MIDDLETOWN – Freshman George Patsalos registered a double-double with team highs of 17 points and 20 rebounds off the bench, and sophomore Kevin Stein made 5 of 6 free throws in the final minute, to help SUNY Orange defeat Raritan Valley Community College 79-76 Saturday in the East B District Championship game as the Colts punched their ticket to the upcoming National Junior College Athletic Association Division II national tournament.
Ranked sixth in the nation entering the weekend, the Colts (29-1) secured just the second appearance in the national championship bracket in program history. The Division II national tournament will be hosted on March 21-25 by Danville Area Community College, Danville, Ill. SUNY Orange will learn its first-round matchup when the tourney’s seeds and bracket are announced at 2 p.m., Tuesday, March 14.
Down to Raritan Valley by five points late in the first half on Saturday, the Colts used a 12-2 run to take a 37-32 lead into the locker room. The Colts, who defeated the Lions 100-88 on the road in late December, built a double-digit second-half lead before needing to withstand a late surge by the Lions. Stein (Chester, N.Y.) and Romeo Aquino (Newburgh, N.Y.) made clutch free throws to help the Colts retain the lead. Stein, who finished with 15 points and nine rebounds, played all 40 minutes.
In all, five Colts scored in double figures, including Darius Boben (Highland Falls, N.Y.) with 16, Keon Gill (Middletown, N.Y.) with 14 and Aquino with 11.
The Colts’ 29 wins are a single-season record for the program and head coach Tom Rickard’s squad is a combined 48-3 over the past two seasons, making the sophomore class the winningest group of players in program history.
Rickard, whose father Paul led the Colts to the 2006 national tournament, was named this season’s “Coach of the Year” honors in Region XV. Additionally, Aquino (Newburgh, N.Y.), a sophomore, was the Region XV “Player of the Year” while classmates Boben…
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