ROCHESTER, N.Y. - The Saint Michael's College men's basketball team withstood a missed shot at the buzzer to defeat Roberts Wesleyan University, 81-79, on Saturday at the Voller Athletic Center. The Purple Knights received votes toward this week's D2 CSC East Region poll.
 
RECORDS

• Saint Michael's (1-5), Roberts Wesleyan (2-3)

SAINT MICHAEL'S LEADERS

• Senior CJ Crews (Tampa, Fla./Bayshore Christian School), 25 points, 8 rebounds, 8-for-15 field goals, 6-for-6 free throws
• Senior Alan Brzezinski (Örebro, Sweden/Western Reserve Academy), 15 points, 6 rebounds, 3 offensive rebounds, 6-for-12 field goals
• Sophomore TJ Henaghen (Hampden, Maine/Williston Northampton School), 9 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals
• Redshirt first-year Greg Kenney (Williston Park, N.Y./The Frederick Gunn School/LIU), 7 points, 5 rebounds
• First-year Rico Byrd (East Moline, Ill./The Kiski School), 7 points, 3 assists
• Redshirt first-year Marcus Meeks (Prairie Village, Kan./Brewster Academy), 7 points, 3-for-4 field goals
• First-year Abdur-Rahman De Leon (Roxbury, Mass./Saint Thomas More School), 6 points, 2 assists
• Junior Nolan Marold (Highlands Ranch, Colo./Brewster Academy/Loyola Chicago), 5 points, 4 rebounds, 3 offensive rebounds, 3 blocks

OPPONENT LEADERS

• Graduate student Malik Brooks, 20 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 steals
• Senior Jermaine Taggart II, 13 points, 3 assists
• Senior Ryan Garwood, 11 points
• Redshirt sophomore Trey Kleitz, 11 points, 3-for-4 three-pointers

GAME FACTS

• The Purple Knights improved to 3-0 in the all-time series.
• Crews scored 23 of his points in the second half.

THE ACTION

• Consecutive Brzezinski buckets gave Saint Michael's an 11-5 lead by 16:42 of the opening half before the Redhawks twice trimmed their deficit to two points, including on Taggart's lay-in at 14:34 (13-11).
• De Leon and Kenney both drained three-pointers in a 10-2 run that produced a 23-13 advantage at 12:13.
• Brooks' triple made it 31-30 at 6:28, but Meeks' back-to-back baskets pushed the lead to a half-high 46-34 with 55 seconds left, capping a 13-2 run. The Purple Knights carried a 46-37 lead into halftime.
• Kleitz made back-to-back triples to give Roberts Wesleyan the 58-57 edge at 11:45 of the second half, and he added another three as the hosts utilized a 16-2 run to take a 65-59 lead with 8:50 to go.
• Crews drained a tying three at 6:45 (67-67) and two tying freebies at 5:41 (69-69) before Brzezinski's go-ahead hoop at 4:27 gave his team a 73-72 edge and provided the first of seven lead swings in a 3:51 span.
• Garwood's lay-up gave Roberts Wesleyan its final edge, 79-78 at 1:08, but Crews hit a three-pointer with 36 seconds remaining to put Saint Michael's in the lead. The Purple Knights forced a turnover with eight seconds to go and later forced the Redhawks into missing a tying mid-range jumper attempt at the buzzer.

NEXT SAINT MICHAEL'S GAME

• Tuesday at Southern New Hampshire University, 7:30 p.m.
• The Penmen were seventh in this week's D2 CSC East Region poll.