PITTSBURGH, PA - The Medaille College Men's Basketball team traveled to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Saturday afternoon for their regular season finale against the Redhawks of La Roche College. In a game that had AMCC postseason implications for both teams, it was the Redhawks coming away with the (82-78) victory.

The first half was played closely throughout, with neither team holding more than a (5) point lead at any point.

The Mavericks took an early (9-7) lead on a Johnathan Belton (Amherst, NY, Amherst) layup, and held on to the lead for a majority of the first half thanks to outstanding shooting from beyond the three point line. Six different Mavs hit three-pointers, as Medaille shot (46.2) percent from downtown in the opening stanza.

Medaille's largest lead of the half came after sophomore Mike Hollenbeck (Ontario, NY, Wayne Central) drained a three with (7:31) remaining, putting the Mavs up (24-19).

The Redhawks answered quickly with a three of their own by Torin Smith, and a dunk by Andy Abreu to knot it at (24). A pair of triples by seniors Miles Newcomb (Oklahoma City, OK, Bishop McGuiness) and Jacob Denz (East Aurora, NY, St. Mary's of Lancaster) helped the Mavericks regain the upper hand, but a quick (11-3) spirt in the final (3:13) gave La Roche their largest lead of the game going into half at (38-33).

The lead changed hands five times in the opening (20) minutes, and there were seven ties as each side battled to improve their seeding for next week's AMCC playoffs.

The Mavericks came out of the locker room firing in the second half, connecting on five of their first seven shots to turn what was a (5) point deficit into a (45-43) lead. The run was capped by a three from Belton, and a jumper from freshman Sean Wilson (East Aurora, NY, St. Mary's of Lancaster) to put the Mavs up two.

Medaille continued to shoot lights out from three point land in the second half; after going (6-13) in the first they went (6-10) in the second, finishing the day shooting a phenomenal (52.2) percent.

Another back-and-forth affair ensued in the final frame, with the teams trading the lead another (10) times in the final (20) minutes.

Back-to-back triples from Newcomb and fellow senior Chris Willingham (Nashville, TN, East Literature) quickly erased a (62-58) deficit, giving the Mavs a two point lead with just under seven minutes to play.

The Redhawks stormed back, looking to lock up a home game in the first round of next week's postseason, going up by as much as six with (1:16) left to play after an Abreu three.

The Mavericks fired back late, with four straight points from Newcomb and back-to-back free-throws by Willingham cutting the lead to just two; however, La Roche was able to outlast Medaille, coming away with an (82-78) win.

Belton led the way for Medaille, dropping (22) points on (9-13) shooting, including (3-3) from behind the three point line. He also added (5) assists and (4) rebounds, as the Mavs dropped their second straight to end the regular season.

Willingham finished the day with (15) points, (7) rebounds, and (4) assists; while Denz ended the afternoon going (5-6) from the floor and (3-4) from downtown, earning a season-high (13) points.

The loss drops Medaille to (11-14) overall and (9-9) in AMCC play, as they await the results of the final games to see who they will face in the opening round of the AMCC first-round.