BUFFALO, N.Y. – The Villa Maria College men's basketball team played a tight game against Bryant and Stratton-Rochester on Thursday and a pair of clutch free-throws by Tim Payne secured an 81-77 victory. It is the team's first win of the season and moves them to 1-3 on the year. With the loss, the Bobcats fall too 1-3 this campaign. 
 
Trent Cordone kicked the game off with a three pointer and then Nolan Shephard made a layup before Juwan Beale put down a thunderous fast break dunk to put the team up six points. The Vikings were able to score buckets consistently, which kept them in front throughout the first half. Kevin Goode and Master Radford were consistent pieces on the offense end, hitting layups and converting free-throws. The largest lead of the half came after a 13-4 run put the team ahead 40-27 at the 3:26 mark. 
 
The run started with a made free-throw by Beale and then Goode followed with five straight points, which included two free-throws and a three-pointer. After a made bucket by the Bobcats, Beale scored another pair from the charity stripe and a layup to go ahead by 12. A few moments later, Radford went 1-for-2 from the line giving the team a 13-point advantage. Bryant and Stratton put together a run to end the first half and cut their deficit to 41-36 at halftime. 
 
Villa came out slow in the second half, falling behind 57-53 at the 13:25 mark. The Vikings defense then tightened up and they were able to convert their chances down the stretch. Payne scored four straight points to tie the game and then Randy Golda, who made his debut, put the team ahead by one. With 6:57 to play Cordone knocked down a three-point for a 63-59 advantage. Goode, Golda and Radford all scored points to keep the team ahead by three or more. 
 
Payne down the stretch was incredibly clutch, scoring the team's final eight points starting with a jump shot at the 1:08 mark. 30 seconds later, Payne lined up a three pointer and while being fouled, knocks it down. After making the free-throw, Villa went ahead seven points. After the Bobcats cut the lead to just two points with nine seconds on the clock, Payne caught the ball off the inbound and was instantly fouled. He took his time and knocked down both free-throws to ice the game and win by a final score of 81-77. 
 
Goode led the way with 17 points, eight assists and grabbed six rebounds in 32 minutes of play. Payne was the next leading scorer with 16 off the bench in 27 minutes of action, he also grabbed five rebounds and was perfect from the line, going 5-for-5. As a team they out-rebounded the Bobcats 46-37 and forced 18 turnovers, while scoring 18 points off of those mistakes. 
 
Villa has a little break coming up before their rematch against Bryant and Stratton Rochester on Saturday, Feb. 20. The game is slated as a 12:30 p.m. road matchup. 
 
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