Men’s Basketball Posts 73-64 Loss To Nazareth

AURORA, N.Y. – Three different players on the Wells College men's basketball team posted 15 points or greater, but the Golden Flyers of Nazareth College were able to capture a 73-64 non-conference victory Tuesday evening at the Frances Tarlton Farenthold Athletic Wing. With the loss, the Express fall to 3-4 overall while the Golden Flyers improve to 6-2 following the non-conference contest.

The Express opened with a bang as junior Jonathan Hurtado (Brooklyn, N.Y.) poured home a three pointer 40 seconds in to grant Wells College the early 3-0 lead. Later in the half, the Express utilized a Hurtado layup to take a 7-6 lead, but a Maurice Mills three pointer only 1:08 later gave the visiting team the lead. The back and forth action continued until a Ryan Hood (Massillon, Ohio) in the paint created a 10-9 lead in favor of the home team.

The Express would not lead for the remainder of the competition as the Golden Flyers jumped out to a 10 point lead with 6:40 remaining in the half following a Brad Ford layup in the paint. Despite six straight points from the Express with time winding down in the first half, Nazareth was able to carry a seven point lead into halftime.

Ford opened the second half with a three point basket, re-extending the lead to 10 points in favor of the visiting team.  Later in the period, with 13:31 remaining in the stanza, Tyshun Stephens poured home a three pointer to grant the Golden Flyers a 50-37 lead, their largest advantage of the game.

The Express battled back to within two points at 4:59 as a Hurtado jumper with 4:59 remaining followed a Jordan Bishop (Arlington, Texas) three pointer to create five easy points within a span of only 29 seconds. Hayford buried a foul shot with 3:21 remaining to create a three point cushion and the Golden Flyers were able to rattle off the game's next four points to re-extend their lead to seven points.

E.J. Taylor (Tampa Bay, Fla.) buried one of his two free throws at 1:34 to create a four point deficit, but the Golden Flyers converted seven of their final eight opportunities at the free throw line to silence any chance of an Express comeback.

Hurtado led the way with 16 cumulative points in the contest, converting 7-of-15 field goals and pouring home one of the team's four three point baskets. Bishop was a cumulative 6-for-10 and scored 15 total points. Taylor tied Bishop with 16 points, burying 2-of-5 three point baskets and 7-of-8 free throws while also pulling in six boards. Junior Jonathan Bonds (Chicago, Ill.) tied Taylor for the team lead with six boards and threw up two blocks in the defeat.

For the Golden Flyers, Brad Ford led the way with 31 total points including a team-leading 123 rebounds. He was 9-for-19 in field goals while also drilling home two three pointers. Stephens was 7-for-10 at the line and also was 4-for-13 from the field. Hayford led the way with three steals defensively.

The Express open their North Eastern Athletic Conference schedule this Thursday, Dec. 6 as they host Cazenovia College at 8:00 p.m. at the Frances Tarlton Farenthold Athletic Wing. Stay up to date with the latest news directly from the Wells College athletic department by "liking" us on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/WellsExpress) and subscribing to our Twitter account (http://www.twitter.com/WellsExpress).