For the first time in school history, the Keuka College Wolves men’s basketball captured the Empire 8 Conference Championship, edging SUNY Brockport Golden Eagles men’s basketball 83-80 in Saturday’s title game.
Tournament MVP Lamar Lovelace (Rochester, N.Y. / Northeast College Prep) led Keuka College (15-13, 9-7 Empire 8) with 24 points. He was one of four Wolves in double figures. Akinlana Popoola (Cleveland, Ohio / Padua Franciscan) added 17, while Kaleb Nutifafa (Elmsford, N.Y. / Alexander Hamilton) and Makya Morrison (Oneonta, N.Y. / Oneonta) each contributed 10 in the win.
#7 Keuka College 83 at #5 SUNY Brockport 80 – Empire 8 Championship
The Wolves jumped out to a 9-4 lead early, sparked by a three-pointer from Popoola. Brockport battled back, but a step-back three from Lovelace pushed Keuka’s lead to five. Despite the Golden Eagles’ hot three-point shooting — starting 5-for-9 from deep — the Wolves maintained control. Noreon Williams (Syracuse, N.Y. / Henninger) capped a half-court run with a put-back layup to make it 32-23 before Brockport called timeout. Williams later hit a corner three, and Lovelace found Malik Junious-Fuller (Queens, N.Y. / The Patrick School) for a fast-break layup as Keuka surged to 37-23. Brockport closed the half scoring 10 of the last 12 points to cut the deficit, leaving Keuka ahead 42-38 at the break.
SUNY Brockport opened the second half strong, taking a 47-45 lead. Keuka responded, with Ty LaBarge (Cobleskill, N.Y. / Cobleskill-Richmondville) converting two free throws after an offensive rebound to make it 55-49. The Wolves extended their advantage with highlights from Lovelace’s steal and dunk and Quinn VanKerkhove’s (Irondequoit, N.Y. / Irondequoit) three-pointer, pushing the score to 64-52 midway through the second half. Popoola hit a deep three to maintain a nine-point lead, but Brockport continued to chip away, cutting the margin to one possession with five minutes remaining.
After the Golden Eagles briefly went up by one, Lovelace drove to the basket to reclaim the lead for the Wolves. Popoola added a corner three, and though Brockport made a three-pointer with 1:15 left to trail 81-79, Keuka held on. Malik Junious-Fuller was fouled with nine seconds remaining and made both free throws to seal the 83-80 victory as Brockport’s final attempt at a tying three missed at the buzzer.
KC Notes:
- This marks Keuka College’s first Empire 8 Conference Championship in any sport.
- The Wolves earn the automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Men’s Basketball Tournament — their first appearance in program history.
- Keuka improves to 3-0 all-time in conference championship games, previously winning two titles in the early 2000s as a member of the North Eastern Athletic Conference.
Up Next: The Wolves will learn their NCAA Tournament opponent, location, and game time at 1 p.m. Monday during the NCAA selection show on NCAA.com.
