UTICA, N.Y.  - Junior David Golembiowski (Barneveld, NY/Holland Patent) scored a game-high 34 points and senior Diloo Brown (Harlem, NY/Technical Careers Institute) just missed a triple-double with 21 points, 11 assists and nine rebounds as the SUNYIT men’s basketball team picked up a hard-fought 91-83 victory over Wells College in front of a packed house at the Campus Center Gymnasium Saturday.

The victory was a crucial one for the Wildcats, as they now stand at 15-4 overall and gave themselves a two-game lead over Wells (13-6) in the North Eastern Athletic Conference overall standings.

Golembiowski kept the Wildcats in the game in the first half, going 9-for-12 from the field with four three-pointers to score 23 of the team’s 42 first half points.  Brown would then take the game over in the second half.  After going 0-for-9 from the field in the first half, Brown got hot in the second half, shooting 4-of-8 with three baskets from beyond the arc and going 6-for-8 at the charity stripe to score 17 points.  He also set up multiple baskets for his teammates, as he registered seven of his 11 assists in the second half.

This was a battle from the get-go.  With the game tied at 13 all eight minutes into the contest, Wells would go on a 17-7 run during the next five minutes to take a 30-21 lead, but the Wildcats would respond with 17-8 run of their own to tie the game at 38 all with 1:17 left before the break.  The half would then be closed out with four made free throws by Brown and a jumper by Wells’ Greg Jones to give SUNYIT a 42-40 lead at intermission.

After Wells took a 51-49 lead four minutes into the second half, Brown would take over the game by scoring eight straight points for SUNYIT and then assisting the team’s next 12 points before adding another three-pointer and giving the Wildcats a nine-point lead, 72-63, with 8:54 remaining.  Wells would cut the lead to four points over the next two minutes, but an 11-5 SUNYIT run would give the Wildcats a ten-point lead, 85-75, with 2:29 to go and would prove to be too much for Wells to overcome.

Golembiowski made a game-high seven three-pointers on the day to lead all scorers, while also adding seven boards and two blocks.  Junior Ricky Charles (Brooklyn, NY/Fashion Institute of Technology) added 13 points on 6-of-9 shooting from the field, while fellow classmate Kevin Cappiello (Youngsville, NY/Sullivan West) registered eight points, nine rebounds and three assists.

Darrell Bullock led Wells with 21 points in addition to six assists and six rebounds, while Juan Paulino finished with 19 points and 15 rebounds.  Rionn Pradia scored 18 points and Jones added 16 points.

The Wildcats have now seven games in a row and nine of their last 10 contests.  They will look to continue their winning ways tomorrow when they host NEAC rival Keuka College at 3:00 pm.