Corey Powell, Farmingdale State using last season's NCAA Tournament loss as motivation

Corey Powell took the inbounds pass, dribbled right and launched — 18 feet away, above the right elbow. He had made that shot so many times. But this one had a potential trip to the second round of the NCAA Division III Tournament along for the flight.

The final buzzer sounded as the ball touched down on the right front of the rim and bounded away. Christopher Newport escaped in that opening-round game last March in Virginia, edging Farmingdale State College, 61-60, and going on to claim the national title.

So how long did that miss stay with Powell?

“A very long time,” the senior swingman from Valley Stream said as he sat by the Nold Athletic Complex court before practice this week. “I still haven’t watched the shot on replay. But I know it happened. It was an opportunity for me to grow, and I have grown from that.”

Fuel spilled out of the rubble of that difficult loss for the Rams.

“It motivated us to make a deeper run this year,” senior combo guard Aaron Davis said.

A sense of confidence grew, too. They fell by one measly point to the team that won it all.

“So we know we can play with any team in the country,” said Jevon Santos, a senior point guard from Elmont. “It’s just a little chip on our shoulder.”

The Rams have been rolling from the opening tip this season. The defending Skyline champions extended their winning streak to 16 games Saturday night — the second-longest in the program’s D-III history — with a 76-57 victory over host Yeshiva. They improved to 12-0 in the conference and 20-1 overall.

“We have a very veteran-heavy team, a lot of experience on our team,” coach Brendan Twomey said. “Obviously, that helps in close games .  .  . There’s no situation we haven’t been in over the last couple of years.”

Therefore, they can shoot high.

“So after the season last year, coming as close as we did in the NCAA Tournament and coming up a little short and bringing the guys back that I did, we said that we want to win a game or two in the NCAA Tournament next year, see if we can get to that second weekend and play in the Sweet 16,” Twomey said. “That would be a great year, obviously.”

The Rams’ starting lineup has featured an all-senior core four of Nick Hurowitz (a swingman from Mount Sinai), Powell, Davis (Powell’s former Valley Stream South teammate) and Santos.

The 6-5 Hurowitz was leading Farmingdale State in scoring at 19.0 and rebounding at 8.4 entering Saturday’s game.

“So outside of just being the guy who scores and rebounds . . . [I’m] one of those guys on the team that’s just giving the younger guys, the guys who have been here also, just a way of leadership to show how things are done around here,” Hurowitz said.

Davis was the No. 2 scorer at 15.7 and had made a team-leading 48 three-pointers. Powell was at 13.0 points and had made 51.5% of his three-point attempts. And Santos was averaging 9.3 points and a team-best 4.5 assists.

“Being together for two or three years now has obviously done a lot of wonders for us, knowing how each other likes to play with each other,” Hurowitz said. “Being able to have that chemistry together has led us to have a great season back-to-back years now.”

A win over Sarah Lawrence on Jan. 16 bought major milestones.

Santos became the program’s all-time assists leader. The third-year starter passed Damien Santana’s record of 319 and had 337 for his career after Saturday’s victory.

“It’s a huge deal,” Santos said. “Going into college, it wasn’t something I expected to do, but it’s something that I’m grateful that it happened.”

Also, Hurowitz and Powell passed 1,000 career points in the game.

“I’m not a personal accolades type of player, but it was good to be a part of history,” Powell said.

Davis should join the club soon. He was at a combined 948 points with two teams.

He played his freshman season at SUNY Geneseo. Then Powell had a suggestion.

“I was looking for another school to go to and he was like, ‘Listen, just come back home. Let’s team up together,’  ” Davis said. “We played really good together in high school. The chemistry just carried over.”

Success has carried through Twomey’s tenure. Seven of his 10 seasons have come with at least 18 wins. He has amassed a 172-93 record and there have been three Skyline Tournament titles and three NCAA appearances on his watch.

The 43-year-old Rockville Centre resident, a former Skyline Player of the Year at Mount Saint Mary in Newburgh who also played two seasons professionally in Ireland, said he has been happy with the administration’s support and the facility.

“In terms of my family, I have two daughters that are young, so they’re in school,” Twomey said. “So for right now, we’re kind of where we want to be. We’re competing for a championship every year here at Farmingdale. I love it here. I have not updated my resume since I got here.”

And there’s more to try to accomplish.

The Rams likely will need to claim the Skyline Tournament again to make the NCAA Tournament. If they do, Davis would love to go out with a nice run.

“It would mean everything,” he said. “It’s going to be amazing. I can see it. It’s going to happen.”