Tompkins Cortland Community College hosted a basketball game for the first time in nearly two years Wednesday, with the Panthers welcoming Genesee Community College for a Mid-State Athletic Conference showdown. After a strong start the Panthers fell to the Cougars by a final of 85-68. It was the season-opening game for both teams.

Everything looked good over the opening five minutes as the Panthers jumped out to an 11-4 lead. Four different players had scored, and hard work on the glass had limited Genesee to single shots each time down the floor. The problems came over the next 15 minutes. While the Panthers suddenly turned cold on the offensive end, the Cougars warmed up to the tune of an 11-2 run to take the lead at 15-13. Genesee continued to push the lead the rest of the half, eventually outscoring the Panthers 51-15 over the final 15 minutes of the half to take a 55-26 lead into the break.

The second half was more evenly played from start to finish, with the Panthers outscoring the Cougars 42-30. Tompkins Cortland work hard to get the deficit down to 15 points at multiple times, but the hole from the first-half cold streak was too deep to climb out of.

Four different Panthers reached double figures in scoring, led by 13 points off the bench by Tyler Patterson (Syracuse/PSLA @ Fowler H.S.). Deamontae Riley (Buffalo/Burgard H.S.) just missed a double-double with 12 points and a team-best 9 rebounds. Devonte Cheatham (Bronx/Herbert H. Lehman H.S.) was a force in the paint with 11 points and Brandon Tirado (Manhattan/Quest to Learn H.S.) finished with an even 10 points to go with 3 assists.

Looking ahead

The Panthers host Herkimer College on Tuesday, November 9.