Freshman Joe Tortolon scored a career-high 15 points, but Keuka College's men's basketball team suffered a 95-78 loss to Penn State-Abington Sunday afternoon.

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Junior Teddy Tuggles (Rochester, NY/Gates Chili) scored 24 points and freshman Joe Tortolon (Dundee, NY/Dundee) added a career-high 15 points, but Keuka College’s men’s basketball team suffered a 95-78 setback at Penn State-Abington Sunday afternoon.

Keuka (5-14, 5-7 North Eastern Athletic Conference) placed three players in double-figures, as Tuggles and Tortolon were joined by freshman Coty Paige (Rochester, NY/Greece Arcadia), who scored 10 points and grabbed five rebounds.

Tuggles shot 9-for-15 (60 percent) and grabbed six rebounds with two steals while junior Conor Boyer (East Rochester, NY/East Rochester) added eight points and nine rebounds. Freshman Tyler Hixson (Shortsville, NY/Red Jacket) added eight points and seven boards for the Storm, which outrebounded Abington (8-11, 5-5 NEAC) 42-37.

The Storm shot 29-for-71 (40.8 percent) compared to Abington, which connected on 35 of 63 shots (55.6 percent). Tuggles scored Keuka’s first four points and Boyer, Tortolon and senior Brian Cunliffe (Rochester, NY/Gates Chili) each made layups to give Keuka a 10-8 lead five minutes in. Cunliffe then buried a ‘3’ with 13:20 to go before halftime to put the Storm up 13-12, but that was Keuka’s last lead.

Abington used a 25-10 run over the next eight minutes to take a 37-23 lead, and never led by less than 11 points over the remainder of the half. The Nittany Lions took a 49-35 halftime lead.

The Abington lead grew to 56-35, but the Storm hung around, and when Tortolon buried a ‘3’ Keuka pulled within 10, 81-71 with five minutes remaining. Abington sunk 8 of its final 9 free throws to snap a four-game conference losing streak. Five players scored in double-figures for Abington, led by Will Alton (22 points), Max Alton (17), Mike Marvin (13 points, 13 rebounds), Josh Howard (11) and Mike Colacci (10).

The Storm returns to action with a 6 p.m. road clash against Cazenovia College on Wednesday night. Keuka fell to Cazenovia 69-64 at home on Jan. 25.

Veteran athletic trainer Jeff Bray, left, works on Ava Wilburn during a Keuka College women's soccer home game in the fall of 2011.

By John Boccacino/Sports Information Director

Jeff Bray is an avid motorsports fan, and when he arrived in scenic Keuka Park to accept a job as Keuka College’s head athletic trainer/assistant athletic director in the summer of 1992, he figured he was just making a pit stop.

Nearly 20 later, the man who came to campus on a two-year plan can’t imagine working anywhere else.

As he reflects on two decades of dedicated service to the Storm’s student-athletes, Bray can’t help but wonder how he ended up as the second-longest tenured member of the College’s athletics department.

To quote the Grateful Dead anthem, “Truckin’,” what a long, strange trip it has been for Bray.

Born in Sterling, Kansas, a small town that Bray said possesses a similar down-home feel to Keuka, Bray essentially grew up on his parent’s gas station before enrolling in Kansas State to study athletic training.

Bray has taped hundreds of professional athletes during a career that, among other stops, has seen him work the sidelines of NFL games, alongside pit crews for assorted auto racing events across the world, and behind the bucking chutes at top-flight bull riding competitions.

During a four-year stint in the NFL working as an athletic trainer with the Philadelphia Eagles — three as a summer intern and one as a paid professional — Bray taped Hall-of-Famer Reggie White, was part of a team that helped dynamic quarterback Randall Cunningham recover from various knee injuries, and worked alongside talented coaches such as Buddy Ryan, Jeff Fisher and Wade Phillips, to name a few.

Tom Coughlin, the Waterloo native who will lead the NFC champion New York Giants into battle against the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XLVI Feb. 5, was also a part of those Eagles’ coaching staffs during Bray’s time with the team.

Jeff Bray has worked as an athletic trainer for numerous auto races, including an open wheel race when he met Helio Castroneves, an IndyCar driver and three-time Indy 500 champion.

Bray worked alongside legendary actor/race car driver Paul Newman and the drivers of his Newman/Haas Racing Team when working in the Champ Car Racing Series. Division I schools, including Bray’s alma mater Boise State, have sought his expertise in the field of athletic training, making enticing job pitches in an attempt to land Bray’s services.

But through an athletic training career that has spanned more than three decades — the last two of them spent at Keuka — there is no place Bray would rather call home than picturesque Keuka College.

“One of the reasons it’s been easy to stay here is because Keuka’s just been a good place to be, with good people who provide a great college experience, be it coaches, parents, administrators, or the student-athletes. Coach Dave Sweet has been an outstanding mentor and has taught me all about the world that is Division III athletics,” said Bray, who became interested in physical training after watching his mother, Nettie, battle back from a debilitating stroke when Bray was 15.

“I really appreciate getting to know the families of the student-athletes here. At a Division I school you never really have any dealings with parents. Keuka is special from that standpoint, and as my kids get older that [relationship with the parents] means more to me, because not too far down the road it’ll be me handing my kids off to a college and I’ll want to feel as comfortable sending my kids off to college as the parents of our student-athletes feel when they send their children to Keuka.”

However, that opinion of Keuka took some time to formulate for Bray, who currently resides in nearby Penn Yan with wife, Kristen, and son Tyler, 15, and daughter Kelly, 13.

When Bray was offered the Keuka position, he had his reservations. Sweet, Keuka’s athletic director and head coach of the women’s basketball team, had been on campus for nine years and was working diligently to transform the Storm from a predominantly women’s sports-based program into a well-rounded, co-ed athletics department that produced championship-caliber teams on the playing fields, and accomplished students in the classroom.

Additionally, Bray had only worked with professional and Division I athletes at his previous jobs, and Keuka was a tiny Division III school smack-dab in the middle of rural Upstate New York.

The Storm didn’t even have a football team, a fact Bray felt was a prerequisite for any potential job. He previously had worked passionately with football teams at every stop along the way: from his student athletic trainer days at Kansas State, to his graduate work at Boise State, through his four-year stint with the Eagles, and his time spent as Illinois State’s head football trainer.

In the end, while the decision was Bray’s to make, his future wife Kristen held the ultimate card. She had grown up in the Buffalo area and was a successful basketball player at Canisius College. Even though the couple wasn’t yet married, Bray realized it was important for Kristen to be closer to her family.

So the couple came to an agreement. Kristen and Jeff would relocate and Bray would try out the Keuka position for two years, and if Bray was unsatisfied at the end of the two-year trial period, Kristen would relocate anywhere in the country as her husband searched for his dream job.

Twenty years later and, the rest is history. Bray said he “fell in love” with the job and the students, and while other colleges and universities have called for Bray’s services, the answer has always been the same: “Thanks, but no thanks.”

“I had a unique opportunity at a very young age to reach the pinnacle of our profession,” said Bray, who still carves out time in his busy schedule to work between 5-10 auto races a year as an athletic trainer.

“There are thousands of young athletic trainers, student athletic trainers that aspire to work in pro sports, and only a few get there. I had the opportunity and while I enjoyed my time in the pros, long-term I didn’t know if it was for me. After a lot of thinking, when this job became available I took it and while I couldn’t believe I was at this small college with no football, I owed it to Keuka to give it my best. After all these years this is where I’m supposed to be.”

To achieve peace of mind with his decision about his future, Bray turned to an important part of his past, Otho Davis, his mentor in the athletic training field. Davis was the long-time trainer in the NFL who had worked with the then-Baltimore Colts and was Bray’s boss with the Eagles when Bray secured a summer internship to study under the legendary Davis, who at the time was considered among the best trainers in all of professional sports.

Davis, who died from pancreatic cancer in 2000, was instrumental in swaying Bray to take the job with the Storm. While he was the influence who got Bray into professional sports, Davis also warned Bray of the dangers of working in an industry where off days are few and far between and the average work week could range from 80 to 100 hours.

Davis, who had four sons, rarely got to see his family due to the rigors and demands of the job, a factor Bray considered heavily when debating the pros and cons of the Keuka position.

As Keuka's head athletic trainer, Jeff Bray is responsible for attending to all injured players, whether they play for the Storm or the opposition.

In the end, the chance to help deserving Division III athletes won out. Now, fast-forward 20 years and Bray’s presence has become part of the fiber of a student-athlete’s life. Bray and his staff of athletic trainers work all Keuka College sporting events, ready on the sidelines should an injury befall a member of the Storm or the opposition.

“When I’m asked why I’m still at Keuka, ‘I say why not?’ If our point guard, [Jessica Bandrowski], sprains her ankle and is going to potentially miss some big games coming up, she’s as valuable to her team as [Boise State star quarterback] Kellen Moore is to his team,” said Bray, who used his NFL connections to secure the New York Jets old athletic training equipment when the NFL franchise decided to purchase new equipment in 1998.

“Sure, it’s not going to be in the USA Today or make ESPN that Bandrowski sprained her ankle and might miss a game, but she deserves to be treated like a professional athlete, too. But also, if I go to coach Sweet and say Bandrowski can’t play tomorrow, I’m not going to get the screws put to me [to get her ready to play] to the point that my ethics are pushed and her best interests are questioned in order to get a win.”

Bray’s influence on Keuka’s student-body is not limited to the various playing fields for the Storm’s 16 varsity sports teams. Bray also serves as an adjunct instructor and teaches two sports management classes.

Each fall, as part of their senior class projects, Bray’s sports management students organize the annual Storm Madness pep rally, a raucous affair that provides a first look at the men’s and women’s basketball teams to the campus and neighboring communities.

“Jeff has been my right-hand man for all these years, and he is immensely talented and certainly has a lot to offer to any college,” said Sweet, who credits Bray’s communication skills, problem-solving ability, and self-starter mentality as some of his best personality traits.

“He’s tuned-in well with the needs of our student-athletes and understands what we’re trying to accomplish as a small Division III college athletics program. We’re not all about wins and losses; we try to educate the student-athletes on the overall collegiate experience and Jeff has been extremely helpful, not only to the college but to me in particular.”

Applauding Keuka’s unique Field Period as one of the most beneficial aspects of a Keuka education, Bray backs the college’s required annual 140-hour long internship program that offers real-world work experience to students each year they’re on campus.

“Professionally, if you’re trying to get somewhere, don’t always think you’re going to get somewhere on your own,” said Bray, who originally learned of the Eagles’ summer trainer position through Jim Rudd and Hank Fijalkowski, his bosses while Bray was a student athletic trainer at Kansas State.

“There are people that can and will help you if they know where you want to go. I am a firm believer in our Field Period because I lived the internship route, that’s how I got into the NFL. Jim and Hank, my mentors, told me I needed to do an internship in the NFL, and at the time I was probably too stupid to ask questions. But if Otho, Jim or Hank told me to do something, I knew that was what I needed to do. Our students need to get out and have those workplace experiences, but students can’t have a broken want-to. You can’t be the one pushing them; they need the drive and motivation to succeed.”

Throughout the years, Bray’s dedication toward Keuka College and the Storm’s student-athletes has never wavered, and he is just as passionate about his job and this campus as he was July 1, 1992, the day he first reported for duty at Keuka.

“I think you’re missing the boat of life if you’re not passionate about something,” Bray said. “To this day, I’m still doing something I’m passionate about and that’s pretty cool.”

Junior Teddy Tuggles scored nine points with eight rebounds, but Keuka's men's basketball team suffered an 83-53 setback to first-place Morrisville State Wednesday night.

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Mickey Davis, the North Eastern Athletic Conference’s (NEAC) leading scorer, scored 25 points in 29 minutes as Morrisville State’s men’s basketball team handed Keuka College an 83-53 setback Wednesday night inside the Weed Physical Arts Center.

Davis, who entered averaging 18.1 points per game, scored 14 in the first half and added 11 points in the first four minutes of the second half for the Mustangs (12-7, 9-0), the first-place squad in the NEAC North Division.

Junior Teddy Tuggles (Rochester, NY/Gates Chili) scored nine points and grabbed a team-leading eight rebounds for the Storm (5-13, 5-6 NEAC). Morrisville State shot 31-for-63 for the contest (49.2 percent) while holding Keuka to just 17-for-65 (26.2 percent).

The game was close early on, and when Tuggles and freshman Joe Tortolon (Dundee, NY/Dundee) each hit ‘3s’ the Storm led 6-2 two minutes in. Freshman Tyler Hixson (Shortsville, NY/Red Jacket) made a pair of layups sandwiched around a pair of free throws from Tuggles, to draw the Storm within 17-14, and a jumper from freshman Jared Wagner (Pittsford, NY/McQuaid) made the score 17-16 before the Mustangs went on an 11-1 run to seize control in the half.

The Mustangs used a 13-1 run to close out the half up 43-23. Morrisville State shot 16-for-31 (51.6 percent) from the field in the half while limiting the Storm to 7-for-30 shooting (23.3 percent).

Twelve of the 14 Keuka players who saw action scored, and six different members of the Storm made at least one ‘3’.

No one besides Davis scored in double-figures for the Mustangs, but 10 of the 11 Morrisville State players scored at least four points in the game. Ryan Jameson and Kucjok Ater each scored nine points while Andrew Lucio and Kyle Gordon each added eight points for Morrisville State.

The Storm returns to action with a noon game Sunday afternoon at Penn State-Abington.

Keuka College's basketball teams return home tonight for a doubleheader against Morrisville State. The men play at 6 p.m. followed by the women's tip-off at 8 p.m.

As the calendar turns from January to February, the basketball season is entering the stretch run for Keuka College’s men’s and women’s teams.

Victories become even more important as the regular season winds down and teams try and improve their positioning in the North Eastern Athletic Conference (NEAC). Both Keuka basketball teams are in action at home Wednesday night against Morrisville State as the Storm tries to gain ground in the conference standings.

Keuka’s men (5-12, 5-5 NEAC) sit in third place in the NEAC North, one game behind second-place Wells College (9-11, 6-4 NEAC) with six games remaining, five of those conference contests. The top two teams in each division, along with the third place team with the best record, qualify for the five-team NEAC postseason tournament, which runs Feb. 21-26.

On the women’s side, Keuka (10-5, 8-3) is tied with SUNY Cobleskill (11-7, 8-3) for second place in the North. Keuka and Cobleskill trail first-place SUNYIT (14-3, 8-1) with six conference games remaining.

Keuka’s men face first-place Morrisville State (11-7, 8-0) at 6 p.m. Wednesday night, followed by the Storm women and Morrisville State (6-11, 5-5) at 8 p.m. inside the Weed Physical Arts Center. Admission to both games is free.

Freshman Coty Paige (Rochester, NY/Greece Arcadia) scored a career-high 28 points as Keuka’s men’s basketball team got back to .500 in conference play with a 71-64 road victory over SUNY Cobleskill Sunday afternoon.

Paige, who surpassed 20 points in a game for the fourth time this season, shot 8-for-15 from the field and 11-for-12 at the free throw line and added 5 rebounds and four steals for Keuka. Paige’s previous career-high of 23 points came during a loss at Wells College on Jan. 18, 2012.

Freshman Joe Tortolon (Dundee, NY/Dundee) added career-bests in both points (14) and rebounds (8) for the Storm, which completed the season sweep of the Fighting Tigers. Keuka defeated SUNY Cobleskill 69-49 on Dec. 10, 2011 for its first win of the season.

Trailing 4-3, Paige scored seven points, junior Teddy Tuggles (Rochester, NY/Gates Chili) and freshman Jared Wagner (Pittsford, NY/McQuaid) each buried ‘3s’ and Tortolon added a layup as the Storm used a 15-6 run to take an 18-10 lead nine minutes into the contest.

Wagner and Paige combined to score the next nine points as Keuka maintained its eight-point lead at 26-18, and Tuggles and Tortolon each made layups down the stretch to give the Storm a 31-23 edge heading into halftime. The Storm hung on to win, snapping a four-game losing streak.

Paige (14.9 points per game) and Tuggles (13.8 ppg.) rank fifth and 11th, respectively, in scoring averages in the NEAC. Morrisville State’s Mickey Davis leads the conference with 18.1 ppg. Davis has scored 20-plus points eight times, including dropping 35 in a loss to Clarkson on Dec. 9. He’s reached double-figures in 17 of Morrisville State’s 18 games.

For the Storm women, sophomore Jessica Bandrowski (Center Moriches, NY/Center Moriches) scored 19 points with six rebounds and junior Mariah Mouzon (Elmira, NY/Elmira Free Academy) added 10 rebounds, but Keuka suffered a 55-42 setback against SUNY Cobleskill Sunday afternoon.

Keuka was outscored 22-13 in the second half and made only 5 of 32 second-half shots (15.6 percent) against Cobleskill. The two squads split the regular-season series, with Keuka handing Cobleskill a 62-37 setback on Dec. 10, 2011.

Bandrowski (11 points) and Mouzon (three points) combined for Keuka’s first 14 points. A Bandrowski jumper put Keuka ahead 14-11 with 8:49 remaining in the opening half, and the Storm had its largest lead of the game when sophomore Danielle Gravel (Sidney, NY/Sidney) buried a jumper for an 18-13 edge with 7:02 left before halftime.

Cobleskill responded with a 14-3 spurt to take a 27-21 lead with 2:15 to play in the half. Gravel scored four points while senior Morgan Engelbert (Elmira, NY/Thomas Edison) and freshman Brittany Hadley (Jasper, NY/Jasper-Troupsburg) each made layups down the stretch as Keuka trailed 33-29 at halftime.

Sophomore Casey Chamberlain (Perry, NY/Perry) made a layup early in the second half to pull the Storm within two, but that was as close as Keuka would get against a tough Fighting Tigers’ defense that held Keuka scoreless for seven minutes early in the second half.

Gravel (13.1 ppg.) and Bandrowski (12.9 ppg.) rank 11th and 13th, respectively, in scoring averages in the NEAC. St. Elizabeth’s Sabrina Jarmolinski leads the conference with 20.2 ppg.

Mouzon has recorded double-digit rebound efforts in four of Keuka’s last five games. During Saturday’s 68-60 road win over SUNYIT, Mouzon scored 23 points, the second-highest total in her career, and snared a career-best 17 rebounds as the Storm handed SUNYIT its first conference loss.

Since starting the season 2-10, Morrisville State has won four of five, including a 57-49 overtime win over SUNY Cobleskill on Jan. 17.

Nijah Townsend leads the Mustangs in scoring average (14.9 ppg.) and rebounding (10.4 rpg.). The Mustangs have been outscored 56.8-52.6 on the season.

Check back later on tonight for full game recaps from tonight’s doubleheader. For the latest news, scores and information on Keuka Storm athletics, go to www.Facebook.com/KeukaStorm.

Freshman Coty Paige scored a career-high 28 points and added 5 rebounds and 4 steals as Keuka defeated SUNY Cobleskill 71-64 Sunday afternoon.

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Freshman Coty Paige (Rochester, NY/Greece Arcadia) scored a career-high 28 points as Keuka College’s men’s basketball team got back to .500 in conference play with a 71-64 road victory over SUNY Cobleskill Sunday afternoon inside the Iorio Gymnasium in Cobleskill.

Paige, who surpassed 20 points in a game for the fourth time this season, shot 8-for-15 from the field and 11-for-12 at the free throw line and added 5 rebounds and four steals for Keuka (5-12, 5-5 North Eastern Athletic Conference). Paige’s previous career-high of 23 points came during a loss at Wells College on Jan. 18, 2012.

Freshman Joe Tortolon (Dundee, NY/Dundee) added career-bests in both points (14) and rebounds (8) for the Storm, which completed the season sweep of the Fighting Tigers (1-18, 1-8 NEAC). Keuka defeated SUNY Cobleskill 69-49 on Dec. 10, 2011 for its first win of the season.

After hitting only 5 of 17 three-pointers in the first half, second-year head coach Thad Phillips said his team changed up its game plan going into the second half.

“Our guys are realizing that if we’re not hitting our ‘3s’ we don’t have to keep settling for ‘3s’ and we decided to attack the rim, and today we attacked the rim a whole heck of a lot harder in the second half, and that got us going,” Phillips said.

“We had a close game with Cazenovia (on Jan. 25) and loss, and against SUNYIT (on Jan. 28) we had a shot at the end of the game but lost. Losing takes a toll on everyone, and losing the close games is a lot more emotional, so being able to get a close win is always nice, especially after losing four in a row. … Since (a loss to Harrisburg on Jan. 15) we’ve been getting better and have shown improvement in every game and today we put it all together.”

Trailing 4-3, Paige scored seven points, junior Teddy Tuggles (Rochester, NY/Gates Chili) and freshman Jared Wagner (Pittsford, NY/McQuaid) each buried ‘3s’ and Tortolon added a layup as the Storm used a 15-6 run to take an 18-10 lead nine minutes into the contest.

Wagner and Paige combined to score the next nine points as Keuka maintained its eight-point lead at 26-18, and Tuggles and Tortolon each made layups down the stretch to give the Storm a 31-23 edge heading into halftime.

“I’ve told the guys that there are going to be times when they’re not shooting the ball well, but when the shots aren’t falling there are the little things they can do for us,” to help us succeed, Phillips said.

“When the offense isn’t clicking, you can always play good defense and rebound, and Joe played good defense, had a great rebounding game and had some big steals (2) for us.”

Using a 17-10 run to open the second half, Cobleskill clawed within 41-40 on a layup from Clint Foster with 13:37 remaining, but Paige scored four points, Wagner drilled another ‘3’ and freshman Tyler Hixson (Shortsville, NY/Red Jacket) hit a jumper to cap a 9-0 run that pushed Keuka’s lead up to 50-40 with 10:54 remaining.

Keuka made seven consecutive free throws, including Paige finishing off a three-point play for a 61-51 lead with 5:16 remaining, and the Storm finished hitting 19 of 26 at the free-throw line (73.1 percent). Wagner finished with nine points while Tuggles had seven points and five rebounds for Keuka.

Jack Jeffres (Pavilion, NY/Pavilion) scored 12 points and grabbed 11 rebounds while Brendan Doherty added 13 points for Cobleskill, which put four players in double-figures.

Both teams shot exactly 50 percent from the floor in the second half. Cobleskill hit 18 of 36 shots while Keuka was 12 of 24.

The Storm returns to action at 6 p.m. Wednesday night with NEAC rival Morrisville State comes to the Weed Physical Arts Center. Admission is free, so come out and support the Storm.

Senior Brian Cunliffe scored 16 points and snared six rebounds, but Keuka College's men's basketball team fell 73-71 at SUNYIT Saturday afternoon.

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Freshman Coty Paige (Rochester, NY/Greece Arcadia) scored 18 points and senior Brian Cunliffe (Rochester, NY/Gates Chili) added 16 points, but Keuka College’s men’s basketball team suffered a 73-71 setback at SUNYIT Saturday afternoon.

Paige also had six rebounds, 6 assists and 4 steals while Cunliffe chipped in six rebounds and three assists for Keuka, which shot 23-for-52 (44.2 percent) from the floor and 10-for-21 (47.6 percent) on ‘3s’.

In a back-and-forth first half, the Storm (4-12, 4-5 North Eastern Athletic Conference) led 8-4 on a three-pointer from freshman Joe Tortolon (Dundee, NY/Dundee). SUNYIT (3-14, 2-5 NEAC) then went on a 12-4 run to take a 16-12 lead with 11:23 remaining in the first half.

The teams traded baskets and the Storm enjoyed a 25-22 lead after a Paige free throw with 4:10 left in the opening half before Cunliffe

The senior guard scored the final 10 points of the half on a pair of ‘3s’, a jumper and two free throws as Keuka took a 35-34 lead into intermission.

The Wildcats had an answer in the second half, using an 11-2 run over the opening 3:42 to take a 45-37 lead. Trailing 54-42, the Storm went on an 8-0 run as Tortolon and Cunliffe each hit ‘3’s and freshman Tyler Hixson (Shortsville, NY/Red Jacket) made a pair of free throws to pull Keuka within 54-50.

SUNYIT’s lead swelled to as many as eight, but Keuka hung around, and following a pair of free throws from T’Andre Richardson with 1:55 remaining, the Storm trailed 72-67 with 1:55 remaining.

Paige went 4-for-4 at the free throw line to pull Keuka within one, but the lead grew to 73-71 when Sejad Gromilic hit a free throw with 32 seconds left. The Storm missed its final two shots to lose its fourth straight conference game.

Gromilic finished with a game-high 26 points while Richardson added 17 points and seven rebounds for SUNYIT.

Junior Teddy Tuggles (Rochester, NY/Gates Chili) scored 12 points while Hixson and Tortolon each finished with eight points while Hixson collected nine rebounds for Keuka, which returns to action with a noon tip-off Sunday against SUNY Cobleskill. The Storm defeated Cobleskill 69-49 on Dec. 10, 2011 for its first win of the season.

Keuka College's men's and women's basketball teams return to action with a pair of road NEAC clashes on Saturday and Sunday. Keuka and SUNYIT square off on Saturday, followed by games with SUNY Cobleskill on Sunday.

Keuka College’s men’s and women’s basketball teams hit the road for a pair of pivotal North Eastern Athletic Conference (NEAC) showdowns, with both Storm squads looking to improve their positioning in the NEAC North standings.

Keuka’s basketball teams travel to SUNYIT on Saturday and SUNY Cobleskill on Sunday. Keuka’s men (4-11, 4-4 NEAC) are hoping to rebound from Wednesday night’s disappointing 69-64 home loss to Cazenovia College.

Junior Teddy Tuggles (Rochester, NY/Gates Chili) posted his first double-double of the season with 14 points and 10 rebounds, and the dynamic guard added five assists, but the Storm, which at one point led by 19 points, saw Cazenovia go on a 20-8 run and fell for the third time in its last six conference games.

Freshman Tyler Hixson (Shortsville, NY/Red Jacket) added 11 points and eight rebounds while classmate Joe Tortolon (Dundee, NY/Dundee) had nine points for Keuka. Freshman Trevor Healey (Wethersfield, CT/Wethersfield) added 6 points, 7 rebounds and 3 steals for the Storm.

Tortolon made a layup to knot the score at 61-all with two minutes remaining, and Hixson added a baseline jumper with 16 seconds left that pulled Keuka within 65-64, but Cazenovia hit its final four free throws to clinch the win.

Keuka is tied with defending champion Wells for second place in the NEAC while the Wildcats (2-14, 1-5 NEAC) are fifth in the six-team division. Keuka and SUNYIT split last year, with the Storm prevailing 70-61 at home and falling 81-80 in overtime on the road.

SUNYIT snapped a nine-game losing streak when it defeated Lancaster Bible College 65-54 on Jan. 20.

The top two teams in each division, plus the third-place squad with the best record, qualify for the NEAC postseason tournament, which runs Feb. 21-26.

On the women’s side, Keuka (9-4, 7-2 NEAC) trails first-place SUNYIT (13-2, 7-0 NEAC) by one full game in the North division standings, with the top three schools in each division qualifying for the NEAC postseason tournament.

Sophomore Danielle Gravel (Sidney, NY/Sidney) scored 17 of her career-high 29 points in the first half and Keuka’s women’s basketball team defeated rival Cazenovia College 75-53 Wednesday night inside the Weed Physical Arts Center.

Junior Mariah Mouzon (Elmira, NY/Elmira Free Academy), fresh off back-to-back double-doubles, added 12 points and six rebounds while Gravel added 5 rebounds, 3 steals, 2 assists and only one turnover for Keuka, which led wire-to-wire.

Mouzon and Gravel combined for the game’s first seven points as the Storm sprinted out to a 7-0 lead just 90 seconds in. A 10-3 spurt midway through the half pushed the Storm lead to 28-11, capped by a jumper from freshman Erica Pendrak (Utica, NY/New York Mills) with 7:09 left in the half.

Gravel, whose previous career-high was 25 points during a win over Hilbert College on Nov. 22, finished shooting 10-for-14 from the floor (71 percent) and went 6-for-8 on three-pointers.

Since dropping a 62-45 decision to Mary Washington on Dec. 29, 2011, the Wildcats have won nine straight games, outscoring the competition by an average of 67.3 to 49.1 points per game.

Keuka swept the Wildcats during the 2010-11 season, claiming a 62-54 win at home and a 61-51 victory on the road. The Storm has won five of the last six meetings in the rivalry.

Keuka’s basketball teams will take on SUNY Cobleskill on Sunday, with the men playing at noon followed by the women at 2 p.m. Check back to www.KeukaStorm.com for the latest news on Storm athletics, or follow the coverage on Facebook at Facebook.com/KeukaStorm.

Junior Teddy Tuggles posted his first double-double of the season with 14 points and 10 rebounds in Keuka's 69-64 loss to Cazenovia Wednesday night.

BOXSCORE

Junior Teddy Tuggles (Rochester, NY/Gates Chili) posted his first double-double of the season, but Keuka College’s men’s basketball team let a 19-point lead slip away and fell to Cazenovia College 69-64 Wednesday night inside the Weed Physical Arts Center.

Tuggles finished with 14 points on 6-of-12 shooting (50 percent) and added 10 rebounds and 5 assists, but Keuka (4-11, 4-4 North Eastern Athletic Conference) couldn’t hold onto a 32-16 first-half lead and fell to the rival Wildcats (5-12, 2-6 NEAC).

Freshman Tyler Hixson (Shortsville, NY/Red Jacket) added 11 points and eight rebounds while classmate Joe Tortolon (Dundee, NY/Dundee) had nine points for Keuka. Freshman Trevor Healey (Wethersfield, CT/Wethersfield) added 6 points, 7 rebounds and 3 steals for the Storm, which only led 41-35 at halftime after Cazenovia closed out the half on a 19-9 run to end the half.

Five different players scored at least six points in the first half, led by Tuggles (11), Tortolon (six), Healey (six), Hixson (six) and junior Justin Napolitano (Syracuse, NY/Solvay).

Bryan Winans scored 17 points, one of four Wildcats to reach double-figures in scoring. Ryan Howdownes (Honeoye Falls, NY/Honeoye Falls-Lima) added 16 points, 8 rebounds, 6 assists and 4 steals while Matt Perry had 12 points and 11 rebounds and Anthony Wilkerson chipped in with 10 points for Cazenovia.

Tuggles scored five points while Tortolon drilled a ‘3’ and junior Conor Boyer (East Rochester, NY/East Rochester) made a layup as Keuka jumped out to a 10-3 lead just 2:34 into the game. The Storm lead swelled to 27-10 when Tuggles swished a ‘3’ with 8:42 remaining in the half to cap a 12-0 run.

The Storm held its greatest lead, 32-13, after Healey converted a pair of free throws with 6:50 remaining in the half. When Tuggles buried a jumper early in the second half Keuka had a 48-39 advantage before Cazenovia responded with a 20-8 run to take a 59-56 lead with 6:43 remaining.

Tortolon made a layup to knot the score at 61-all with two minutes remaining, and Hixson added a baseline jumper with 16 seconds left that pulled Keuka within 65-64, but Cazenovia hit its final four free throws to clinch the win.

Keuka returns to action with a 1 p.m. NEAC clash Saturday afternoon at SUNYIT.

Freshman Coty Paige scored a career-high 23 points and grabbed eight rebounds in Keuka's 65-60 loss to Wells College Wednesday night.

BOXSCORE

The Keuka College men’s basketball team rallied from a five-point deficit and led by seven halfway through the second half, but Wells College used a 12-2 run to knock off the Storm 65-60 Wednesday night inside the Frances Tarlton Farenthold Field House in Aurora, NY.

Freshman Coty Paige (Rochester, NY/Greece Arcadia) scored a career-high 23 points with eight rebounds while junior Teddy Tuggles (Rochester, NY/Gates Chili) added 17 points for the Storm (4-10, 4-3 North Eastern Athletic Conference). Paige (9-for-17) and Tuggles (6-for-12) each shot above 50 percent from the floor for Keuka, which shot 24-for-64 (38 percent) as a team.

After senior Brian Cunliffe (Rochester, NY/Gates Chili) sunk a pair of free throws, Wells (6-10, 3-3 NEAC) led 59-58 with 33 seconds. Following a Keuka missed jump shot, the Storm fouled Wells and the Express made both free throws. Paige hit a layup with 20 seconds left to trim the deficit to 61-60, but Wells made its final four free throws and held off the Storm to hand Keuka its second consecutive loss in the NEAC following a four-game winning streak.

Cunliffe and freshman Tyler Hixson (Shortsville, NY/Red Jacket), who each finished with eight points, were the only other member of the Storm besides Paige and Tuggles to score at least eight points for Keuka.

Dave Foltz scored 20 points and was one of three members of the Express to score in double-figures. Wells went 23-for-32 (71.9 percent) at the free throw line, compared to Keuka, which went 8-for-9 (88.9 percent).

Keuka trailed 41-36 early in the second half before going on an 11-2 run to take a 47-43 lead. Tuggles and Paige combined for eight of the points during the spurt. After Wells made a pair of free throws to claw within 49-47, Tuggles hit a pair of free throws and drained a ‘3’ for a 54-47 lead, the Storm’s largest of the contest, with 9:36 to play.

The Storm returns to action with a 6 p.m. NEAC contest at home against rival Cazenovia College on Jan. 25 before hitting the road for crucial NEAC contests at SUNYIT (1 p.m. on Jan. 28) and SUNY Cobleskill (noon on Jan. 29).

Freshman Coty Paige scored 16 points, but Keuka's four-game conference win streak ended with a 92-68 loss at Penn State-Harrisburg Sunday afternoon.

BOXSCORE

Keuka College’s men’s basketball team saw its four-game conference winning streak snapped on Sunday as the Storm fell 98-62 at first-place Penn State-Harrisburg Sunday afternoon in Middletown, PA.

Freshman Coty Paige (Rochester, NY/Greece Arcadia) scored a team-leading 16 points to go with four rebounds and classmate Jared Wagner (Pittsford, NY/McQuaid) added a career-high 11 points for the Storm (4-9, 4-2 North Eastern Athletic Conference), which entered the game riding high on a four-game win streak in the NEAC.

Despite making 46.4 percent of its first-half shots (13-for-28), Keuka still trailed 47-31 entering the second half. Penn State-Harrisburg (12-3, 5-0 NEAC) jumped out to leads of 9-1 and 16-3, and Keuka couldn’t draw any closer than 12 points over the remainder of the half. Paige connected on 7 of 12 shots (58.3 percent) from the field in the loss.

Wagner scored nine of his points in the second half, including drilling a pair of three-pointers, but a 9-0 Harrisburg run to open the second half finished off the Storm. Junior Teddy Tuggles (Rochester, NY/Gates Chili) finished with nine points and 11 rebounds while classmate Conor Boyer (East Rochester, NY/East Rochester) added eight points and eight rebounds and senior Brian Cunliffe (Rochester, NY/Gates Chili) chipped in with eight assists for Keuka, which shot 26-for-65 (40 percent) from the floor.

Harrisburg put five players in double-figures, led by Steve Jones, who scored 24 points and grabed eight rebounds before fouling out.

The Storm returns to action at 5 p.m. Wednesday with a conference road game against Wells College.