SUNY CANTON ATHLETICS

(Potsdam, N.Y.)-The SUNY Canton men's basketball team couldn't hold on to a late lead and wound up losing to the University of Maine at Presque Isle 117-114 in overtime Tuesday in Potsdam.  The Roos were officially eliminated from any postseason bid as they dropped to 4-9 in the Sunrise Conference and 6-17 overall.  

The Owls moved into a tie for fourth place at 6-8 and 6-15 and will need some help from some other schools to advance to the conference tournament.

SUNY Canton went ahead 60-50 at halftime after playing catchup to the Owls for the first six minutes of the opening half.  A Carlton Mitchell (Bronx, N.Y.) 3-pointer with 13:55 on the clock gave the Roos their first lead at 18-17.

That lead would stretch to double digits on two other occasions and halftime where the Roos led 60-50.

SUNY Canton held that lead for almost the entire second half.  With 1:02 left in regulation Tony Valentin (Perth Amboy, N.J.) sank a pair of free throws putting the Roos up 104-99.

Chris Coffin promptly drilled a 3-pointer from the left wing that slashed the lead to 104-102 with :49 seconds left.  After SUNY Canton miss down the stretch, the Owls got the ball back with a chance to win it in regulation or send the game into overtime.

With under 10 seconds left Jajuan Williams (Jacksonville, N.C.) blocked a three-point attempt by Kyle Corrigan.  The Owls then worked the ball down low to Ray Mitchell who sank a spinning layup with two seconds left to tie the game and force an extra session.

Valentin quickly scored four straight points to start overtime.  Baskets from Patrick Manifold and Devon Peaselee tied the game once again.  Peaselee scored on a driving layup that put the Owls up by one with 1:43 left.

Valentin gave the Roos their final lead at 112-111 with under a minute to go but the Owls closed on a 6-2 run and Mitchells 3-pointer at the buzzer missed off the back iron.

Valentin scored 27 points and snagged nine rebounds to lead the Roos.

Tony Parker (Sodus, N.Y.) added 21 points and 11 rebounds.  Williams finished with 18 points and seven assists.  Mitchell also had 18 point.  Deric Alstotn (Jacksonville, N.C.) contributed 16 points and Kevin Yandon (Newcomb, N.Y.) provided some quality minutes off the bench with seven rebounds and four points.

Mitchell finished with 36 points and 11 rebounds to lead the Owls.  Manifold added 28 points and10 boards and Kyle Corrigan chipped in with 26 points.