NAZARETH LOSE AGAIN AT STATEN ISLAND, 84-75
Golden Flyers (4-4) open Empire 8 schedule this weekend
» BOXSCORE

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. (Dec. 30, 2006) -- For the second day in a row, Nazareth's men's basketball team was unable to maintain a sizeable lead and for the second straight day the Golden Flyers lost as a result. In Saturday's consolation game at the Tournament of Heroes at the College of Staten Island, the Golden Flyers lost to the host Dolphins, 84-75.

"We just ran out of gas," said Nazareth Coach Mike Daley, whose Golden Flyers fell to 4-4 overall. "They were a tough, physical club and I think it took its toll on us in the second half.."

The Golden Flyers built a 13-point lead in the first half before settling for a 42-33 lead after 20 minutes. The Dolphins, however, rallied to outscore Nazareth 49-33 in the second half to gain the third-place win. Nazareth suffered a similar fate in Friday's first-round game as the Golden Flyers led by as many as 21 points with as little as 14 minutes to play against 17th-ranked Wheaton, but wound up losing in overtime, 93-89.

Saturday's game was a tale of two halves for Nazareth. The Golden Flyers shot 51.4 percent (19 for 37) in the first half, but just 35.3 percent (12 for 34) in the second half. In addition, Nazareth was called for 24 personal fouls to just 12 for Staten Island.

With the score tied at 73-73 with less than three minutes to play, Staten Island finished the game with an 11-2 scoring run with Nazareth's only points coming on a pair of free throws by Rayvon Higdon with 1:27 left.

Junior Joe Canori (pictured) was Nazareth's high scorer for the second day in a row with 28 points. He surpassed the 1,000-point mark in career scoring in Friday's game and now stands at 1,038 for his career. Forward Tyler Smith added 16 points and 10 rebounds and freshman guard Corey McAdam had 11 points and 10 assists. Leon Hill scored eight points and grabbed 10 rebounds.

Nazareth will look to regroup this week in time to open its Empire 8 Conference schedule with home games Friday and Saturday. The Golden Flyers host Alfred Friday at 8 p.m. and St. John Fisher Saturday at 2.