ROCHESTER, NY (nazathletics.com) - Nazareth Men's Basketball (18-7) fell to Keuka (13-13), 96-89, in overtime in the Empire 8 quarterfinal round Saturday night inside Kidera Gymnasium. 

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Nazareth battled Keuka through eight first-half lead changes, taking a 17-16 edge on a midrange jumper by Solomon McFarlane at 11:11 before trading runs the rest of the half.
• After falling behind by as many as 11 late in the first half, Nazareth closed on an 8-0 burst, highlighted by two free throws and a buzzer-beating 3-pointer from McFarlane, trimming the deficit to 43-40 at the break.
• In the second half, Nazareth answered an early seven-point hole with timely perimeter shooting, as Luke Insley drilled a 3 to tie it 52-52 and Jaylen Savage converted a steal into a fast-break layup to pull the Golden Flyers within one at 55-54.
• From there, the teams traded possessions and short spurts as Savage and McFarlane combined for key jumpers to keep Nazareth within a possession as the deficit hovered between one and four points late. 
• The Golden Flyers evened the score in the final minute of regulation when Savage split a pair at the line to make it 73-73 with 46 seconds left. Nazareth forced a miss in the closing seconds to send the game to overtime.
• In OT, Keuka struck first and steadily built separation at the free-throw line, pushing the margin to as many as 10 with 23 seconds left. Nazareth countered with 3-pointers from Tyler Putney and Insley to stay within reach, but Keuka answered each time with free throws to maintain a two-possession cushion.
• McFarlane added a late jumper in overtime, but Nazareth could not overcome Keuka's 23-point extra session, falling 96-89 after the visitors sealed the game at the stripe in the final seconds.

GAME NOTES

• Jaylen Savage matched his season-high with 27 points over the Wolves, his seventh game this season with 20 or more points. He contributed five rebounds, two assists, one block and one steal in his final collegiate game. 
• Luke Insley recorded 20 points in the loss, shooting 7 of 15 from the field and 2 for 2 from beyond the arc. The graduate student added a team-high nine assists with one rebound and one steal. 
• Solomon McFarlane posted 15 points against Keuka, his 10th game of the season with double-digit points. He also registered eight rebounds and two assists. 
• Merritt Holly recorded his 14th double-double of the year with 11 points and 10 rebounds in his final game of the season. 
• Tyler Putney rounded out Nazareth's double-digit scorers with 11 points over Keuka. He shot 3 of 7 from three with two rebounds and a steal. 

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