A rough patch of poor ball security cost Tompkins Cortland in its bid for a road conference win Saturday. Playing at Finger Lakes Community College, the Panthers saw a second-half lead dissolve as the Lakers pulled away for a 90-80 final. The Panthers are now 4-12 overall and 1-6 in the Mid-State Athletic Conference and Finger Lakes is 13-8 overall and 4-3 in the MSAC.

Things looked good early for the Panthers, with the visitors leading by as many as 15 points in the first half before Finger Lakes used a late rally to close the gap to 41-36 at the break. The lead remained five points at the mid-point of the second half before things got sloppy. Over the span of four minutes, the Panthers turned the ball over five times. The Lakers took advantage, connecting on three straight three-pointers before adding a pair of layups to turning a five-point lead for the Panthers into an eight-point deficit. Tompkins Cortland never recovered, and Finger Lakes stretched the lead to 20 points at 85-65 with just under three minutes left before coasting to the final ten-point spread.

Vernell Reid (Syracuse/Bishop Ludden H.S.) had another huge game, scoring 30 points and grabbing 9 rebounds. Devonte Henry (Brooklyn/Boys and Girls H.S.) followed with 14 points and 4 rebounds and Derek Brower (Queens/Half Hollow Hills West H.S.) added 12 points.

The Panthers return home Wednesday to host Jefferson Community College at 5 p.m.