After trailing by 22 points in the second half, the Tompkins Cortland Community College men's basketball team made a late rally to close the gap to five but could never make it all the way back in 94-85 loss to Genesee Community College on Wednesday. Tompkins Cortland is now 10-10 overall and 8-5 in the Mid-State Athletic Conference. Genesee is now 19-7 overall and 12-0 in the MSAC.
The game featured the top two teams in conference as the Panthers entering the day in second place in the MSAC standings, four games back of the undefeated Cougars. Fitting for a matchup of conference heavyweights, each team landed big blows in the first half. The game started with the Panthers using a 9-0 run to jump ahead 11-3. Genesee responded with a 13-0 run of their own to move ahead 16-11 midway through the half. The Cougars didn't let up, continuing to shoot lights out the rest of the half and taking a 48-33 lead into the break.
The second half opened with the Panthers scoring the first six points to cut the deficit to single digits, but Genesee went on a 15-2 run to take the biggest lead of the game, 63-41, with 15 minutes left to play. A quick 16-5 spurt by the Panthers brought the Cougars within reach at the midway point of the half, and the margin held between 11 and 15 points until the Panthers made a final push over the last few minutes of the game. A pair of free throws and then a layup by Joel Davis (Watertown/Watertown H.S.) brought the Panthers within six with two minutes left, 86-80. A minute later a 3-pointer by Cristian Rosa (Yonkers/Lincoln H.S.) made it 90-85, but the Cougars were clutch at the free throw line, going 4-for-4 in the closing moments to seal the win.
The Panthers had a balanced attack with four players in double figures and three others scoring at least six points, but it wasn't enough to overcome Genesee's hot shooting. The Cougars made better than 50% from the floor in each half, and connected on 46.7% of their 3-pointers for the game.
The Panthers shot well in their own right, making 57% in the second half and 46% for the game. Davis led the team with 21 points and eight rebounds despite dealing with foul trouble. Dayrien Franklin (Mastic/Center Moriches H.S.) and Tysheen Lott (Buffalo/Health Science Charter) each had 14 points, with Lott adding a team-best five assists. Damari Johnson (Binghamton/Johnson City H.S.) chipped in 12 points and six boards.
Looking ahead
The Panthers play at Herkimer College on Saturday.