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ROCHESTER, N.Y. -- Visiting sixth-seeded Roberts Wesleyan defeated third-seeded Nazareth 70-68 in the teams' first-round contest of the Wendy's College Classic, hosted by Nazareth. The Redhawks won the game on three-point shot by Patrick Downer just before time expired. On the Golden Flyers' earlier possession, Nazareth took a 68-67 lead with just under eight seconds to play in regulation as sophomore Maurice Mills converted a three-point play.

With the loss, the Golden Flyers suffer their first defeat of the season and fall to 3-1 overall. With the victory, Roberts, which is a NCAA Division II member, improves to 3-2 overall. The Redhawks advance to play the seventh-seeded University of Rochester Yellowjackets in the semifinal. Nazareth will play second-seeded Hobart on the consolation side of the bracket. The Golden Flyers' game on Friday is scheduled for 6 p.m. at RIT. The Yellowjackets defeated the Statesmen 85-75 in their quarterfinal game.

Mills' three-point play, with under eight seconds to play in the second half, gave the Golden Flyers their first lead of the final two minutes. Without timeouts to use, Nazareth used passes and cuts to set up Mills with the ball outside the arc. Mills drove to the basket and was fouled as he put his shot in the air. After connecting on the ensuing free throw, the Redhawks chose not to use a timeout to set up their final play. Herbert Alexander began driving toward the Golden Flyers' basket, then kicked the ball out to Downer on the left wing of the three-point arc. Downer released his shot just before time expired. Downer's shot banked off the backboard before finding its mark. It was Downer's only three-point basket of the game, and he entered the contest 5-16 (37.5 percent) from beyond the arc this season.

During the second half, neither team was able to build a lead of more than five points. Nazareth's largest lead in the second stanza was three points, 64-61 with 2:33 to play in regulation, following a layup by sophomore Mitch Ford. The Golden Flyers stayed within two possessions throughout the middle of the period but had only one lead between the 16:26 mark and Ford's basket roughly 14 minutes later. The game featured 10 ties and 13 lead changes.

In the first half, Nazareth surged to an 11-point lead, 17-6,  in the opening 6:22. Senior Brad Ford had the first bucket of the game, which was followed by a tip-in by brother Mitch, and a pair of jumpers by senior Jack Giles. During the scoring run, the Ford brothers each connected on another two-point jumper, and Giles added a pair of free throws. Senior Scott Hayford capped the run with a three-point basket.

The Redhawks took their first lead of the game with 2:53 to play before halftime after a layup by Isaac Medeiros. Medeiros' basket finished an 11-2 scoring run by Roberts. The teams traded the lead four times in the final three minutes of the half before Nazareth took a 34-33 lead at the break after a layup by freshman Tomer Nesher in the final minute.

After connecting on 12-30 (40 percent) of their field goals in the opening 20 minutes, Nazareth slipped to 12-34 (35.3 percent) from the field in the second half. The Golden Flyers, shooting 33.3 percent (16-48) on three-pointers in their first three games, connected on only 15 percent (3-20) against Roberts. The Redhawks shot 12-22 (54.5 percent) from the field in the opening period to rally from their initial deficit. Roberts settled for 13-28 (46.4 percent) on their field goals in the second stanza. Despite the difference in shooting percentage, the Golden Flyers stayed in the game by forcing Roberts into making 17 turnovers. Nazareth turned the ball over eight times.

Mills and Brad Ford each had 16 points to lead Nazareth in scoring. The Redhawks held Ford, who entered the game averaging 23.3 points and shooting nearly 55 percent (23-42) from the field, to 28.6 percent as he connected on six of his 21 attempts. Mitch Ford finished with 15 points while Giles and Hayford contributed 10 points and nine points, respectively. Giles also had a team-high five assists.

Both teams jostled their strategy during the game due to players falling into foul trouble as 45 fouls were called between the two teams. For Nazareth, Mills, Mitch Ford, and freshmen Denzell Jackson and Josh Gillard were each whistled for four fouls. For Roberts, Downer, Medeiros, and Alexander each collected four fouls.

Medeiros finished with a game-high 25 points. He entered the game as the Redhawks' leading scorer with an average of 22.0 points per game. Tyrel Dixon finished with a team-high nine rebounds and five assists.