BRONXVILLE, N.Y. - The Sarah Lawrence men's basketball team kicked of their 2024-25 campaign with a three-point overtime win against Bard College on Friday night, kicking off the 2024 Sarah Lawrence Academic Classic. The Gryphons relied on 20 points from transfer Lemar Fulmore Jr. and 18 points from all-conference guard Eamon Kelly.

Notable Performers

• Fulmore Jr. led all Gryphons with 20 points, connecting on three of his four attempts from deep and adding eight rebounds
• Kelly added in 18 points and 11 rebounds, including five on the offensive glass
• Braden Burman scored 14 points and added in six total rebounds, four offensive

How it Happened

Both teams struggled from the field early on, with a second-possession score for Bard, a pair of free throws by Kelly and a fastbreak score from Fulmore Jr. being the only six points scored in the first five minutes of play. After a Kelly jumper tied the contest at six point apiece, an 8-0 run from the Raptors forced an SLC timeout and saw Fulmore Jr. re-enter the game. A made free-throw by the transfer and a three-pointer two possessions later helped the Gryphons stay close before a connection from deep by Aiden Morel reduced the lead to four. Another triple, this time from Kelly, made it a one-point game with just under seven minutes remaining, but an immediate answer by Bard's Azriel Almodovar gave the Raptors a small cushion. After misses from deep by both sides, Fulmore Jr. struck again, reducing the lead to one point once again, this time with under six to play. A block by John Kairouz on the ensuing Bard possession gave the Gryphons the ball back and after one of Kelly's five offensive boards, point guard Andrew Kim would find the junior open from deep and give SLC their first advantage in over nine-and-a-half mintues of game time. After a turnover by the Raptors, Kelly would return for an encore, taking a pass from Kairouz and connecting to give SLC a two-score advantage. After trading baskets and keeping ahead by two scores, Kim would hit a triple of his own with just under three minutes to play, extending the SLC lead to 31-24. A pair of makes from the free-throw line would bring the Raptors within five, but Kim would once again answer the call, connecting from long range to bring the lead to eight with just over a minute remaining. The Raptors would score in the waning seconds of the game, but the Gryphons would hold a six-point lead heading into the intermission.

A Bard three-pointer would open the scoring in the second half, but five early points by Fulmore Jr. would keep the Gryphons ahead. Back-to-back scores by Burman off Chris Dougherty passes would bring the SLC lead to nine points halfway through the period and two more free throws by the San Diego product would give the team an 11-point advantage with ten minutes remaining. The Raptors would score the next eight points, seven of which came via Lazaro Panagiotounis, to narrow the lead to one score. Burman would answer with a layup, assisted by Kelly, but another pair of free throws by Panagiotounis and a Rowan Heinze layup would bring hte score to 50-49 with under three minutes remaining as the Gryphons narrowly held onto the lead. The next score would once again belong to Panagiotounis, this time connecting from deep to give the Raptors their first lead of the half. Burman would make his way to the line on the ensuing SLC possession, connecting on one opportunity to bring the Bard lead down to one point. A single made free throw by the Raptors with 14 seconds remaining gave them a two-point advantage and the Gryphons had a chance to tie the game and send it to overtime. The team called on 2024 all-conference guard Eamon Kelly to take the last shot, driving into the lane and converting on the game-tying basket to send the game into overtime

In the overtime period, it was a series of familiar faces doing damage for the Gryphons, with Fulmore Jr. starting off the period with a triple on SLC's first possession. A pair of Bard free throws would follow, but the next nine points would all go the way of the hosts, with Burman, Dougherty, Kim and Fulmore all contributing. With 42 seconds remaining the Gryphons held a ten-point advantage and despite another triple for Panagiotounis as well as a long-range connection from Almodovar, the Gryphons held on for a three-point victory to open the season.


Up Next

The Gryphons (1-0) will return to action on Saturday, November 9th ast they play John Jay at 2:00 p.m. to round out the Sarah Lawrence Academic Classic. The game will be played at the Campbell Sporst Center following Bard vs. Washington College at noon.