BUFFALO, N.Y. – The Medaille College men's basketball team kicked off the first round of the AMCC Playoffs at the Sullivan Center against Pitt-Greensburg. The Mavericks battled to a 64-61 win over the Bobcats and will advance to the semifinal round of the AMCC Tournament.

The Bobcats came out aggressive wasting no time getting on the scoreboard. Kendall McGill (Largo, MD, Largo) got fouled early and his free-throw put the first point on the board for Medaille. The Mavs stayed with the fast offense of the Bobcats as they trailed 11-8 after five minutes of play. The next three minutes were scoreless before the Bobcats connected on another three. Jaqwan Washington (Bryan, TX, Bryan) kept the Mavs rolling with consistent shooting from the line while Jorarei Bile (Oxon Hill, MD, Oxon Hill) scored in the paint.

The Bobcats did well rebounding and would score three straight times before Rodney Graves (Woodbridge, VA, Colgan) made a great move on a layup. Graves came back down the court with a big block that turned into another layup for the Mavs from Daunte Wilcott (Erie, PA, Mercyhurst Prep). Wilcott and McGill scored again while a three from Graves tied the score at 23 with five minutes left in the first half. The rebounding for the Bobcats paid off as they would go on to score seven straight points. Medaille would score with one more layup as the Bobcats led 32-27 at the half.

The second half started with a layup from McGill as the Mavericks looked to make up some ground. McGill would go on to score again but the Bobcats responded with back-to-back layups. Bile helped shift the momentum with a steal that led to a dunk from Graves. Bile came down a minute later with a layup as the Mavs now trailed by two. McGill continued to impress with a steal and a fastbreak layup while getting fouled. Travis Sanders (Cleveland, OH, Euclid) came up with a defensive rebound that led to a layup by Washington, giving the Mavs a 40-39 lead.

Another layup from Washington tied the score at 46 as both teams battled back and forth. With a steal from Dante Moultrie (Buffalo, NY, North Tonawanda), Graves came down to score a layup and keep the pressure on the Bobcats. McGill made a great move in the paint to score as the Mavs now led 54-49. The Bobcats tried to deflate the Mavs with a three, but Graves fired right back with his own three-pointer. With 2:07 left to play, the Bobcats took the lead, 59-58. Graves drove hard to the basket and scored with one minute left in the game. The Mavs had a 60-59 lead but needed to make a play on defense. McGill stepped up with a steal and charged down the court to score a layup with 23 seconds left to play. The Bobcats would go on to score one more layup, but clutch free-throw shooting from Washington sealed a 64-61 Maverick win.

McGill led the Mavs with 22 points going 9-13 from the field with two steals and a block. Graves finished with 14 points while adding a team-high six rebounds, two steals, and two blocks. Washington grabbed ten points going 4-4 at the line and added a steal. Wilcott and Bile both scored six points while Trevor Young (Buffalo, NY, Frederick Law Olmsted) and Sanders both grabbed five rebounds.

The Mavs will travel to Penn State Behrend for the next round of the AMCC Tournament on Friday, February 25. Tip-off is scheduled for 6:00 p.m.