Recap courtesy of Sarah Lawrence College Athletics
BROOKLYN, N.Y.—Backed by four Gryphons scoring in double figures, Sarah Lawrence College men's basketball trounced Pratt Institute, 78-32, in a Hudson Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Conference game at the Pratt ARC on Friday.
Sarah Lawrence (8-11, 3-0 HVIAC) wasted no time in breaking open a lead, as a 16-0 run gave the Gryphons a 24-4 advantage. By halftime, SLC had doubled-up Pratt (4-8, 0-4 HVIAC) by a 40-20 margin.
Rookie Wyatt Rocheleau (San Jose, Calif./Christopher) led all players with 10 points in the first period, including two successful three-pointers.
The Gryphons scored the first 12 points of the second period and held Pratt to just two points in the first nine minutes of the half. SLC's offense cruised while the defense stonewalled the Cannoneers, who were held to just a dozen second-half points en route to the 78-32 Gryphon victory.
Rookie Niels Kjer (Manila, Philippines/Brent International School Manila) missed only one of his seven shots to lead the game with a season-high 15 points; he also notched personal bests with four blocks and two steals. Classmate Mat Gerak (Monroe, Conn./Masuk) followed with 14 points and season-highs of four assists and two blocks. Both Kjer and Gerak led the game with six rebounds apiece.
First-year guard Brendan O'Connell (Andover, Mass./Phillips Academy Andover) shot a perfect 4-for-4 with three treys, scoring 11 points while dishing five assists. Though Rocheleau was held scoreless in three minutes of second-period action, he notched a pair of assists in the half to bring his total to a game-high five.
HVIAC Rookie of the Week Graham Gilleran (San Francisco, Calif./Archbishop Riordan) collected six rebounds and tallied four points. He added one block on the day, bringing his season total to 41 and moving him into third-place all-time in league history.
Niko Yuvienco (Queens, N.Y./Christ the King) scored seven points, while Stevan Radosavljevic (Lazarevac, Serbia/Grammar School Lazarevac) contributed six points on the day. Sophomore Juan Sucre (Caracas, Venezuela/ASFM (Monterrey, Mexico)) handed out a season-best three assists.
The Gryphon shooters were hot from the floor for the entire game; the Green and White made 15-of-26 shots (57.7%) in the first half and improved to 16-of-23 (69.6%) in the second period. SLC matched its season high with eight three-pointers while shooting a season-best 8-of-14 (57.1%) from beyond the arc.
For Pratt, Mehmet Doganata led the Cannoneers with 12 points, while he and Aaron Nininger recorded a team-best five rebounds each. Pratt's shooters converted only 12-of-52 (23.1%) from the floor, and the Cannoneers were blanked on seven attempts from three-point territory.
With two weeks remaining in the regular-season, the Gryphons are ostensibly one conference win away from their first-ever postseason appearance. On Tuesday, SLC travels to St. Joseph's College Brooklyn (13-8, 5-0 HVIAC) for a showdown of the league's undefeated teams. Sarah Lawrence then hosts 2013 HVIAC champion Berkeley College (N.Y.) (10-7, 4-1 HVIAC) on Thursday at 7:30 p.m.
