"We're at a low point," Fredonia State men's basketball coach Kevin Moore said. "We've gotten to a point where we are expected to make the conference tournament. We've made it for the last three seasons and these guys are in jeopardy of breaking that."
Coach Moore's comments came after his Blue?Devils fell 72-68 to Geneseo on Monday at Steele Hall.
With the loss, Geneseo pulled even with the Blue Devils with a 2-7 record in SUNYAC play to share last place.
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OBSERVER?Photo by John Conti
Fredonia State’s Jonathan?Herrera, right, drives past a Geneseo defender during Tuesday’s SUNYAC?men’s college basketball game at Steele Hall.
Fredonia State pulled out to an early 18-9 lead through the first nine minutes.
However, through the final 10 minutes of the first half, the Knights outscored Fredonia State 23-14, which included a deep 3-pointer at the buzzer to knot the game at 32-all at halftime.
"It's some lack of execution," Moore said of why his team's play trailed off in the later part of the half.
Leading the way for the Blue Devils in the first half was Joseph Monahan with 10 points, with two buckets from behind the arc.
Much like the first half, Fredonia State opened up the second half with a quick scoring attack.
Adam Smith led the Blue Devils with 11 points in the first 10 minutes of the second half. Smith finished the game with a game-high 21 points and seven rebounds.
"Adam Smith was our bright spot," Moore said. "He was the only one who did a good job rebounding."
Later in the second half, things started to slide for the Blue Devils as some costly decisions led to the Knights taking control of the game.
With less than nine minutes left, Geneseo made a bucket to knot the game at 52-all. That was the last time Fredonia State saw the lead.
Geneseo went 8-for-15 from the foul line down the stretch to close the game out.
The Blue Devils had a number of chances, but turnovers and mental errors cost Fredonia State its third conference win of the year.
"Right now we are the worst team I've coached defensively in the last four years," Moore said. "It was a close game and we made some key turnovers down the stretch."
Geneseo had the advantage in rebounding 34-26, while also having three players in double digits scoring.
Monahan finished with 16 points, but did not have a rebound.
"Joe had a good game," Moore said. "We need to get some more work out of him rebounding though. He played 33 minutes and didn't have a rebound."
Next up, the Blue Devils will travel to Cortland on Friday.
