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ONEONTA, N.Y. -- Nazareth junior Tyshun Stephens (Newark/Newark, N.Y.) connected on three of four free throw opportunities in the final 18 seconds to preserve the Golden Flyers' tenuous lead and hold off Stevens 74-71 in the first semifinal of the Empire 8 men's basketball tournament, which is being played at Hartwick College. The Golden Flyers converted eight free throws to secure the victory despite finishing the final 6:12 without a field goal. Sophomore Brad Ford (Victor/Victor, N.Y.) tallied 15 points on 5-7 shooting from the field, and he amassed a game-high 17 rebounds.

With the victory, the Golden Flyers improve to 18-8 overall. Nazareth will play fourth-seeded Ithaca in Saturday's 4 p.m. championship game. The Bombers upset top-seeded and host Hartwick 79-67 in the second semifinal. Hartwick was ranked 21st nationally coming into the conference tournament. The Ducks fall to 19-7 overall following the loss. In the team's two regualr season meetings, Ithaca downed Nazareth 70-63 on January 7th, and the Bombers snapped the Golden Flyers' early-season seven-game undefeated streak at the Kidera Gymnasium with an 81-59 victory on February 3rd at Nazareth. Saturday's title game will be contested at Hartwick College with the winner receiving an automatic bid into the upcoming NCAA tournament.

In Friday evening's semifinal against Stevens, the Golden Flyers led by 10 points, 66-56, following a jumper by senior Greg Lothridge (East Syracuse-Minoa/East Syracuse, N.Y.) with 6:12 to play in regulation. Lothridge turned and faked an initial shot before connecting on his jumper from just inside the free throw line to temporarily rebuild Nazareth's double-digit lead. The Ducks' defense tightened in the final minutes and held the Golden Flyers without a field goal for the remainder of the contest.

After Stevens cut its deficit to six points, 67-61, the Ducks had an opportunity to trim their deficit further in transition. Senior Jason Corletta (Pittsford Sutherland/Pittsford, N.Y.), however, forced a steal from behind around midcourt to thwart the Ducks' scoring chance. The play eventually resulted in two free throws for Corletta as he was fouled on his shot attempt. On the Ducks' next possession, Ford came up with a steal as Mike Cutri drove to the Golden Flyers' basket. Following Ford's steal, sophomore Scott Hayford (Twin Valley/Wilmington, Vt.) converted two free throws with 3:45 to play. Nazareth connected on eight free throw attempts in the final minutes to slow the Ducks' rally attempt.

After Hayford's free throws, Sheldon Jones converted a layup and Cutri connected on a jumper for Stevens to draw to within four points, 71-65. As Nazareth tried to begin running out the clock, Matt Skrelja forced a Golden Flyers' turnover and scored an uncontested layup with 2:14 remaining in regulation to make it a four-point game. Stevens came within two points following a layup by Simon Smith with 34 seconds to play before Stephens converted three of his four shots from the charity stripe to preserve Nazareth's victory.

The Golden Flyers opened the second half with a 7-0 scoring run in the first 1:55 of the period to take a 47-34 lead. Senior Phil Scaffidi (St. Joseph's/Buffalo, N.Y.) connected on a two-point jumper to open the half. Ford followed with a layup before Scaffidi connected from beyond the three-point arc to cap the quick run. The Ducks' offense cut their deficit to six points multiple times before their final attempted rally, but the Golden Flyers maintained a multiple possession lead until the final minutes of action. Stephens, Scaffidi, and Corletta each had baskets midway through the period to temporarily rebuild Nazareth's double-digit advantage.

In the first half, the teams battled through seven ties and four lead changes before the Golden Flyers finished the final 81 seconds with a 7-1 scoring run. Ford and junior Dan Waldbillig (Pittsford Sutherland/Pittsford, N.Y.) each connected on two free throws to stretch Nazareth's lead. Ford connected on a three-point basket in the final seconds of the half after sophomore Jack Giles (Fayetteville-Manlius/Fayetteville, N.Y.) set up the final play just outside the key. Ford's basket provided the Golden Flyers with a 40-34 lead at the break.

The Golden Flyers used a 7-0 scoring run midway through the first half to take the lead 21-16. The run lasted only 52 seconds as Lothridge had two buckets sandwiched around a three by Ford, however, Nazareth never trailed after the run. The Ducks tied the game at 33 apiece before the Golden Flyers' run before halftime.

Scaffidi finished with a team-high 17 points and four steals for Nazareth. Lothridge and Stephens also finished in double figures with 14 points and 11 points, respectively. Lothridge added five rebounds and Stephens recorded a game-high four assists. The Ducks' defense focused on stopping Corletta, who was held to four points after coming into the contest as Nazareth's leading scorer. Corletta had been averaging 15.2 points per game. The Golden Flyers entered Friday's game with the fourth fewest turnovers per game in the NCAA as they averaged only 10.3 turnovers each contest. Nazareth continued to take care of the ball throughout most of the game and finished with 11 turnovers against the Ducks.

Smith recorded a double-double with 23 points and 12 boards for Stevens. Smith entered the game ranked fourth in the country in double-doubles and fifth in rebounding (17.7 ppg and 12.4 rpg). Cutri, Jones, and Russ Thompson also finished in double-digits in scoring for the Ducks with 17 points, 14 points, and 10 points, respectively. Stevens finished with a 38-32 advantage in total rebounds. The Ducks entered the game ranked 18th in the country in rebound margin at plus-7.4 rebounds per game. Stevens connected on 16-18 (89 percent) of their free throws to stay in the game.