ROCHESTER, N.Y. –
Austin Grunder (Trumansburg/Charles O. Dickerson) scored 30 points and grabbed 11 rebounds and
Cam Williams (Rome/Rome Free Academy) tallied a career-high 20 points and tied his career best with five rebounds as Cortland defeated Union, 87-69, in the opening round of Nazareth College's Mike Daley Memorial Tournament.
Cortland (2-0) will face Nazareth in the championship game Saturday at 3 p.m., while Union (0-1) will play Gordon in the third-place game at 1 p.m. Nazareth defeated Gordon, 90-72, in Friday's other first-round contest.
Grunder hit 10-of-20 shots from the floor, including two 3-pointers, and he made 8-of-9 free throws. Williams scored 14 of his 20 points in the second half to help the Red Dragons pull away. He was 4-of-6 from the arc and 4-of-4 from the foul line.
Cal Shifflet (Buffalo/Williamsville East) scored a career-high nine points, including two 3-pointers, and
Humberto Cabrera (Millbrook) ended with eight points and four assists. He made both of his 3-point attempts.
Kareem Lubin (Monroe/Washingtonville) and
Isaiah Preston each had three assists.
Three Union players scored in double figures. Mike Manley finished with 18 points, three assists and four rebounds, Brian Noone had 13 points and four boards, and Luke McGarrity tallied 12 points.
Cortland led 33-32 with 3:23 left in the first half and used an 8-2 run to take a 41-34 halftime lead. Williams made four 3-pointers in a 3-minute span from 17:00 to 14:06 to give Cortland a 59-44 lead, and the Red Dragons' advantage was never lower than that the rest of the game.
Cortland finished 48 percent from the field overall and 46 percent (12-of-26) from 3-point range. The Red Dragons connected on 15-of-20 free throws. Union shot 48 percent from the floor and 36 percent (5-of-14) from deep, and the Dutchmen were 12-of-18 from the foul line. Cortland held a 22-4 advantage in second-chance points behind the strength of 10 offensive rebounds.
