The Tompkins Cortland Community College men's basketball team made it three wins in the last four games Saturday with a 78-57 victory over visiting SUNY Adirondack. The result moves Tompkins Cortland's season record to 7-11. Adirondack is now 1-18.
Shareef Ali (Queens/Martin Van Buren H.S.) led all scorers with 20 points as the Panthers turned a relatively tight first half game into a comfortable win. The score was tied four times and the lead changed sides three times in the first half, but the Panthers scored the first seven points of the second half to extend the lead to 11 points. The margin remained in double digits almost the entire final 18 minutes of the game, peaking at the 21-point final.
Ali also led the team with five steals and pulled down four rebounds. Allen De La Cruz (Brooklyn/Brooklyn Community Arts and Media) scored 11 points off the bench and Garrick Averett (Hempstead/Hempstead H.S.) added 10 points and 5 boards. All 11 Panthers saw significant minutes, with nine of them scoring and ten of them grabbing at least one rebound. Ja Don Crooms (Brooklyn/Boys and Girls H.S.) had the team high in rebounds with six, and Derek Brower (Queens/Half Hollow Hills West H.S.) led the team with five assists.
Next up on the schedule is the home finale for the Panthers on Wednesday. Tompkins Cortland hosts Onondaga Community College at 7 p.m.