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ROCHESTER, N.Y. -- A desperation three-point attempt by Nazareth sophomore Tyshun Stephens was off the mark as regulation expired, which allowed host RIT to hold on for the 82-81 victory in a men's Empire 8 conference basketball game. The Tigers' Anthony Terry connected on the game-winning shot with four seconds to play to give RIT the lead after the Golden Flyers built a double-digit lead in the second half.

With the loss, Nazareth drops to 4-6 in the Empire 8 and 11-8 overall. The Tigers improve to 6-4 in conference games and 9-10 overall. The defeat keeps the Golden Flyers in sixth place in the conference standings as teams battle for the four conference tournament positions. Stevens presently holds the final tournament position with a 6-3 victory, but RIT's rally over Nazareth keeps them on the Ducks' heels.

In the final minute, Stephens and Phil Scaffidi traded seven straight points with RIT's Nate Korinchak, who kept the Tigers' deficit within one possession. After RIT forced the Golden Flyers' into a turnover with 15 seconds remaining in regulation, Terry made a short two-point jumper 11 seconds later to give the Tigers 82-81 lead. A desperation shot by Stephens was off the mark to allow RIT to hold on for the victory.

Midway through the second half, sophomore Dan Waldbillig ignited a 16-2 scoring run by converting a three-point play and connecting on two free throws. Jason Corletta then added a three-point basket and Stephens connected on a two-point jumper to stretch Nazareth's lead to 53-42 with 14:09 to play in regulation. After a basket by RIT, freshman Brad Ford and Scaffidi recorded back-to-back baskets on the Golden Flyers' next two possessions to give Nazareth a 57-44 lead. A few moments later, two free throws by Scaffidi stretched Nazareth's lead to the largest of the game, 64-50, with less than 10 minutes left.

Foul trouble also impacted the Golden Flyers. When Stephens picked up his fourth personal foul of the game, RIT answered with an 8-0 scoring run in just 1:40 to cut Nazareth's lead to six points. The Golden Flyers, however, slowed the Tigers' rally with two-point baskets from Scaffidi and Ford on the Golden Flyers' next possessions to reclaim Nazareth's double-digit lead. RIT then put together a 15-6 run to cut the Golden Flyers' lead to 74-73 with 2:26 remaining in regulation before eventually edging Nazareth in the final seconds.

In the first half, Nazareth and RIT battled through four ties and four lead changes as neither team was able to put a scoring run together to create a sizable lead. The largest advantage of the first half belonged to the Tigers, who pieced together an 8-1 scoring run to change a 26-24 deficit into a 32-27 lead. Junior Greg Lothridge made an impact coming off the Golden Flyers' bench as he recorded four rebounds, three blocked shots and five points in the first half.

Corletta finished with a team-high 19 points and was followed in scoring by Scaffidi and Stephens with 18 points and 17 points respectively. Waldbillig also finished in double-figures with 11 points and collected a game-high 10 rebounds. The Golden Flyers finished with a 38-29 advantage in rebounds. Scaffidi also recorded five assists and four steals for Nazareth.

Justin Heisig finished with a game-high 23 points and seven rebounds to lead RIT's rally. Terry added 18 points while Casey Bobelis finished with 16 points and Korinchak recorded nine points after his late scoring run.

The Golden Flyers travel to Elmira Saturday for another Empire 8 conference game.