CANTON, N.Y. - Senior Adam Dudzinski tallied a team-high 28 points as he directed the fourth-seeded St. Lawrence University Men's Basketball team to a 72-64 victory over fifth-seeded Ithaca College on Tuesday evening. With the win, the Saints advanced to their fourth consective Liberty League semifinals.
In the semifinals on Friday, St. Lawrence will take on top-seeded Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) in Troy.
"I thought our team played with a nice mix of poise, toughness, and intelligence," said Saints head coach Chris Downs. "That may have been our best-executed game of the year, and it couldn't have come at a more opportune time. Now we prepare for our semifinal matchup on the road this weekend. Everything we want is right in front of us."
The Saints seized control early and never relinquished it. Adam Dudzinski anchored the effort with a dominant near double-double, scoring a game-high 28 points and pulling down nine rebounds.
The scoring opened with a layup by Tommy McMahon, followed quickly by baskets from Dan Anderson and Jlin Brown to jump out to an early 6-0 lead for the Saints and forcing an early Ithaca timeout. Dudzinski then drained a three-pointer to push the margin to nine.
While Ithaca found some rhythm from beyond the arc, sinking five triples to the Saints' four in the first half, they could only trim the deficit to four. St. Lawrence headed into the locker room at the half with a 35-31 advantage.
hoped to carry into the second half was quickly erased when Dudzinski drilled a three-pointer to open the period. From there, the Bombers never pulled closer than six points. Steady execution at the free-throw line down the stretch by Aidan Phalen, Anderson, and Dudzinski sealed the win for the Scarlet and Brown.
St. Lawrence travels to Troy, NY, to face RPI on Friday, February 27. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. The winner advances to the Liberty League championship game; where an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament will be on the line.