SCHENECTADY, N.Y. – First-year Tanner Tedesco led five Garnet Chargers in double figures with a team-best 20 points as Union remained undefeated and advanced to the championship game of the 2023 Sig Makofski Invitational with a 92-81 victory over Elms College on Saturday afternoon at Viniar Athletic Center.
 
Tedesco hit 8-of-13 shots from the field and also chipped in six rebounds, five assists and a steal in another excellent effort for Union (4-0). Sophomore Aren Cummings went for 17 points and six boards, followed by senior Luke McGarrity with 14 points. Senior Connor Cepiel poured in a career-high 12 points with five caroms and three assists, and sophomore Christian Dufort added a career-best 10 points with five boards off the bench as well.
 
Tahquell Cadel led all scorers with 26 points for Elms (2-5), followed by RJ Mayfield with 10 points.
 
Union shot a blistering 54.3 percent (19 of 35) from the field in the opening 20 minutes, including a 5-of-7 effort from beyond the arc and a 14-of-17 clip from the charity stripe, to take a 57-42 lead into halftime.
 
The first half was evenly played for the first 11-plus minutes, with the Blazers holding a slight 20-19 lead after a Kishaun Cole layup with 8:50 on the clock. The game quickly turned after that, however, with the home team rattling off 11 straight points in 67 seconds to take a 30-20 lead; Dufort had a team-best five points during the run while Tedesco and classmate Matthew Garside had three apiece. Elms stayed close for the next five minutes, but another 10-0 blitz over the final 1:54 gave Union a commanding lead at the half.
 
Tedesco had 15 points to lead all scorers in the opening 20 minutes, hitting 6-of-8 shots from the field. Cummings had 12 points on a 5-of-7 effort and McGarrity had 10 first-half points to help Union take the early lead.
 
A 14-4 run midway through the second stanza built up Union's largest lead of the game at 79-60, but the home team went over six minutes without a field goal to allow the Blazers back into the contest. Luckily for the Garnet Chargers, the team hit 8-of-10 free throw attempts while the field goals were not falling to maintain an 84-77 edge with 2:55 on the clock.
 
Cummings broke the scoring stretch with a key basket with 2:30 remaining, and Union matched points the rest of the way to move to 4-0 for the first time since 2019-20.
 
While the shots fell a little less frequently in the second half, Union still finished the game shooting 50.0 percent (29 of 58) from the field and 44.4 percent (8 of 18) from beyond the arc. Elms finished the afternoon shooting 44.8 percent (30 of 67) from the field and 4-of-20 from long range.
 
The Garnet Chargers did an excellent job of getting to the free-throw line on Saturday, making 37 visitors to the charity stripe and hitting 26 (70.3 percent), compared to Elms' 17-of-22 effort from the line.
 
Union advances to tomorrow's Sig Makofski championship game, where the team will face SUNY Maritime, 74-61 victors over Hartwick College in today's first game. Tip-off is set for 4 p.m. after Hartwick and Elms face off in the consolation game at 2 p.m.