Box Score

MANHATTAN, N.Y. - Geneseo's Jeff Howe led all players with 21 points and 13 rebounds and the Knights went on to defeat Rensselaer, 69-56, in the first round of the New York University Men’s Basketball Tip-Off Tournament on Saturday afternoon at the Jerome S. Coles Sports Center in Manhattan. It was the season opener for both squads.

The Knights will now face NYU, a 61-53 victor over Framingham State College in the other first-round game Saturday, for the tournament title on Sunday, Nov. 18, at 3pm. RPI will face Framingham State at 1pm in the third-place contest.

Tarik Kitson finished with 19 points and eight rebounds, while Scott Morton contributed 16 points, eight assists and five rebounds for SUNY Geneseo. Joe Kling added 11 points, six boards and four assists for the Knights, who owned a 47-25 edge rebounding. 

Sam Simmons led three RPI players in double digits with 14 points.  He also had six rebounds. Jeremy Bull added 13 points, while Sam Zullo poured in 12.

Geneseo dominated the game on the glass, owning a 47-25 rebounding edge. In addition, the Knights owned a 42-20 advantage on points in the paint and outscored RPI 15-0 on second-chance points.

Geneseo led 32-23 at halftime, but led just 59-54 after Bull drained two free throws with 3:20 remaining. Despite closing the gap, RPI was unable to handle the Knight's front attack as Geneseo rattled off the next ten points, including a pair of buckets by Howe, to secure the victory.