Cortland Rides Hot Shooting to Defeat F&M, 75-66, in NCAA Men's Basketball First Round
| Final | 1 | 2 | T |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
36 | 39 | 75 |
|
|
25 | 41 | 66 |
Cortland Sports Information Department
BEVERLY, MASS. - Cortland shot 65 percent from the field, including 68 percent in the first half to build an 11-point lead, and the Red Dragons defeated Franklin & Marshall, 75-66, in the opening round of the NCAA Division III men's basketball tournament at Endicott College.
Cortland (24-4) will face the host Gulls (27-1) in the second round at 6:30 p.m. on Saturday. Endicott defeated Neumann, 96-82, in Friday's second game.
IMPORTANT TICKET INFORMATION FOR SATURDAY'S SECOND ROUND
Cortland fans have an allotment of 500 tickets for purchase for Saturday's second-round game vs. Endicott. These tickets may be purchased until 2 p.m. on Saturday - at that point any unused tickets will return to the general admission pool.
Tickets are available on Eventbrite using the code: NCAA5466 Once fans enter the code and hit "apply" they will appear.
Everyone attending the game will be scanned in with their Eventbrite QR code.
Cortland earned its first NCAA playoff victory since 2016, and the Red Dragons tied the school single-season record for victories. Three previous Cortland teams finished with 24-5 records - 1999-2000, 2005-06 and 2012-13.
Kendall Arcuri (Staten Island/St. Joseph by-the-Sea) led Cortland with 20 points and 10 rebounds. he shot 6-of-8 from the floor, including 3-of-4 from the 3-point arc, and was 5-of-6 from the foul line. He also dished out four assists and blocked two shots.
Joel Davis (Watertown) scored 15 of his 18 points in the first half. He ended 7-of-9 from the floor. Aaron Coston (Kerhonkson/Rondout Valley) totaled 12 points, nine rebounds and four blocks, and Nolan Raymond (Queens Village/Vermont Academy) scored 11 points off the bench
Kevin Nowoswiat led F&M (22-6) with 20 points and six rebounds. Vakaris Grauslys scored 14 points and handed out four assists, Franklin Jones scored 13 points on 6-of-7 shooting, and Steve Donahue tallied 10 points. F&M and Cortland faced each other for the first time in their programs' history.
Cortland led 27-23 with five minutes left in the first half before going on a 9-0 run to take a 36-23 lead with 2:23 remaining. Davis scored the first five points of the run on a 3-pointer and a jumper, followed by a Gavyn Pacheco (Hopewell Junction/John Jay-East Fishkill) steal and layup and, two possessions later, a Coston layup.
Cortland led 36-25 at the half behind 15-of-22 shooting from the field compared to 11-of-28 (39 percent) for the Diplomats. The Red Dragons' lead fluctuated between 10 and 13 points over the first 10 minutes of the second half. F&M eventually closed to within six at 68-62 on a Nowoswiat 3-pointer with 1:16 left. Raymond answered with two free throws with 1:03 left and, after a F&M missed trey, Davis hit two free throws with 43 seconds left to put Cortland up by 10 and seal the win.
Cortland finished the game 26-of-40 from the floor, including 7-of-15 from 3-point range, and 16-of-21 from the foul line. F&M shot 43 percent overall, 8-of-21 from the arc, and was 6-of-10 from the charity stripe.
Team Stats
Franklin & Marshall
| Game Statistics | Cortland | Franklin & Marshall |
|---|---|---|
| Field Goals | (26-40) | (26-61) |
| Field Goal % | 65.0% | 42.6% |
| Rebounds | 31 | 25 |
| Assists | 13 | 14 |
| Turnovers | 15 | 7 |
| Pts off Turnovers | 10 | 12 |
| 2nd Chance Pts | 6 | 12 |
| Pts in the Paint | 36 | 34 |
| Fastbreak Pts | 7 | 5 |
| Bench Pts | 18 | 5 |
