ROCHESTER, N.Y. - The men's basketball team started off it's 2025 season with a bang in a 78-75 win over University of Saint Joseph on Saturday evening. Four were in double digits for the Golden Flyers in the three-point win.
Solomon McFarlane had a stand-out game, leading the team in rebounds with seven, while also adding 14 points, including the go-ahead layup to give Nazareth the lead with 24 seconds left in the game.
Nazareth's record improves to 6-4 overall, while USJ drops to 7-5.
In the first half, Nazareth came out strong, creating a double-digit lead with six minutes left in the half. However, the Blue Jays were able to string together a few runs late in the half to cut the lead to only four heading into the second.
Luke Insley led the scoring in the first half with 13, followed closely behind by
Jaylen Savage with 11. McFarlane had six in the half, while
Tyler Putney added five. Also scoring in the half was
Zachary McFarland with a three, and
Merritt Holly and WIll Burnett each added a freethrow.
In the second half, Saint Joseph was able to take the lead in under three minutes of game play. The two teams then went on to trade buckets for the next two minutes until the Blue Jays were finally able to string together a run to put them ahead by nine with just over ten minutes left to play.
Saint Joseph held the lead strong around seven until the four minute mark, where Nazareth was finally able to cut the lead to two possessions. With two and a half minutes to go, Insley laid one in to make it a one-point game at 74-73 in favor of the Blue Jays.
With 40 seconds left, Saint Joseph missed a layup that was rebounded by
Liam Hopwood. Putney took a three that just rolled out but Hopwood was there for another rebound. With 24 seconds left, McFarlane scored a layup to put Nazareth ahead by one. McFarlane then closed out the last seconds of game play with a steal, two free throws, a defensive rebound, and another free throw to help Nazareth hold the Blue Jays to 75 points, while taking the 78-75 victory.
Savage finished the game as Nazareth's high scorer with 26 points, two rebounds, and two assists. Insley was right behind with 17 points, while also adding four assists. McFarlane had his 14 points and seven rebounds, as well as two steals. Putney finished the game with 11 points and two rebounds. Holly,
Ryan Broderick, and McFarland each added three points, while Holly also tallied six rebounds. Hopwood,
Jack Broderick, and
Gabe Lucarelli added five, three, and two rebounds respectively.
The Golden Flyers will be on the road on the 7th as they head to Houghton University for a 7:30 p.m. conference showdown.
