A four-minute stretch of the second half turned a tight game into lopsided final as Tompkins Cortland lost 91-74 to Hudson Valley Community College Sunday. The home defeat leaves the Panthers with a record of 4-8 overall while the Vikings improve to 12-4.
The first twenty minutes saw the teams play nearly even, with Hudson Valley holding a 34-33 lead at the break. Neither team shot the ball well, with each making under 33%, and the Panthers had a 26-24 advantage on the boards. The second half saw both teams shoot much better, and in the first two minutes of the second half, the teams traded the lead seven times. The lead changed another five times before the Vikings went on a 13-1 run to take control. Trailing by 17 points with under six minutes to play, the Panthers weren't able to cut the deficit down to single digits the rest of the way.
Both teams connected on better than half of their shots in the second half, but the Vikings used their size advantage to control the glass, out-rebounding the Panthers 28-13 in the second half, with 16 of their rebounds coming on the offensive glass and leading to 17 second-chance points, the exact margin of the final score.
Three Panthers scored in double figures, led by 16 points from Devonte Henry (Brooklyn/Boys and Girls H.S.). The sophomore just missed a double-double by adding 9 rebounds to his line. Gabriel Blenman (Brooklyn/George Westinghouse H.S.) had 14 points, 6 rebounds, and 4 assists, and Vernell Reid (Syracuse/Bishop Ludden H.S.) added 13 points.
The Panthers return to conference play at Corning Community College Tuesday.