Express Dropped By Brockport In Tournament Finale, 79-57

BROCKPORT, N.Y. – Despite junior E.J. Taylor's (Tampa Bay, Fla.) fifth 20-plus point game of the season, the Wells College men's basketball team recorded a 79-57 loss to The College at Brockport in the championship game of the Brockport Holiday Invitational at Vlogianitis Gymnasium. The Express remain winless on the road (0-4) and fall to 5-6 overall following the non-conference contest. The host Golden Eagles improve to 5-4 overall while earning the tournament championship.

Excluding all neutral site contests, the Express have never entered the New Year without a road victory in their five year history. Their last regular season road victory came on Feb. 18 of this season in a 91-78 victory over Keuka College while their last non-conference road victory came on Nov. 30, 2011 against Alfred University. In neutral site road contests this year, however, the Express remain undefeated (2-0).

Taylor recorded the home team's first three points off of a layup and a free throw attempt, granting the Express a 3-2 lead with 18:37 remaining in the first half. Only 22 seconds later, Matt Lee buried a three point attempt to place the Golden Eagles ahead by two. From there, the hosts would not look back as they went on to score the game's next 13 points unanswered, building an 18-3 lead within the game's first 4:03, capped off with two three pointers by Jordan Major.

An additional Major three point conversion with 7:01 remaining in the opening half created a 21 point lead for the Golden Eagles, 36-15. The Express entered halftime trailing by a 44-26 margin after allowing their opponent seven points off of turnovers. Brockport also shot a combined 46.2% in the opening stanza, including four three pointers (4-of-15), while the Express were limited to 33.3% from the field and were held without a three point conversion (0-for-6).

In the second half, the Express continued to be punished with the three point shot. Lance Legister's three point attempt with 9:05 remaining in regulation time granted the home team a 65-36 lead, a game-high 29 point advantage. Wells could not reduce their deficit below 20 points in the second half as Brockport converted 50% of their field goals (11-of-22) in the latter half of the game.

Cumulatively, Taylor recorded 21 points for the Express and tallied his fifth 20-plus point contest of the season. J.J. Walton (Ocala, Fla.) ranked second on the team with 13 total points, pouring in six field goal attempts in 12 chances. Junior Ryan Hood (Massillon, Ohio) and sophomore Tyler Walker (Spencer, N.Y.) recorded 11 and 10 points, respectively, as Hood recorded one of two Express three point conversions while Walker set a career-high with nine rebounds to his credit. Sophomore Salvatore Fabozzi (Staten Island, N.Y.) led the team with two steals on the afternoon.

Brockport saw five different players record at least 10 points on the day. John Ivy led the way with 21 points, leading the team with eight field goals and five free throws (5-for-5). Lee ended the day with five blocks to his credit while Dorian Hayden and Derek Klein each posted four assists. Major was 3-for-7 from three point range for Brockport.

Taylor was the Express' lone representative on the All-Tournament team, joining Pitt-Bradford's Jesse Deloof, SUNY Canton's Khalid Vaughn and Brockport's Major and Ivy on the squad. Taylor earns placement on his second All-Tournament team of the season having previously been selected to the Penn St.-Behrend Tip-Off Tournament All-Tournament squad.

The Express open up their North Eastern Athletic Conference road schedule as they face-off against the Nittany Lions of Penn St.-Berks in an 8:00 p.m. contest on Friday, Jan. 4. 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).