NAZARETH EDGES BROCKPORT, 69-68
Golden Flyers (5-6) win Chase thriller, advance to semifinals
BOXSCORE | UPDATED STATS

ROCHESTER, N.Y. (Jan. 12, 2005) – Freshman Ryan McAdam (pictured) sank the second of two free throws with :08 to play Wednesday to break a tie as Nazareth held on for a 69-68 victory over Brockport in a first-round game of the JPMorgan Chase Scholarship Basketball Tournament played at St. John Fisher.

The victory vaults fifth-seeded Nazareth into the tournament semifinals Friday at 6:15 p.m. at RIT. The Golden Flyers (5-6) will play the winner of the St. John Fisher-Keuka matchup.

McAdam's free throw enabled the Golden Flyers to negate Brockport's desperate second-half comeback that saw the fourth-seeded Golden Eagles (5-4) rally from a 40-21 halftime deficit to take the lead for much of the second half.

After McAdam's free throw, Brockport's Bryan Boswell missed a 15-foot jumper with :04 left and Nazareth's Brian Ameneiros chased down the rebound as time expired.

Nazareth, playing without senior center and leading scorer Ryan Shipley, were on the verge of posting a blowout victory in surging to a 19-point halftime lead. Nazareth made 15 of 33 first-half shots, including five three-pointers while Brockport shot just 9 for 27 and went 0 for 8 from three-point range. Freshman Joe Canori scored 12 of his game-high 21 points in the first half for Nazareth.

Brockport rallied in the foul-filled second half and finally caught up with 9:41 left on a basket by David Andrew (9 points), tying the score at 50-50. Less than 30 seconds later, the Golden Eagles took the lead on a free throw by Ben Bellucci (20 points). Nazareth stayed close and finally regained the lead, 68-67, on a pair of free throws by Canori with :30 left. With :15 left, Boswell (13 points) made one of two free throws for Brockport to tie the score again, 68-68.

After McAdam broke free in the lane, he was fouled in the act of shooting to set the stage for the game-winning foul shot. McAdam finished with 18 points and six rebounds. Matt Groot added nine points and seven rebounds.

Each team was whistled for 24 fouls, including 17 each in a drawn-out second half. Kyle Nelson and Caswell Smith each fouled out for Nazareth with more than five minutes left.