Albany, NY – Senior captain Romario Fletcher matched a career-high with 31 points lifting the SUNY Canton men's basketball to a 77-74 win against The Sage Colleges on Saturday afternoon in Kahl Gym. The Roos improve to 3-3 overall, while the Gators drop to 2-5.

Sage led early in the first half 13-3, before the Kangaroos went on an 11-0 run and took a 21-16 lead with 10:19 left in the first half. Sage came from behind in the first half after trailing by as many as nine points twice and took a 41-38 lead at the break. The first half featured four lead changes.

Junior Adrian Williams (Brooklyn, NY) led the Roos with 13 points in the first half, while Fletcher connected for 10 points and six boards in the opening 20 minutes. Rob Mills led the Gators with 11 points, while Davon Sylvester hauled down 11 boards.

Canton opened the second half on a 13-4 run and held a 51-45 lead with 15:08 left to play before Sage called a timeout. Down the stretch there were six ties and seven lead changes before a Mills three-pointer at 5:52 gave Sage a 64-61 lead. The battle back and forth continued down the stretch before Sage took a 74-72 lead on a three-point basket from Mills at 1:03.

With 23.6 seconds left Fletcher sunk a layup and was fouled converting the free throw to give Canton a one-point lead, 75-74. With 11 seconds left, Mills attempted a three-pointer off the right side and it missed the mark before Walt Jeter (Fort Drum, NY) was fouled on the rebound. Jeter got a trip to the free throw line to shoot two after Jordan Devaughn fouled out for Sage.

With 3.0 seconds left in the game, Jeter made the first and missed the second before Williams hauled in the crucial offensive rebound and was fouled by Sage's Alex Lilac with 1.0 second left. He missed the first free throw and made the second giving the Roos the 77-74 win.

For the game, four Roos finished in double-digits led by Fletcher's fourth consecutive double-double on 31 points and 15 rebounds with three blocks, four steals and an assist in 39 minutes of work. Williams added 16 points, while senior Rashad Richardson (Rochester, NY) added 11 points and nine rebounds off the bench. Senior guard Sam Annorh (Queens, NY) finished with 10 points and despite hitting just one of nine field goals, was a perfect 8-for-8 from the line.

Mills finished with 19 points and six rebounds, while Marcus Patterson added 11 points and nine rebounds. Jordan Devaughn (11) and Wayne Weir (10) also scored in double figures for the Gators.

"What a gritty win by our guys today," Head Coach Ben Thompson said. "They came together and toughed it out on the road. To have such a tough road schedule early in the season, they have really banded together and grown. We look forward to coming back home and the opportunity to play in front of our home crowd in the Roos House next week!"

The men's basketball team will host its home opener on Tuesday at 7 p.m. when it welcomes Utica College to the Roos House.