score a layup with 19 seconds to cut the lead to three points and keep his team in the contest. Another trip to the line would be in store for the Gryphons, this time with first-year Kim stepping up with a chance to keep the contest a two-possession game. The Kansas City, Missouri native stepped up to the line and knocked down both shots, extending the lead to five. Allen struck once again, connecting from deep with 13 seconds remaining and reducing the lead to two points. Kelly would return to the line and knock down the first shot before missing the second and giving SJLI a chance to tie. The Golden Eagles got the ball to Allen, but a heavily contested shot could not connect, with SLC's Derek Hickman grabbing the rebound and connecting on one of his two free-throws a few seconds later to secure an all-important Skyline victory for the Gryphons.

Up Next

The Gryphons (4-7, Skyline 1-2) will finish their fall semester with a road matchup against St. Elizabeth next Wednesday in Morristown, N.J. The game will tip-off at 7:00 p.m. and live coverage links are available on the men's basketball schedule.